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Cirque Du Soleil's "Ka" at the MGM Grand, Las Vegas |
I've just had my notions of what's possible on a stage expanded by an order of magnitude.
This mostly non-verbal show, wrapped around a thin but adventurous plot involving separated twins, kidnappings, rescues, battles, love, and encounters with nature from debating a turtle over the wisdom of playing volleyball with her egg to a breathtaking ride in the talons of a dragon, is absolutely a triumph. Using a large and talented cast, pyrotechnics, puppetry, astounding acrobatics, brilliant costuming (much of it on an Oriental theme) and special effects, extremely imaginative set design, as well as the theater's built in scaffolding throughout the audience area--and superlative lighting design that makes real the illusions of water or stars or a storm, Cirque Du Soleil conveys far more than the typical dance or circus, and raises the bar for theatrical designers everywhere. Oh yes, and the soundtrack, drawing on ethnic and liturgical music from many cultures, adds a great deal to the overall sensual--even erotic--experience.
It's often not clear where to look; often, action takes place in three or four parts of the theater at once: warriors shooting arrows down from the scaffolds onto a floating platform, drummers off in the corners, acrobats to the sides of the audience and behind and under the floating stage, live orchestra hidden in various parts of the room...
The company has several shows running concurrently in Vegas; this one has been at the MGM for three years. And I can totally understand why both theater and troupe want a long commitment. The piece is really designed around this particular theater, and is extremely elaborate. It would not relocate easily.
Normally, I don't review a show when I've paid for a ticket, and especially when I end up in the very last row of the theater--but this one is too good not to review it. Cirque Du Soleil has made a fan out of me.
Shel Horowitz, Editor of Global Arts Review, is the author of Principled Profit: Marketing That Puts People First and Grassroots Marketing: Getting Noticed in a Noisy World.
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