You can watch the new show in two different ways Revolution, A Celebration of Prince On board the 3,571 passenger Norwegian Aqua. Try both in one night April While the ship is docked Manhattan. During the first show, starting at 7:30, guests are seated in conventional, comfortable seats. They smile and nod while drinking Pinot Noir. At the second performance, which begins at 9:30 pm, guests are asked to stand on the floor as crew members dressed in reflective jackets maneuver pieces of the stage so that they can be arranged differently. The space actually becomes a real club later in the evening, so this second showing represents the start of that transformation, beginning with “For You,” followed by the opening words “Dearly beloved…,” from “Let’s Go Crazy,” and then the catwalk choreography that accompanies “The Glamorous Life,” the song Prince wrote for Sheila E.
The size of the show is a reflection of how onboard entertainment has grown in parallel with the growth of the cruise ships. On megaships such as Norwegian Aqua Royal Caribbean’s Utopia of the Seas, The shows are performed not only in designated stages, but also at the pool deck, the atrium and other public places where passengers may be bored. The shows have also changed in style. Norwegian Cruise Line (NCL), a cruise line based in Norway, is moving away from Broadway and towards more flashy shows. Bryan White is the vice president for entertainment production at Norwegian Cruise Line. “Our guests expect three things,” he says. “Music they are familiar with, visual spectacles and narratives that can be easily followed.”
“Easy” to follow doesn’t mean “easy” to mount. Even a big ship like Norwegian Aqua Still has just under 40 performers who will perform three to four hours per day. In Revolution, there are 98 distinct costumes composed of 384 total pieces—and 48 quick changes, 5 of which happen onstage—all of which have to be laundered afterward in a backstage facility. Set pieces attach to the stage’s front and move 3 times during the performance. The 10 dancers, 6 vocalists, and 2 aerialists (not to mention the live band) pull double duty in another show, the Cirque du Soleil–style Elements: the World Expanded The same stage also features aerial acts and a magician. The majority of dancers did not have any prior experience with ropes and harnesses. They spent a part of their stay in the Shows and Experiences Creative Studios of the company learning this skill and choreography. Nyla, one of the cast members, told me “We are dancers.” She demonstrated her ability to perform whip backs. “We prefer to stay on the floor.”
Six weeks before, I visited the studio in an office park just outside Tampa. Walker and his crew are rehearsing on soundstages while activity is rife in the 112,000 square foot facility. 70,000 costumes for the fleet are being sewn, fitted and stored, and 7,000 Capezio dance shoe pairs are being inventoried. The materials for set pieces can also be sent here for construction and are then sent to shipyards for the installation. Patricia Wilcox explains, “This where we develop new work”. Revolution‘s director-choreographer, who helped lobby Prince’s estate for music rights.
