Cindy Benson:The Tragicomic Diva of American Theater                                    by Maximillien de Lafayette

Her talent shines brighter than the whole damn lights of the city of New York, the signs of Broadway and the 4^th of July fire work, all together! And her presence on and off stage is larger than life… This is a superb super superstar! She acts, she sings, she dances, she teases, she mesmerizes, she makes you explode in laughter, she makes you cry, she steals the show and she triumphs! She is honored all over the world. Cindy is venerated  in Europe, in Paris, at the Sorbonne, on the Champs Elysees and in  three quarter of all heavens… There are so many outstanding performers and artists in the world who steal the show, but there are few who steal our hearts, tears and joy and leave a perpetual impact on our psyche, the shadows of light in our eyes, the landscape of our imagination and our burning desires which die and resurrect in the eloquent silence of our wishes, dreams and childish fantasy. And Cindy is one of them. There are four things in life you should see and acknowledge before you drop dead: Venice, your past deeds, the face of your beloved ones and Cindy Benson on stage. The history of drama-melodrama and mime theater witnesses three immortal geniuses:  Two Frenchmen, Marcel Marceau and his teacher Leroux and one American: Cindy Benson. Only these three magicians gave dramatic-melodramatic  mime its true human autonomy, the color of its psyche, its transparent vocabulary and  philosophy. Leroux called it the “ Dramatic Corporal Mime”, but when you see Cindy on stage, you might decide to call it the ” Melodramatic Verita Humana Mime”.  Cindy Benson mastered the secrets and techniques of the tragicomic, the theatrical structure, its fabric and the codification of the form, the style and the spirit which transcends, defines and pervades melodrama. 

Cindy threw herself on stage, sized it up and ran away with it. What an artist and what a comic philosopher. To me, she is a fine cocktail of Bernard Shaw, Victor Hugo, Khalil Jebran, Edith Piaf and the last warm ray of a sun shining over the hills of our childhood and the intimate whispers of a wind telling the story of the first time we fell in love. Cindy is a romantic magician on stage. She brings dignity and warm tears to comedy and laughter and joy to tragedy. In doing so, Cindy Benson  prompts us to laugh at the mockery of destiny, and energizes in us the willingness of accepting the irrevocable with smiles, determination and a laisser faire attitude, for,  really, we do not know when Cindy is serious in a comedy or comical in a tragedy. Her talent is overwhelming.  Only one thing is mightier than destiny: THE THEATER! Because on stage, there are some performers who can influence the entire course of your life, the way you look at your world and sense the place you occupy in your daily life. Art is very effective. Cindy gives you this sensation and while she is performing, your rare opportunity to grab the whole universe in your hand becomes reality. Theater is where the hidden and the known, the sacred and the damned, the real and the fantastic blend together and confuse the hell out of us! And Cindy is good at that! For, this superb singer, dancer, actress and entertainer  transcends us to a higher plane of fantasy and reality. She makes you feel good about yourself and she lifts you up to the highest state of ecstasy, high enough to fly and touch the face of God. Comedy was invented for her. Tragedy was created for her. Melodrama in her voice echoes the “tragic”, the “fatal” and the “enchanted”. This woman makes me think! This great woman trapped in a little body is a tempest, a pure theatrical magic. I had to interview Cindy, see and feel for myself how this delightful and superb artist  thinks, reacts, shakes up life and throws over it a robe of one thousands rainbows of laughter, irony, smiles, soaring delight and magic.

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