STAGE REVIEW : Le Cirque du Soleil Shining Less Brightly

Has success spoiled Le Cirque? Well, of course not, Jean-Claude.

Spoiled isn’t the word for this French Canadian company of upscale mountebanks who only last Sunday won, of all things, an Emmy (in a four-way tie for Outstanding Special Event).

Why, the mere sight of Le Cirque du Soleil’s encampment as you approach Santa Monica Pier is a boon for smog-sore eyes. There’s still nothing under the soleil quite as enchanting as that sparkling blue and gold tent on the beach and the palpable excitement that surrounds this magickal enterprise.

But an enterprise is what it has become much more in the brief span of two years.

And the changes are subtle.

Le Cirque’s founder, Guy Laliberte, for instance, is now listed as president and CEO of Les Productions du Cirque du Soleil Inc . (the italics are ours). An overlong preamble to the start of the show, included a welcoming address by Laliberte that belonged in the boardroom. Saperlipopette, owners of the Loews Hotels, a Cirque sponsor, were even introduced! The faintly acrid smell of all that billowing dry ice--a Cirque staple--has become laced with a soupcon of corporate je ne sais quoi .

Aside from Le Cirque’s splendid redefinition of the very idea of circus (one ring, excellence and only human animals), marketing shrewdness and general acumen have distinguished this Quebecois company since it took local audiences by surprise as the spectacular opening act of the Los Angeles Festival in 1987.

And a lot has happened since, most of it very good for Le Cirque. But how good is good? The show Wednesday was heavy on clowning and short one of its key first-act attractions: the Shandong Acrobatic Troupe of the People’s Republic of China. Red tape, not politics, has allegedly delayed the troupe in China, according to a Cirque spokesman. Amazingly--and unforgivably-- no announcement was made about it to the audience.

A lot of slapstick comedy was offered as a substitute, between ring master James Keylon (new) and Le Cirque’s resident clown Benny Le Grand, master of the active garden hose (a return engagement of dubious hilarity).

It didn’t quite cut the moutarde , in spite of Le Grand’s soaking and smearing of one patron and his ruining of another’s necktie.

(Are we having fun yet? . . .)

Le Cirque’s real strengths lie elsewhere: in the superiority of their specialty acts (the superb young jugglers, gymnasts, cyclists, trapeze artists, aerialists and contortionists) and Le Cirque’s exceptional, extraterrestrial special effects; the resplendent, rainbow-hued costuming by Michel Crete and Dominique Lemieux; the fantasy lighting by Luc Lafortune, and Rene Dupere’s striking original music, under the adroit musical direction of Benoit Jutras.

While the second half of the evening was considerably livelier than the first, there were still not as many breathtaking acts as one remembered from past incarnations. True, the French trapezistes are terrific (despite a couple of well-recovered fumbles), but no better than the trapezistes of 1987. Bulgarian acrobatic dancers Maia Taskova and Mariela Spasova do nice things with streamers and hoops and balls, and Frederic Zipperlin’s contortionist juggling (with spheres of all sizes) is admirable, but not nearly as amazing as the contortions of Angela Laurier in Le Cirque’s 1988 visit. These new acts’ overall level of competence appears down a notch from the company’s formerly uncontested A+ level.

All in all, it is the older routines that continue to dazzle most: gymnasts Eric Varelas and Amelie Demay; the daredevil cyclists, the balancing chairs, the teeterboard act of the “businessmen penguins.”

The fruit of too much success? Perhaps. Or is it simply that when Gilles Ste. Croix replaced Guy Caron as artistic director the sensibilities changed? That’s more likely. But it’s all remediable, and the arrival of the Shandong Acrobats on Tuesday will probably do much to relieve this malaise.

Le Cirque is still a remarkable entertainment. It’s just that we all know by now how remarkable it can be and won’t settle for less. So cut the comedy and get on with the acts, because this time you walk out humming the scenery, lights and, naturellement , the music.

Good but not good enough.

Under the big top on the beach at the Santa Monica Pier, Tuesdays through Thursdays, 8 p.m.; Fridays, 9:30 p.m.; Saturdays, 4:30 and 8:30 p.m.; Sundays, 1 and 4:30 p.m. Through Oct. 15. Tickets: $7.50-$31.50; (213) 458-6199, (213) 480-3232 or (714) 740-2000.