It was about 10 years ago that I saw my first Cirque du Soleil show. I was on a business trip to Las Vegas and on an expense account and bored so I asked my concierge what I should see. She arranged for me a ticket to see the show in the hotel I was staying at. That show was "Mystere". I of course had no idea what to expect. I was thinking "a circus?, that sounds lame...". So it came as a complete surprise to me how simply amazing the experience was. Mystere was simply one of the best theatre experiences I'd ever had.
The next time I was back I ended up seeing Mystere again with some family and friends. It was just as wonderful the second time. Then they opened a new show "O". I had high expectations for the show and I was far from dissapointed. I was simply blown away at how much better it was than Mystere. Now since then I've seen each one a few more times and of all the people I've been with, the concensus is that half of them love Mystere more and the other half loved O more. In all cases, they were amazed.
So a few years ago, I ended up going to see Circe in New York. They had a travelling tent show and I went to check it out. I was impressed, but not really blown away. I guess what was amazing to me was more than just the show. Perhaps the stage made a differnce (it sure did in O).
Then they came to philly and I've seen the previous 2 shows here. Again, I was impressed but not too much.
Yesterday I went to see the third appearance in Philly of Circe. "Quidam" was the show. Of the 4 tent shows I've seen, this one was the best one. It wasn't up to the LV standards, but it sure came close. This time for the first time we sprung for the Tapis Rouge tickets. These are obcenely priced tickets that include a coctail party with overflowing champainge glasses, a decadant intermission spread, and (the reason I bought these ticets) center seats for the show. The tent shows are in the round and unless you are aligned in the center, you are not getting the full effect since they really align along the center line. If you can afford it, buy these tickets.
So my review is that if you've never seen Cire, Quidam is a great intro. If you have seen other tent shows, this one is better. If you've seen O or Mystere (there are others now in LV.. none as good), this will be a nice refresher.
Oh.. and it's amazing how much they make this travelling show appear to be in a fixed location. The seats are comphy, there is air conditioning, full bathrooms, a serious amount of technical stuff as well.. I'm always impressed that they put all this into a truck at the end of the show..
3 comments:
You have intrigued me on this. I was just in Las Vegas on business two weeks ago and all of my colleagues went to see "O". I opted out and went to a strip club instead (where all the girls flocked to me, even though I'm female, but that's a whole other story). I thought Cirque would be lame, but maybe I'm wrong. what exactly happens? What kind of acts do they perform? Dancing? Tightropes? miming?
cirque rocks! i saw alegria 2x [both for free!] and loved it. seats weren't great, but there really isn't a *bad* seat in the house, such an intimate setting
Circe is pretty tough to explain. I guess the best thing to say is that it is part .. no that won't work.. hmn.. well there is some serious psysical.. no.. well "O" is insanely hard to explain .. I mean it's like watching a dream unfold before your eyes.. the music is amazing, the costumes are just crazy and then the performances are just crazy.. there are acrobats and people doing stuff way up in the air with no nets.. (and I'm not even mentioning the synchronized swimming and the pool).. you missed an amazing show.
Circe shows are hard to describe.. there is some juggling I guess and then some acrobatics stuff and see.. the problem is that the acts are stuff you've never seen before.. the strong men in mystere are a perfect example.. what they do is simply mind bending..
And if I gave you a complete discription I think I wouldn't do the performances justice.. they are circus acts that you've never seen combined with cool music, singing and costumes.. there is some dancing and in general, each show has a plot that gets followed..
oh.. and the clowns.. yea.. they make the show.. be sure to get seated like 15 minutes early to fully appreciate them.
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