Been a while since I did one of these, but there hasn’t been that much noteworthy art news (in my opinion).
This is odd and significant, though:
Cirque du Soleil, the global performance juggernaut best known for its acrobatic circus displays, on Thursday announced that it had acquired Blue Man Productions, with the mutual aim of expanding Blue Man’s reach beyond its five permanent United States shows (in New York, Boston, Chicago, Las Vegas and Orlando, Fla.), a world tour and one permanent international show (Berlin).
…
“We saw the potential for a marketing and distributing powerhouse like Cirque du Soleil to be able to distribute Blue Man Group and make their brand better known internationally,” said Daniel Lamarre, Cirque’s chief executive, in an interview. Cirque currently has 18 live shows worldwide.
Specifically, Cirque (and Blue Man Group) are looking at expanding into China.
I don’t think this is a bad idea, but I do wonder: are we on the verge of a Cirque/Blue Man over saturation?