THE BALLOON MAN

Maui circus producers taking show on the road

This act wowed the Alaskan crowds last month.
By Erika Engle Honolulu Star Advertiser.com
Nov 12, 2010
Lifelong circus man Cornell "Tuffy" Nicholas and lifelong marketing man Doug Harris of The Harris Agency LLC have formed Nicholas Harris Entertainment to expand the scope of Maui's Cirque Polynesia to audiences abroad.

While the Maui show continues its performances at the Hyatt Regency Maui Resort & Spa where it will mark two years in June, the co-impresarios created a new show, "The Great American Circus," and sold 28,000 tickets for 34 shows performed by a traveling troupe in Alaska last month.
Another performer who wowed the Alaskan crowds last month.
The next show will roll out in a traditional circus tent at the Agana Shopping Center on Guam later this month, though the show uses only people -- no animals. It will then travel to the Philippines for 34 performances at Manila's SM Mall of Asia.
Nicholas was born to circus folk and gave his first performance at age 3. While a popular adage has kids running away from home to join the circus, Nicholas ran away from his circus home twice, only to return to produce the more modern Cirque du Soleil-inspired style of shows.
A descendant of composer Arthur Sullivan (of theatrical production creators Gilbert and Sullivan) and originally from Aotearoa (New Zealand), Harris drew from his heritage to help develop the music, costuming and haka (war chant) used in the Polynesian-themed shows. Little-known fact: The never shy or retiring Harris performed a haka at his own wedding in 1992.
Another performer who wowed the Alaskan crowds last month.
A Christmas-themed version of "Cirque Polynesia" will be performed by another troupe in Indonesia next month. The set is a Polynesian village built in the Grand Indonesia Shopping Mall in Jakarta, an upscale retail center measuring more than 2.7 million square feet.

"The economy in Hawaii was part of the reason that forced me to look further afield to other markets," Harris said. He became convinced there was a much larger market for the shows he and Nicholas produced "after doing a couple events on Guam," he said. He made six or seven presentations throughout Southeast Asia, and with the positive overall response, "it was pretty easy to put together deals."

One of the acts in "The Great American Circus," produced by "Cirque Polynesia" creators Cornell "Tuffy" Nicholas and Doug Harris
The "better margins outside Hawaii are sort of helping us with our presence across the board," said Harris.
"I think Hawaii entertainment is definitely world class," Harris said.
"Obviously, we're performing to the gamut of the world every night," promoting Hawaii to the world. Dates are booked
through spring, but "the more we play, the more opportunities are opening up," Harris said, predicting further bookings may take the shows through August or September of next year.