Cirque du Soleil Chicago

Cirque du Soleil and MSG Entertainment have announced a brand new theatrical touring show that will be making a stop in the Windy City. The show is set to open first at The Chicago Theatre for a limited engagement from November 19, 2009 through January 3, 2010. Following Chicago, the show will premiere in New York in 2010 and then tour additional cities.

Directed by David Shiner, this new production will present its own contemporary take on vaudeville. The show will feature short, fast-paced performances of comic variety fused with innovative choreography and dance styles.

Shiner is the writer and director of the Cirque du Soleil big top touring show KOOZA, which performed in Chicago in 2008 and is currently in New York . He also created the two-man show "Fool Moon" with Bill Irwin, which ran on Broadway in the 1990s and won a special Tony Award for Live Theatrical Presentation in 1999, a Drama Desk Award for Unique Theatrical Experience and an Outer Critics Circle Special Achievement Award.

"MSG Entertainment is excited to partner with Cirque du Soleil once again," said Jonathan Hochwald, executive vice president productions, MSGE. "Our latest production will seek to capture the spirit of vaudeville and variety entertainments, mash it up with contemporary music and technology, and introduce a brand new art form--a reinvention of the live experience as only Cirque du Soleil could achieve."

Cirque du Soleil celebrates its 25th anniversary in 2009. From a group of 20 street performers at its beginnings in 1984, Cirque du Soleil is now a major Quebec-based organization providing high-quality artistic entertainment. The company has more than 4,000 employees from over 40 different countries, including 1,000 performing artists.

Pre-sale tickets are available exclusively to Cirque Club members and Chicago Theatre Insiders. Visit cirquedusoleil.com or thechicagotheatre.com to join.