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Review: Cirque du… WOW.

Have you ever been left lightheaded, and the only thing that you can manage to get out of your dangling mouth is, “………   ……….  wow!”? Well that is exactly what happened to me, Dana and our friend Johnny when we went to see Cirque du Soleil‘s KA in a little place called Las Vegas.

Cirque shows are a great alternative bachelor/bachelorette party idea. I went to Vegas for a close friend’s bachelor party early last year.  On the first night we were giddy gents and went to see the obligatory burlesque show, which was fun, naturally. The second night we went to Cirque’s Love. The first night I clapped and chuckled. The second night I found myself teary-eyed, saying “It’s so beautiful. It’s just so friggin’ beautiful.” Now imagine learning that at a bachelor party: Seeing half naked ladies is fun but something truly beautiful and awe inspiring is a thing called Love.

A little while back, when we were attending The BlogWorld expo in Vegas, the delightful people of Cirque du Soleil gifted us tickets to KA while we were in town. If you’ve ever seen a Cirque show, you know that there was only one thing to say: ” uh… Yes Yes Please!”

If you haven’t seen a Cirque show you HAVE to. As an artist it fills me with pride and wonder, and as an eternal kid it fills me with excitement and joy. With every show, Cirque always takes the human body’s ability and the mind’s imagination, and pushes them to the limit. The touring shows put a fantastically deluxe spin on the classic big tent circus, but when in Vegas (with the luxury of a permanent venue),  they create an experience unlike anything you can imagine.

The creatures that greet you the moment you walk into the theatre make KA fun before it has even begun. Then you nestle into your (very cozy and oversized) seats, each equipped with speakers in the headrest so every spectator can enjoy the sounds, music and ambiance in surround sound.

Shortly into the show a floating stage, covered in sand appears. Out of the sand a human-sized crab and turtle popped out and start dancing and playing. Its just one of  many fun moments that leave you completely taken off guard and wondering what comes next. Once the scene comes to a close, the stage starts to tilt forward. I thought “Wow, it totally looks like that sand could fall ri… holy crap all that sand is falling off!” The entire stage went completely vertical! A couple of actors came out and made the most beautiful and remarkable shadow puppets, which projected onto the now vertical stage; but apparently the scary creature that suddenly appeared in the aisle next to me hates shadow puppets, because he and his entire posse started shooting arrows at the couple, which lodged into the vertical platform. Then a huge chase began and people started scrambling straight up the platform, using the arrows as climbing pegs. But as if things weren’t crazy enough, the platform started spinning. A thrilling and chilling chase/battle ensued with people and creatures flying hundreds of feet off of the spinning platform that treats its victims like pinballs.

We jumped out of our seats more times than I can count, and cried, laughed, ooohed and ahhhed sometimes simultaneously! It was an amazing experience.  One that any artist dreams he could take credit for, and every spectator wishes they had the skills to star in.

To envelop an audience in an unearthly experience, exciting them each step of the way, is a gift that only the highest form of art can create. So if you’re in Sin City and in the mood to experience more than just sin (there is merit to that, too) but want to see the beauty of life and art, check out a KA at the MGM Grand, and say, “….. …… wow.”