Cirque, MSG throw 'Banana Shpeel'

Show to open at Beacon Theater on Feb. 11

By SAM THIELMAN

Cirque du Soleil's 'Banana Shpeel' will bow in Chicago in November before hitting Gotham in February.

Cirque du Soleil and MSG Entertainment will open "Banana Shpeel" at Gotham's Beacon Theater on Feb. 11, with previews beginning Feb. 4. "Shpeel," a new show by Cirque's "Kooza" scribe-helmer David Shiner, will preem at the Chicago Theater in the Windy City, where it will play from Nov. 19 until Jan. 3.

The plot of the comic circus perf will follow Schmelky, a cruel and irritable producer who traps impressionable actor Emmett in a crazy world ruled by Schmelky.

Shiner, who started his showbiz career as a Paris mime, has teamed with clown Bill Irwin for the duo's long-running "Fool Moon" (which earned him a Tony Award for one of its Broadway runs) and originated the role of the Cat in the Hat for Ahrens and Flaherty tuner "Seussical."

The new show will be Cirque's second show in Manhattan after "Wintuk," the troupe's recurring holiday production housed in Madison Square Garden (which is operated by MSG). Most Cirque shows play on Randall's Island in its Grand Chapiteau ("Big Top") tented performance space.

Org principals Guy Laliberte and Gilles Ste-Croix will serve as artistic guides on the creative team for "Shpeel."