Well, the reviews are in for five star Yelp-rated Totem down at Le Grand Chapiteau tent in the parking lot of AT&T Park.
Nobody doesn’t want you to see this show:
Robert Hurwitt: “‘Totem’ review: Whimsical vision shapes sweet show“
Karen D’Souza: “Review: ‘Totem,’ playing in San Francisco, one of Cirque du Soleil’s most magical productions“
Leslie Katz: ”High drama at Cirque du Soleil’s ‘Totem’“
Chad Jones: “Thrilling return to form in trippy Totem”
Cindy Warner: “Totem in SF shows Cirque’s evolution into higher art form, totally dazzling“
Practicalities:
Join the CirqueClub, why not?
They used to have 15% and 20% discounts but I don’t know how those links are working now. Costco San Francisco will sell you a pair of Category 1 (good seats, but not the best) for like $157, I think.
Even the cheapest Category 3 seats for $50-something aren’t all that bad, actually. How happy you’ll be depends on the particular act and your particular seat, I s’pose. You won’t be far from the stage at all but you will be off to the side.
Parking is $20 but you can always park for free in the evenings on Channel one block to the west, just south and west of the 4th Street Bridge.
All right, on with the show.
Roller Skates:
OMG, this one‘s off the hook. Is she going to hit her head on the platform? And just how many RPMs is she spinning now? Check out Massimiliano Medini and Denise Garcia-Sorta from a documentary here and don’t miss the start of their IRL romance at 2:30. This is the best act by far, IMO.
Fixed Trapeze Duo:
OMG, it’s Rosalie Ducharme and Louis-David Simoneau on the trapeze. Per Leslie Katz, “A trapeze duo cleverly plays out figurative as well as literal ups and downs of romance in a delightfully attitude-filled act.” Yep, pretty much.
Perches:
Amazing. Aluminum poles, very bendy.
Russian Bars:
This is your “Aztec Astronaut stuff“
Unicycles and Bowls:
So, you can figure out the rules of the game pretty quickly and then you can sit back and grade them on how they do. Very impressive. (What this has to do with evolution I have no idea, but anyway.)
Those are your top five acts in Totem.
All right, see you there!
Opening
Parallel bar and trampoline
Hoop dance
Rings trio
Clown act
Chinese unicycle and bowls
Foot juggling
Perches
Intermission
Devil sticks
Fixed trapeze duo
Cone juggling
Clown act
Hoop dance
Roller skate
Russian bar
Finale
