Chicago Tribune - Somewhat Recommended
"...In “Banana Shpeel,” there really isn’t much of an organizing principle. At one point in the show’s troubled gestation there were characters and a Broadway-style score, but that all got cut and we’re left just with the shards. There are no numbers, per se. Just bland, circus-style jazzy transitions, played by an admirably game live band."
Chicago Sun Times - Somewhat Recommended
"...As it is now, this big-budget show, which plugs itself as "a new twist on vaudeville," could very well give all that was delicious about the classic variety show format of days gone by (with such starry talents as Buster Keaton, Fanny Brice, Burt Williams and Eddie Cantor) a bad name."
Daily Herald - Somewhat Recommended
"...While narrative has never been a Cirque du Soleil forte, the failure to achieve a cohesive storyline is especially evident in the cobbled-together "Banana Shpeel," which jettisoned its previously announced characters and romantic subplot about a month before Chicago's world premiere. OK, Cirque du Soleil doesn't need a boy-meets-girl love story to propel it. But this show needs more than what Shiner gives us, which is ill-defined characters, overlong comic bits, copious spit-takes and a surfeit of shtick that gets in the way of what could have been an amusing magic act. Instead, it's an incomprehensible mess."
Chicago Reader - Somewhat Recommended
"...What's essentially wrong here is that Banana Shpeel has no reason to exist other than to fill a market niche. Slated to go to Broadway next February, thereby carrying Cirque du Soleil to a new demographic and a new proscenium-based format, it's a show slapped together for no discernible reason other than to fit a venue—a creative venture based on a business decision, consummately commercial."
Windy City Times - Not Recommended
"...Shpeel is one of those shows that leave you smacking your forehead in disbelief. Millions of dollars went into the thing. ( The costume budget alone could probably cover our mortgage for a year. ) It was years in the making. The creative team—director/writer David Shiner, director of creation Serge Roy, Cirque founder Guy Laliberte—is a veritable brain trust of proven artistry. How could a show with such vast resources turn out to be so mired in puerility and tedium? How is it possible that nobody realized the jokes were more rotten than month-old deviled eggs? The mind reels."
Copley News Service - Somewhat Recommended
"...Banana Shpeel presents some of the most misguided and unfunny comedy I’ve ever seen on a stage, amateur or professional. Unfortunately, the cluster of clowns in charge of the comedy dominate about half the evening and the high quality of the specialty acts cannot diminish the appalling exercises in coarse humor that ultimately torpedo the entire enterprise."
Talkin Broadway - Somewhat Recommended
"...The company tries hard to make the proceedings a party, with their relentless energy and even allowing popcorn to be brought into the theater. If one can get past the weak clown material dominating act one, the show can be enjoyable, but probably doesn't offer enough to meet the expectations of a Cirque du Soleil fan, especially at ticket prices close to those charged in Las Vegas. The producers will probably want to rethink this proposition before their planned opening off-Broadway in New York next year."
Chicago Stage Review - Recommended
"...Retooling Banana Shpeel with more song and dance, as this is as good as it gets, more unique acts and less goofball shtick might deplete the show’s already weak narrative concept but it could take the show from extremely entertaining to a staged marvel. As it stands, Banana Shpeel is a whole lot of fun but a little lame."
Time Out Chicago - Not Recommended
"...Conceived and directed by Shiner, a royal figure among Cirque and clowning fans who’s capable of much better, Shpeel is billed as “a new twist on vaudeville.” The twist would seem to be an aggressive desire to alienate the audience. The show is dominated by the shrill, tiresome antics of the lead clowns, portrayed by Daniel Passer and Wayne Wilson, and their battle against a trio of wacky rogue clowns (Claudio Carneiro, Gordon White and Patrick de Valette)."
ChicagoCritic - Not Recommended
"...I’m not sure who is responsible were since their was no playbill only a $10 picture program. The show was created and directed by David Shiner. Ultimately, the usually reliable forks at Cirque Du Soleil are responsible for this plotless and pointless variety show."
Chicago Stage and Screen - Not Recommended
"...Maybe, just maybe, they can get it back on track while here in Chicago. Our audiences are far easier to play to than New York's, so perhaps the producers and director will watch the reactions and read what we say and take it to heart that they need to put a story to the show and add more jazz. They have great costumes, great tech, a wonderful little orchestra with some fun music. Those who do the Cirque stuff are worthy of more time on stage and less clowning around. I would also love to see more of Josette and Joseph Wiggan, extraordinary tap dancers."
