Circus of the Stars

Saltimbanco, the Cirque du Soleil's latest show, comes to New York this month, pitching its tent at Battery Park City. The basics have not changed: the circus still plies its trade with plenty of nifty daredevilry and eschews animal acts of any kindAnd it still attracts the rich and famous. Chelsea Clinton, Barbra Streisand, Cher, and Nick Nolte, among others, have paid backstage visits to the Saltimbanco team at recent California shows. Francine Poitras, whose nonsense singing provides the show's aural atmojgfj H spherics, says, "We are very happy that |the celebrities] are here. It's like, when they come backstage, we're the stars!" Others are less impressed. Rene Bazinet, who acts as Saltimbanco's maitre de ceremonie, says, "There are very few people that I really admire. If these people are in the profession and they appreciate my work, great." For all his apparent indifference, Bazinet's stated goals for the show sound suspiciously like a familiar Streisand song: "I want people to feel something. I think the more people will feel something, the better the whole world is. This world needs feelings."

TIMOTHY LONG