ORLANDO, Fla. — The new Cirque du Soleil show at Walt Disney World finally has a new opening date — more than a year and a half after the COVID-19 pandemic halted the production.
Called “Drawn to Life,” the show was in final rehearsals and just a few weeks away from debuting when the pandemic shutdown brought the entertainment industry to a halt. The show — the first created jointly by Cirque du Soleil and Disney — is now scheduled to open at Disney Springs on Nov. 18.
Tickets will go on sale to the general public Aug. 20, according to the Disney Parks Blog — although emails sent to previous Cirque du Soleil patrons allowed them to purchase tickets immediately. On Tuesday morning, the best seats for the Nov. 18 opening date were already spoken for.
The next performance following the Thursday, Nov. 18 debut is Saturday, Nov. 20. Then “Drawn to Life” settles into a regular schedule of shows Tuesdays-Saturdays.
“Drawn to Life” will offer only one performance per evening through the fall, with showtimes at 5:30 p.m. Heading into Christmas, when crowds typically swell at Walt Disney World, a second showtime will be added. Beginning Dec. 21, performances are scheduled for 5:30 and 8:30 p.m. The schedule includes performances on the season’s major holidays: Thanksgiving, Christmas Eve, Christmas Day, New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day.
Tickets are on sale through Dec. 31, 2022, with the occasional break. No performances are scheduled Jan. 9-17, 2022, for example. When the production resumes on Jan. 18, showtimes will be 5:30 and 8 p.m.
Ticket prices start at $85 and $63.75 for children and vary by seat location through several pricing tiers: $119/$89.25 for children, $149/$111.75 for children, and a top tier in which all seats are $185 regardless of age.
“Drawn to Life” is the replacement for the long-running “La Nouba,” which played more than 8,500 shows over nearly 20 years before closing Dec. 31, 2017. Montreal-based Cirque du Soleil collaborated with Disney Imagineers on the new production, which tells the story of a young girl who sets out to honor her father, a Disney animator. The show will mine the history of Disney animation, combined with the colorful costumes, catchy music and circus arts for which Cirque du Soleil is known.
At a pre-pandemic preview, strains of the Disney hit “A Whole New World” could be heard in the music, while silhouettes of characters such as Mickey Mouse and Donald Duck were seen. The set resembles a giant animator’s drawing table. Among the acts previewed: Synchronized gymnasts and a performer on an “aerial pencil” — a hanging apparatus designed to look like a basic tool of the animator’s trade.
At the time, “Drawn to Life” director of creation Fabrice Becker said the show would feature an international cast of 65. The Disney Parks blog reported that during the delay, the show’s artists stayed in shape by training at home or at local facilities.
Back in April, Cirque du Soleil CEO Daniel Lamarre dropped a clue about the revised opening date in an interview with the Los Angeles Times.
“We should be able to open sometime in the fall,” Lamarre told the California newspaper, saying the company was “honored to have the opportunity to do a show with the IP [intellectual property] of Disney.”
Although Cirque du Soleil filed for bankruptcy protection during the pandemic, in November, it was acquired by a group of its creditors in an arrangement that brought the company, which also owns Blue Man Group, out of bankruptcy.
In June, Lamarre told CNBC that things were looking good and the company was selling more tickets each day than it did pre-pandemic.
For more information on “Drawn to Life” or tickets, go to disneysprings.com/cirque.
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