‘Songblazers’ Cirque du Soleil @ Music Hall at Fair Park (Broadway Dallas)

Photos courtesy of Cirque du Soleil / Broadway Dallas

—Martha Heimberg

Country music tells a story, according to the traditional definition. And that’s what ‘Songblazers’ Cirque du Soleil aims to do in the “foot-stomping extravaganza” of their new touring production, onstage at The Music Hall at Fair Park through October 20.

The terrific musicians and amazing acrobats and trapeze artists and jugglers and clowns succeeded bigtime, judging by the happy cheers and loud applause of a packed-house audience at Saturday’s matinee performance. Many families with eager kids create an expectant vibe even before the house lights go down. The popular traveling circus, which has permanent residences in Orlando and Las Vegas, has touring productions active across the country. Songblazers, directed by Amy Tinkham (and presented by Broadway Dallas), features 35 classic country songs, including familiar tunes by Patsy Cline, Willie Nelson and George Strait. They even sang “Cattle Call,’ an oldie comprised of a few lines of lyrics and lots of yodeling that got hoots of approval.

There’s a love story, a huge smoke-belching train engine, a walk-on longhorn steer, adorable puppets, and a gloriously silly clown who plays a funky saxophone—all on one busy stage.

The western costumes are glamorous and glitzy, and the strobe lights wrap around us in the big, cool hall. (Good AC is triple cool on a hot afternoon at the State Fair of Texas.) Even more fun than the wonderful singers—at least for all us kids in the house—are the astonishing circus tricks performed along with the music. Opening and closing the show (which runs two hours, including a 20-minute intermission) is a troupe of eight astonishing acrobats from Tanzania. For sure, the cheerleaders in the audience were impressed by the soaring pyramid of courageous humans, their bodies leaning hand-to-shoulder and leg-to-leg to touch the lights at the very tip-top of the stage space.

And tumbling and gymnastics doesn’t really describe the synchronized leaps, rhythmic somersaults, and rope-skipping tricks these smiling men delivered. And nobody looked like they’d even worked up a pant (or a slight sweat). I googled “Tanzania” and “acrobats,” and found that such balance and dexterity has deep historic roots in the country.

A comically bossy and deceptively petite woman and her strongman partner did a thrilling hand-to-hand act in which the agile blonde is tossed up in the air, and lands with her hand on the guy’s hand. Now that’s trust. Their daring moves are so exquisitely timed that I never feared she might fall. Yet the power of such acts is that there’s always a risk if the performer is not perfectly present.

There are Zen moment in this compelling show, too. I loved the handsome juggler from Spain who makes throwing dozens of red cups in the air look easy as pie. There’s a beautiful, graceful girl from Canada who whirls her way around the stage inside a Cyr wheel, and some acrobats from Ukraine and Belarus who climb ropes, do somersaults high in the air, and land on a balance beam, like it’s nothing. Two leggy women from Hungary, both with long blonde hair, performed an act in which one woman’s body becomes a trapeze to support her partner, while both are swinging in circles from a rope high in the air.

This is one you have to see to believe. Can human bodies do these things? Apparently. At least, in Hungary. Or Tanzania. If you’ve always wanted to run away and join the circus, but just don’t have time to develop the muscle and skill, go see ‘Songblazers.’ You’ll stand and cheer along with hundreds of other circus wannabes. That’s a thrill, too.

WHEN: September 25-October 20, 2024

WHERE: The Music Hall at Fair Park, 909 1st Avenue, Dallas

WEB: For tickets and information: broadway dallas/songblazers