Theatre Critic Says Chinese Spectacular 'A Total Experience'

TORONTO—Toronto's Sony Centre for the Performing Arts came alive with the sights and sounds of China during Saturday's performance of the 2008 Chinese New Year Spectacular.

Among the impressed audience members were theatre critic Jeniva Berger and her husband, lawyer Norman Griesdorf.

"It's a very beautiful show," said Berger. "It's a total experience. It's everything: it's culture and it's color, it's music, beautiful dancing, precision — it's all these things."

Berger reviews theater in the Toronto area for a variety of publications. She was the Founding President of the Canadian Theatre Critics Association and is still involved with the Association as chair of the annual Nathan Cohen Award for Excellence in Theatre Criticism.

"The whole production is very well done," she says. "It's nice because you have the commentators too in between the different acts and they're humorous and they give us a lot of information about the culture as well."

The Spectacular, a world-class production performed by the New York-based Divine Performing Arts Company, features an international cast of dancers, singers, and musicians devoted to reviving the authentic traditional culture of China and bringing it to new heights of excellence.

The show uses unique state-of-the art digital backdrops, which intrigued Berger.

Jeniva Berger's husband Norman Griesdorf. (Ivan Ning/Epoch Times)

"It's like being in a cinema scope film. I haven't seen that done before and I've seen other Chinese dance productions but I haven't seen the screen used in that way."

Griesdorf was equally impressed, saying the Spectacular offered something for everyone.

"It's a very exciting show. There's a lot of color, a lot of different cultural experiences. There's something for everyone in it, wonderful talent and beautifully staged, and nice humor between the two commentators. It is a very enjoyable show."

Griesdorf added that he found the drumming act "very exciting."

"I liked the drummers. Very compelling. I felt that they were really into the music and the sound. They were really making a statement. That was lovely."

The Saturday matinee was the second of five shows in Toronto. After Toronto, the Spectacular will continue on its global tour, which includes an 11-day run at the legendary Radio City Music Hall in New York, called the Chinese New Year Splendor.

The Spectacular returns to Canada in the spring to play in Vancouver, Edmonton, and Calgary. By the end of its tour, it will have played to a total live audience of 650,000 in over 60 cities and 14 countries.

The Epoch Times is a proud sponsor of the Divine Performing Arts shows that will perform in over 60 cities worldwide in 2008. To find a show near you, please visit www.bestchineseshows.com.