Are we at the Montreal Forum or in the Cogeco amphitheater in Trois-Rivières? This summer, Cirque du Soleil is delivering an emotional tribute show to Guy Lafleur. Fans vibrated in their seats throughout the first performance of Guy! Guy! Guy!Wednesday evening, as during an evening at the Forum in the heyday of blue-white-red.
Once warmed up by the antics of use, we quickly understand where the Circus is camped: both feet in emotion.
The organ quickly arouses the nostalgia of the public with its tunes as classic as they are timeless. The artists enter the stage on inline skates. It swirls like on ice. The pace compares to the third period of a Stanley Cup Finals game in 1976.
Le Cirque has accustomed us to personalized tributes to musicians (Robert Charlebois, Cowboys Fringants, Beau Dommage, etc.). The scenic trick then wants to cut the show into songs. Each of them carries a whole universe around which to knit a “wow”. This time, for the first time in their history, the Solar Circassians offer their flowers to an athlete. It is therefore around period television archives that the acrobats revolve.
So we recap the story of number 10 with great twists. We start by recalling his extraordinarily slow heartbeat during a training room pastiche.
When the hockey scenes start, we relive exactly the same emotions that living room sportsmen experience. We are overjoyed when we are told of a legendary comeback. We rediscover ourselves surprised when we learn that Guy Lafleur is coming out of retirement to go play in New York.
“Guy Lafleur doesn’t realize the happiness he creates around him. A reporter’s quote appears on screen. We can only agree, a year after his death.
Then land the juggling that represents the conquest of a Stanley Cup. Sound and light project us into a disconcerting stage atmosphere.
“I have the impression of being both at the Forum and in Trois-Rivières”, says little Guy Lafleur, played by Jules Sévigny. Hard not to agree with him.
Guy? Guy! Guy…
If the Circus relies so much on emotion, it is perhaps because the acrobatics lack height. The adventures on skates are unavoidable, but do not fly so high. The German wheel figures spin a bit in circles. The trapezoids at the very end fall a bit flat.
On the contrary, it is perfectly successful in terms of feeling.
Bold animations are also straight to the point. It is surprising to discover a new way of animating the CH logo to give it a personality that is still unique, more than 100 years after its creation.
The era in which Guy Lafleur evolved also feeds the story. We plunge with joy into the years of “Flowerpower”. The music of Boule Noire arranged by Philippe Brault makes us waddle on our seats. same for me I am cool by Gilles Valiquette, I didn’t want to go there by Robert Charlebois or The goal of Loco Locass. Guy Lafleur was a rockstar after all!
Then come the hard times. We are touched by the poems of Guy Lafleur, a frankly little-known side of the athlete quite fascinating to discover when he magnifies himself by the exploits of a contortionist.
We are moved by the subtext of the tightrope walker in the painting where Guy holds out the torch with his bruised arms very high, all on the moving reprise of Still alive by Gerry Boulet.
We even have fun with a nod to the National Improv League, which has been following the codes of hockey since 1977.
Finally, we come out of these two hours of spectacle stunned, euphoric, filled as after a victory at the Forum. The show is presented until mid-August in Trois-Rivières. This is a good way to wait before the start of the NHL regular season.