For three years, New Yorkers have been transfixed by the magical atmosphere at Spiegelworld. That is, until they had to use the bathroom. There will be no more trekking through the South Street Seaport mall, though, as this year the three-month long performing arts circus comes with a brand new batch of commodes in addition to a number of other notable updates.
Not the least of which is that, for its third season, Spiegelworld will feature not one but two spiegeltents. The “Salon Perdu,” a much-loved vintage spiegeltent, will once again be at the heart of Spiegelworld, but this year she will be joined by another hand-hewn tent, “The Deluxe,” marking the first time America has seen two spiegeltents side by side.
It’s all very exciting, but what exactly is a spiegeltent? Dutch for “Mirror Tent,” it’s a large traveling big top, constructed in wood and canvas and decorated with mirrors and stained glass, intended as an entertainment venue.
And what is Spiegelworld? It’s a circus. A nightclub under the summer stars. A beer garden. Some sort of dreamland suspended in time.
To put it simply, it’s a 25,000-square-foot outdoor venue encompassing a restaurant, bar, a hidden speakeasy, cabanas and hammocks, and an open-air dance tent, all with spectacular views of the three downtown bridges, the river and those Olafur Eliasson waterfalls you’ve probably read about but still haven’t seen.
So, for the third year in a row (from Aug. 6 through Nov. 2) the creative team at Spiegelworld will set up their palaces at New York’s Pier 17 to bring fin-de-siecle decadence to town—and Australian impresario Ross Mollison is the man most responsible for it.
“We’ve grown up a little bit since last year,” said Mollison. “In addition to the second tent, we hope to get a new box office, and we’ve had beautiful new temporary bathrooms commissioned—no more walking down to the mall.”
Spiegelworld will once again host the largest, longest outdoor dance party in Manhattan this summer, bringing together over 60 underground dance DJs from all over the world under the Brooklyn Bridge during its run, and will also host the North American launch of the highly anticipated Headphone Disco party. “I saw it in Europe and immediately thought, ‘We’ve got to bring that to New York,’” said Mollison. “Imagine two DJs, two separate channels on wireless headphones, 1,000 people dancing, and absolutely no sound apart from the crowd singing along. It’s hilarious to watch and fantastically fun to participate in.”
Celebrating the opening of the Spiegelworld Concert Series, cabaret diva Meow Meow & Tony-nominated performer Justin Bond (who often performs as drag alter-ego Kiki) will take the stage together for the first time, in hopes of setting off a feline frenzy to inaugurate the “Heavy Petting” sessions, led by Broadway composer/lyricist/pianist/vocalist Lance Horne.
In addition to dozens of smart live concerts—on Sept. 16, Martha Wainwright will wrestle the celebrity impersonation racket away from her brother Rufus and do a set of Edith Piaf songs—and dance parties being presented this year, the Absinthe variety show will once again take New York by storm with a brand-new line up of talent from the seediest cabaret dens of the world. The 2008 season will also present the filthy-rich host of Absinthe, The Gazillionaire, in the premiere of his very own fully staged variety show of questionable entertainment. The Gazillionaire’s Late Nite Lounge will play six nights a week in The Deluxe, with his band Fish Circus.
Spiegelworld New York will also present the world premiere of Desir, a daring new theatrical circus experience. Inspired by the sexual, intellectual and artistic adventurers of early 20th-century Paris, Desir will take audiences backstage at the greatest nightclub the world has known. Working with the circular design of the spiegeltent, the creative team, including former Sydney Theater Company director Wayne Harrison, choreographer John “Cha Cha” O’Connell (Enchanted, Moulin Rouge) and music director Josh Abrahams (Moulin Rouge), has created an acrobatic interpretation of La Ronde (“The Blue Room”) that explores the tangled relationships of a nightclub’s staff.
Mollison described the cast as “the sexiest, most talented and beautiful the world has to offer,” and said the Salon Perdu (where shows are performed in the round) is a uniquely intimate way to see a show such as this. One of the stars of Desir, Raphaelle Boitel, gushed about the many characters she gets to play and how diverse and talented her fellow cast members are. She got her start performing in the streets of Paris at the age of 10 alongside her brother and, by the age of 13, had won four theater awards. In addition to acrobat, contortionist and cabaret performer, she can add actress to her list of talents.
“I might go back to France and do a play, or I might do a movie,” she sighed. It’s a glamorous life in many ways; she has seen parts of the world most girls her age—24—can only dream of. But she works hard at her craft, spending long hours perfecting precise choreography. “I didn’t take a vacation for a long time,” she explained. “But I love it; it’s my passion.”
So, while smoke and mirrors make up plenty of what’s happening at the tents, it’s passion—that of the performers and the audience—that keeps the wheels, and almost everything else happening at Spiegelworld, greased.
Not the least of which is that, for its third season, Spiegelworld will feature not one but two spiegeltents. The “Salon Perdu,” a much-loved vintage spiegeltent, will once again be at the heart of Spiegelworld, but this year she will be joined by another hand-hewn tent, “The Deluxe,” marking the first time America has seen two spiegeltents side by side.
It’s all very exciting, but what exactly is a spiegeltent? Dutch for “Mirror Tent,” it’s a large traveling big top, constructed in wood and canvas and decorated with mirrors and stained glass, intended as an entertainment venue.
And what is Spiegelworld? It’s a circus. A nightclub under the summer stars. A beer garden. Some sort of dreamland suspended in time.
To put it simply, it’s a 25,000-square-foot outdoor venue encompassing a restaurant, bar, a hidden speakeasy, cabanas and hammocks, and an open-air dance tent, all with spectacular views of the three downtown bridges, the river and those Olafur Eliasson waterfalls you’ve probably read about but still haven’t seen.
So, for the third year in a row (from Aug. 6 through Nov. 2) the creative team at Spiegelworld will set up their palaces at New York’s Pier 17 to bring fin-de-siecle decadence to town—and Australian impresario Ross Mollison is the man most responsible for it.
“We’ve grown up a little bit since last year,” said Mollison. “In addition to the second tent, we hope to get a new box office, and we’ve had beautiful new temporary bathrooms commissioned—no more walking down to the mall.”
Spiegelworld will once again host the largest, longest outdoor dance party in Manhattan this summer, bringing together over 60 underground dance DJs from all over the world under the Brooklyn Bridge during its run, and will also host the North American launch of the highly anticipated Headphone Disco party. “I saw it in Europe and immediately thought, ‘We’ve got to bring that to New York,’” said Mollison. “Imagine two DJs, two separate channels on wireless headphones, 1,000 people dancing, and absolutely no sound apart from the crowd singing along. It’s hilarious to watch and fantastically fun to participate in.”
Celebrating the opening of the Spiegelworld Concert Series, cabaret diva Meow Meow & Tony-nominated performer Justin Bond (who often performs as drag alter-ego Kiki) will take the stage together for the first time, in hopes of setting off a feline frenzy to inaugurate the “Heavy Petting” sessions, led by Broadway composer/lyricist/pianist/vocalist Lance Horne.
In addition to dozens of smart live concerts—on Sept. 16, Martha Wainwright will wrestle the celebrity impersonation racket away from her brother Rufus and do a set of Edith Piaf songs—and dance parties being presented this year, the Absinthe variety show will once again take New York by storm with a brand-new line up of talent from the seediest cabaret dens of the world. The 2008 season will also present the filthy-rich host of Absinthe, The Gazillionaire, in the premiere of his very own fully staged variety show of questionable entertainment. The Gazillionaire’s Late Nite Lounge will play six nights a week in The Deluxe, with his band Fish Circus.
Spiegelworld New York will also present the world premiere of Desir, a daring new theatrical circus experience. Inspired by the sexual, intellectual and artistic adventurers of early 20th-century Paris, Desir will take audiences backstage at the greatest nightclub the world has known. Working with the circular design of the spiegeltent, the creative team, including former Sydney Theater Company director Wayne Harrison, choreographer John “Cha Cha” O’Connell (Enchanted, Moulin Rouge) and music director Josh Abrahams (Moulin Rouge), has created an acrobatic interpretation of La Ronde (“The Blue Room”) that explores the tangled relationships of a nightclub’s staff.
Mollison described the cast as “the sexiest, most talented and beautiful the world has to offer,” and said the Salon Perdu (where shows are performed in the round) is a uniquely intimate way to see a show such as this. One of the stars of Desir, Raphaelle Boitel, gushed about the many characters she gets to play and how diverse and talented her fellow cast members are. She got her start performing in the streets of Paris at the age of 10 alongside her brother and, by the age of 13, had won four theater awards. In addition to acrobat, contortionist and cabaret performer, she can add actress to her list of talents.
“I might go back to France and do a play, or I might do a movie,” she sighed. It’s a glamorous life in many ways; she has seen parts of the world most girls her age—24—can only dream of. But she works hard at her craft, spending long hours perfecting precise choreography. “I didn’t take a vacation for a long time,” she explained. “But I love it; it’s my passion.”
So, while smoke and mirrors make up plenty of what’s happening at the tents, it’s passion—that of the performers and the audience—that keeps the wheels, and almost everything else happening at Spiegelworld, greased.
