Slava's Snowshow

I've already recapped "Spamalot." Now it's type to recap the other shows I went to while on my vacation. Warning! There may be spoliers in these recaps!

Meredith and I went to see "Slava's Snowshow" and off-Bway show playing in Union Square. This was definitely one of the stranger shows I've seen in awhile. Much of it consists of clowning. Not in the circus sense. More in the tradition of mime, Buster Keaton, Charlie Chaplin, etc. It was more of a spectacle than a story. Some of it I admit flat-out I did not get at all. I understood the skill involved but some of the pieces went on too long and didn't particularly move me. Others were outright gorgeous and moving.

The close of the show was the absolute highlight. There is a snow machine at the ceiling of the theater causing it to "snow" on you in the theater. But towards the end there is this huge blinding white light that eminates from the back of the stage and suddenly you are in the middle of a blizzard! I can't explain it! It's a barage of light and paper snow and music hitting you raod-fire. It was stunning. I had to dig through the "snow" to find my backpack! Meredith made a very good point when she mentioned it would be a fun show to see in the summertime when there isn't a speck of snow in sight.

The final 20 minutes of the show consisted of turning the theater into a giant playground. It snows again, bubbles are pumped into the audience and then 3 or 4 huge (by huge I mean the size of a room) fabric balloons are released to the audience along with a few smaller ones and you just bounce them into the air with the rest of the audience. It was gorgeous. Really beautiful.

Here's the show's site for more info, photos, etc.
http://www.snowshowusa.com/