Iconic Cirque du Soleil act ‘Alegría’ returns to Sacramento after 12 years away

To work in a traveling circus act is to live the life of a perpetual nomad.

“What people don’t know is that a touring show at Cirque du Soleil usually has a lifespan of over 10 years,” said Francis Jalbert, a senior publicist for the company, on the day the big top tent was raised in West Sacramento at the Sutter Health Park.

“We basically tour full-time. Once we’re done in a city, we pack up the big top and move onto the next city.”

From July 28 through August 28, Cirque du Soleil will present “Alegría,” one of the most iconic shows in company history. The production first premiered in 1994 and toured for 19 years before closing in 2013.

Its stop in Sacramento will be audiences’ last chance to see it in North America before the tour departs overseas.

According to Jalbert, “Alegría” was first conceived after the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989. It tells the story of a fictional kingdom that has lost its king, leading to a power struggle between an old order and the youth movement that wants to bring change.

On its 25th anniversary in 2019, the show was updated and revived, but stopped touring at the height of the coronavirus pandemic. It returned on the road in November 2021 as Cirque du Soleil’s first big top show to reopen.

“We think that the message of (Alegría) is still relevant today,” Jalbert said. “Especially after the effects of the pandemic, people need a message of hope and joy that the show is about.”

Alegría features 54 performers from nearly 20 different nations. There will be three big group acts spread out across the show.

Without spoiling any plot, the opening act will feature acrobats testing their limit doing somersaults. Another, will feature two long tumbling tracks that criss-cross each other in the center of the stage while 14 tumblers bounce and flip all in sync. The finale will be a trapeze act, which will feature performers at the very top of the tent and send them flying through the air.

“We recruit some of the best athletes in the world,” Jalbert said when asked about the tour’s talent pool. “The traditional athlete is used to training most of the time and performing maybe eight to 10 competitions a year, but in a circus, we can do maybe eight to 10 in a week. So a large part of our job is to help them adjust to that.”

While audiences might have seen a Cirque du Soleil show in Las Vegas or at a theater, Jalbert said that the experience in a big top tent is both nostalgic and unmatched.

“The big top is meant to be more intimate,” he added. “There’s simplicity compared to the custom-built theaters that is very touching and the performers are more acrobatic.”

Alegría has a run time of 135 minutes with a 20-minute intermission. The company stated the show is appropriate for children, although there are moments with loud noises and some dark scenes.

While they are in Sacramento, there will be one show in the evening on most weekdays and up to three performances Friday through Sunday that take place at noon or evening.

Tickets can be purchased on Cirque du Soleil’s website.

This story was originally published July 28, 2022 at 12:00 AM.