Night Clubs Reviews

Feb 7, 2006 - Reno’s Eldorado Casino hosts the splendid “Balagan,” and it’s an entertainment feast

By Jack Neal

The golden days of star or large-scale production casino entertainment in Nevada spoiled those of us who were around during that marvelous heyday when nightclub shows really entertained. That’s why it’s such a pleasure to see a show that satisfies today’s show-business economic realities and also entertains from start to finish.

“Balagan,” now playing at Reno’s Eldorado Hotel Casino, is one of those pleasant surprises. It’s the best nightclub show yet produced by Mikhail Matorin. Lush, colorful, fun and truly fantastic, the show has a whimsy and intimacy that makes it the best by far of the genre of sophisticated circuses without animals I’ve seen. And that includes the huge, over-produced Cirque du Soliel presentations.

“Balagan” charms from the outset, then dazzles its way through 80 minutes of non-stop fantasy, and superlatively graceful and daring acts. Its pacing is perfection. Its rhythm a bolero of movement and swirling color that builds to a hypnotic climax. To suggest, as the show’s advertisements do, that “Balagan” is derivative of the Cirque du Soliel style is to negate the creativity of “Balagan.” “Balagan” is its own show and not a copy.

There’s an affectation about the Cirque du Soliel presentations happily missing from “Balagan.” This wonderful, exotic, European-style town circus is made up of unique acts no small town could hope to produce on its own. “Balagan’s” cast is an international troupe of genuinely great artists collected with care from everywhere.

Comedy blossoms with Jonathan Baker as clown supreme. In a baggy topcoat, bowler hat and Chaplinesque makeup, he’s classically funny. In an absurdly mannered costume and mask, Alexander Chervotkin - sporting a Cyrano de Bergerac profile - is the center of “Balagan’s” action. His stylized performance is awash with elegant humor. Elena Chervotkin gives the term “placed on a pedestal” new spin. One of the looks that gives “Balagan” its unique feel is Ms. Chervotkin’s svelte, and very mobile, table-lamp appearance.

The muscular hand-balancing act of Yuriy Motuzenko and Anton Savchenko is gravity defying and riveting. The six extraordinary athletes who make up the show’s Chinese Poles and Hoop Diving team provide breathtaking performances. “Balagan’s two flying acts are aesthetically beautiful and exciting to watch. Set to the music of Vasily Bogatyrev and Jean-Francois Cote, a score written especially for “Balagan,” the “Ariel Silk” of Mikhail Chebotarev and the “Ariel Straps” of Roman Tomanov are not just virtuosic, but exhilarating.

The costumes and sets by David Dedera and Bogdan Harchenco are vivid, colorful and eccentric. Dana Perri’s choreography is inventive. Todd Romanick’s lighting is radiant.

Much like Donn Arden’s legendary “Hello Hollywood, Hello” at Reno’s once grand MGM Grand, “Balagan” is a presentation one can see and take guests to time and again. A gluttonous feast for the eyes, “Balagan” is seductive, creative and wonderfully entertaining.

“Balagan” can be seen at the Eldorado Hotel Casino, 345 North Virginia Street, Reno, Nevada, nightly at 7 p.m. except Mondays with an additional show Saturdays at 9:30 p.m. For information call 775-786-5700.