Cirque du Soleil, one of the leading brands in family entertainment live shows, has put together a can’t-miss holiday production: ‘Twas the Night Before, which will run in Cleveland at Playhouse Square’s KeyBank State Theatre from December 4 to 15!
The show’s storyline is based on the classic poem, A Visit from St. Nicholas, by Clement Clark Moore. Conceived and directed by Cirque du Soleil’s Senior Artistic Director, James Hadley, ‘Twas the Night Before is filled with all of the magical elements of a Cirque du Soleil production, including acrobatics, music, dancing, and special effects that will blow theatergoers’ minds!
Isabel Lacon, an Ohio native and a dancer in‘Twas, phoned CleveRock’s interview line to provide the scoop about the show!
Asked to provide a basic overview of the storyline:
“They actually incorporate a lot of narration and a lot of iconic lines from the poem throughout the show, and it kind of moves the story along,” Lacon explained. “We’re following our main character, Isabella. She’s a young girl; she’s very into her iPad and headphones and has kind of lost that magic spark for Christmas. We’re following her journey and reconnecting with the spirit of Christmas and reconnecting with the tradition of reading this poem with her father every Christmas. She meets a lot of whimsical characters. I get to be one of them, which is a lot of fun. It’s a really, really fantastic story.”
Cirque du Soleil productions are typically built for large-scale venues. Traditionally, shows in the Cleveland area take place at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse, a giant sports arena with a capacity of nearly 16,000 for a production such as this! Scaling down to a theater a fraction of the size as Cirque du Soleil is accustomed to obviously presents challenges. Lacon was asked to weigh in on adjustments that need to be made.
“Every element of a Cirque show is so curated and so specific, and this show is no different. It is very unique being in a theater, performing on a stage instead of a big top or in a Las Vegas venue. So, it’s very personal with the audience. There’s a lot of interactions that happen, the audience gets to feel involved in the narrative,” she said. “I’m a dancer in the show, and we help move the story along. And then there are some crazy acrobatic acts, of course, because it is Cirque du Soleil. But the way everything is woven together is really beautifully done. Every transition has such importance to it and it flows really smoothly. You almost don’t even realize that some of these acts or transitions set something else up, and then suddenly, there’s someone hanging in the sky above you, and it’s very magical. That’s what I would say for any Cirque show is that it’s very magical. Our crew is so, so incredible, and we have a whole stage crew behind us that is doing all the rigging at the theater, and there’s all these specific props that have to be set in certain places. It’s really just based on the venue. This is probably more scaled-down than other shows just because we’re working with the theater that we have, with the stage that we have, and we just adjust to what we’re given, and we put on the show regardless.”
Audience members will all leave with their favorite parts of their show to discuss with their family, friends, and co-workers. Putting a twist on this, Lacon was asked what her favorite moments of the show are as a performer.
“I’m really lucky as a dancer that we get a lot of time on stage. So I have a lot of favorite moments,” she said. “But there’s a dance piece in the show we call Sharing the Sparks, and we have these little thumb lights on our fingers for the entire piece. There’s very low lights, very minimal lights on the stage, and just these little thumb lights. We’re doing choreography, and we’re doing ripples with the lights. And it’s so specific and it’s so difficult to get the angle of the light perfectly facing the audience so that you can see it at all times and getting the timing together. And honestly, you can barely see our bodies doing the choreography, but there’s such a satisfaction when that piece looks crisp and looks clean, it really reads well. And that’s probably one of my favorite moments in the show.”
Lacon grew up in Dayton and is excited to be in her native state for a few weeks! Does this put an extra pep in her step?
“100 percent! I feel really, really lucky that I got the chance to perform in my home state,” she said. “I have so many family members, so many friends that are able to actually come see the show, which just gives you so much more adrenaline. And the character is just so much more, it always comes from a very real place, but there’s just extra excitement when there’s people cheering you on in the audience. And even when there’s not people I know personally, I feel connected to people in the audience, just being with people from the same place. There’s something there. I mean, they call it ‘Midwest nice’ for a reason.”
One thing that often goes unnoticed in these productions is the high physical demand on everyone involved in the show. From stagehands to acrobats and, of course, dancers, these shows are physically taxing! The performers do their jobs so well that audiences do not get an accurate gauge of how tough these shows are on the bodies of those onstage.
“This show is very, very taxing for the dancers, but you would never know. We’re really good at hiding it,” Lacon said. “The preparation really starts from day one when we go to headquarters in Montreal and we begin learning the choreography and we take it piece by piece, and we slowly start to build that stamina as we start piecing the show together. Then you’re running the show for the first time, and you’re really feeling what breaks you have in between pieces, which there’s not a lot for us. We’re on stage quite a lot during this show. We’re very, very important to the storyline. So it takes a lot of diligence outside of the studio as well, to have a routine of going to the gym, working on your cardio or doing complimentary workouts for if you’re pushing a big prop. There’s giant props that we have to move and need the strength to do that as well. And then, post-recovery is so important for us as well, making sure that we roll out properly, cool down our bodies, stretch, and eat right. It takes a lot of diligence to really stick to it. But yeah, there’s a lot of preparation that goes into making sure we can get through the three toes.”
Finally, with no shortage of holiday-themed shows taking place at venues of all sizes across Northeast Ohio this year, why should Clevelanders choose ‘Twas the Night Before… ?
“I really love that the audience feels like there’s a lot of fourth wall breaks. You feel very involved in this show. We are interacting with some people directly. There’s snow everywhere and the front row is getting snow all over them. So they’re a part of this winter wonderland world that we’re bringing the main character into. So I think that is such a unique aspect of this show where you’re not just sitting and watching it like a movie. You’re part of the story, and that makes you so much more invested in the characters.”I think Cleveland should come see the show because it’s a truly magical holiday experience for the whole family,” Lacon concluded. “It is a very family-friendly show, so kids can enjoy it. Little kids are going to be in awe seeing the winter wonderland, seeing the snow on stage. But it’s fun for the adults, too. It’s really something that you can bring the whole family to. It’s something new. It’s something fresh and exciting, and we really have an amazing time performing this show. And I think people resonate with that, and I think they feel that from us. So yeah, I think everyone in Cleveland should come to the show!”
The show is at the KeyBank State Theatre, playing through Sunday, December 15, 2024. Tickets are still available for all performances and can be purchased by calling 216-241-6000 or online at playhousesquare.org.
© 2025 CleveRock Music Portal. A PROUD SHAPE CLEVELAND PRODUCTION