- Princess Mongo Halloran
I must confess I missed the opening moments of Cirque Dreams: Holidaze because I was staring in slackjawed wonder at Orpheum CEO Pat Halloran‘s program note.
“It is often said that people always resemble or look like their dogs,” Halloran wrote in an off-topic and weirdly redundant intro to what was, ostensibly, an acknowledgement of his 29-years as President of the Memphis Development Foundation. “If that is the truth, then I must look like Princess Mongo,” he concluded before bragging about the 150 Broadway shows, thousands of concerts, and countless other performances that have brought 10-million people through the Orpheum’s doors. In the top right hand corner of the page there was a photo of a goggle-wearing pooch, presumably Princess Mongo standing in for her master. By the time I looked up there was already some guy on stage juggling devil sticks about as well as some of the red-eyed hippies I’ve seen in Overton Park on 4/20. I thought about staring at my program some more, then quickly put it away to avoid the temptation.
I have mixed emotions about the evolution of the modern circus. In theory I should like all the innovation that’s taken place since the 1980’s when a struggling Canadian company called Cirque du Soleil changed things forever.
