Toronto Review: 'Les Ballets Trockadero de Monte Carlo' at The Winter Garden Theatre
Louis Train, Associate Toronto Critic
The last time I made my way up the stairs of the Winter Garden Theatre it was to see ‘Caroline, or Change’, a musical which both depicted and demanded an intense atmosphere of somberness. At Les Ballets Trockadero de Monte Carlo, artistry is measured in laughs per minute.
The Trocks were founded in 1974 as both a love letter to and a rebuke of the stodgy, exquisite world of ballet. Make no mistake: these are accomplished dancers working under the direction of fine choreographers. They are also all dudes. Their show combines the artistry of ballet with constant physical humour. It is not unlike Bugs Bunny, except with orchestral music and drag. Actually, it is exactly like Bugs Bunny.
The world has changed since 1974, and the divide between high art and low art no longer seems uncrossable. The Trocks can set down whatever chip they once carried on their buff but dainty shoulders. They can pick up, instead, on the wave of support for drag performance that has emerged in recent years, spurred largely by RuPaul's ‘Drag Race’ and media empire. Indeed, The Trocks’ short run in Toronto marks a homecoming for Drag Race finalist Brooke Lynn Hytes, who earned howls of applause last night as the dying swan.
Deservedly so, I think - I don’t much care for ‘Drag Race’, as I find the premise of personal expression as competition artificial and, moreover, very American, but it’s hard to deny the show’s accomplishment in shining a spotlight not only on the diverse expressions of America’s drag queens, but also their skills. Hytes is a marvelous dancer, controlled and communicative in every movement.
If there’s one shortcoming to the Trocks it’s the repetitiveness of their routine. Physical comedy is physical comedy; there’s only so many times you can pretend to fall. Bugs Bunny episodes never lasted longer than half an hour, but I didn’t leave the Winter Garden yesterday until after 10:00.
Still, it was twoish hours well spent. You can’t complain about an evening that includes Tchaikovsky, feathers, fans, and makeup by the kilogram. I don’t know if I’ll ever see eight men en pointe at the same time again.
‘Les Ballets Trockadero de Monte Carlo’ played March 7 and 8 at Toronto’s Winter Garden Theatre.