Cirque du Soleil plans new show Paramour for Broadway

The Cirque du Soleil is headed back to the Big Apple with a new production specifically created for Broadway.

The Quebec entertainment giant has announced plans for Paramour, a production that will blend musical theatre with the signature, spectacular acrobatics for which the company is known worldwide.

"Cirque du Soleil and Broadway are two forms of artistic entertainment that have pushed the boundaries of what audiences expect from live performance," Cirque president Daniel Lamarre said in a statement.

"We are thrilled to be joining the Broadway community and we are proud to have our Cirque du Soleil family perform in the same neighbourhood as so many other talented Broadway artists."

Paramour will blend the Cirque's typically grand production and acrobatics aesthetic with "a book-driven love story narrative, live musicians and professional actors in lead roles."

Set in Golden Age Hollywood, the story will revolve around a "beautiful young poet forced to choose between love and art," according to the company.

Times Square location

Paramour's cast of 38 performers will include actors, dancers, aerialists, acrobats and circus arts performers, with the show to begin previews at Broadway's Lyric Theatre, located in Times Square, in April 2016.

At this point, it is slated to be a long-running show in the spacious venue, Broadway's second-largest in seating capacity and previously home to the equally high-flying Spider Man: Turn Off the Dark.

Opening night is set for June 2, 2016.

The show is being developed by French stage director and choreographer Philippe Decoufl, with music composed by Quebec duo Guy Dubuc and Marc Lessard (known as Bob and Bill), whose credits include the video game Splinter Cell: Pandora Tomorrow and past Cirque shows Totem, Amaluna, Kurios, Joya and Allavita.

Paramour will be the Cirque's latest attempt to find success in New York, a market where it has struggled over the years, most notably with the critically maligned show Banana Shpeel.

The troupe is also working with NBC on a TV production of The Wiz, which has a goal of opening on Broadway during the 2016-2017 season.

Currently, Cirque has nearly 20 shows touring and permanent playing worldwide, with the company estimating that nearly 15 million people took in a Cirque performance last year.

• Cirque du Soleil selling majority stake to investor TPG

Earlier this spring, Cirque confirmed it was selling a majority stake to an American equity firm TPG VII CDS Holdings, with minority stakes held by Shanghai's Fosun Capital Group and Quebec's Caisse de Depot. The sale became official in July.