Cirque Mechanics to bring Boom Town to Reynolds

By Michael Moses

College of Fine Arts and Communication Media Office

CONWAY — Conway will enjoy a rare opportunity to see one of the largest Cirque Mechanics productions ever produced when Boom Town comes to the Donald W. Reynolds Performance Hall on Tuesday, Oct. 25, at 7:30 p.m.

The event is part of UCA Public Appearances’ Night Out Series.

Jerry Biebesheimer, director of Public Appearances, said the production, which will take more than a day to construct, is a rare opportunity for UCA because of its size and complexity.

“We are lucky to receive such a large production,” he said. “They had a two-day gap in their tour they needed to fill, and the cost reduction we were able to attain made it feasible to mount a production at UCA.”

Biebesheimer said although UCA has hosted other Cirque events in the past, such as last year’s Cirque Shanghai, it has never seen one of this size and magnitude.

Prepare to be transported to Rosebud, a small frontier town around the year 1860 where two ambitious saloon owners have set up shop in hopes of cashing in on the town’s gold rush frenzy.

Through the use of innovative props and built-to-order mechanical apparatus, performers formerly from the Moscow Circus, Cirque Soleil and other internationally known acrobatic troops combine classic circus routines with new ideas and props. They will dance on a swinging chandelier, flip and jump on moving ore carts, climb swaying telegraph poles, fly high and fast on a revolving crane and balance on whiskey jugs.

Boom Town has received critical and popular praise during its national tour, which began in April 2011 and will continue until April 2012 after stops all over North America.

Tickets, available at the UCA Ticket Central Box Office, are $30-$40 for adults, $27-$37 for senior citizens, $25-35 for UCA alumni, $28-$33 for UCA faculty and staff, $10 for non-UCA students. UCA students can get two free tickets with a valid student I.D. For tickets, call (501) 450-3265 or toll free from anywhere in Arkansas at 1-866-810-0012, Monday–Friday, 10 a.m. – 4 p.m. or visit www.uca.edu/reynolds.

For more information, contact Biebesheimer at (501) 450-3682 or jerryb@uca.edu.

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