Ka (or kaka?)

I will preface this review by saying I participate in combat arts and I grew up watching various Cirque du Soleil shows.

That being said, this show was very average, for Cirque. I was more entranced by the sets, costuming, and lighting than by most of the show itself. In fact, parts of the show were serious yawners. I wasn't at all impressed by the physical abilities of the performers, not when the very traditional Cirque show Mystere is still running, and IMHO, superior in that aspect.

The set, I loved it. I loved the whole theatre. I want to own that theatre as my personal playground. During one part, when the lighting shifted to a blue/green theme, there was a very Borg atmosphere(which I love as a Star Trek fan). The techincal/engineering aspect is spectacular. It integrates so many different (relatively) new technologies that it really is a marvel of engineering. The stage is in multiple parts, all controlled by massive, and I mean massive, mechanics that have very fine control. There is a huge (for an indoor stage) array of fire effect machines. And, the best part, is the main stage section. The floor/wall/whatever of the stage shifts images depending on the scene. And, it's interactive with the performers. If you've been to someplace that has the interactive floor displays by silicon graphics, it's the same kind of thing. Examples of this technology can be seen at MGM's Studio Walk in Las Vegas, the Metreon(if memory serves) in San Francisco, and at the Rosicrucian Egyptian museum in San Jose, CA. Beyond the main stage there are walkways and column structures that just look like a souped up, techiee version of the Swiss Family Robinson playground at Disney. I want them. I want to play on their walkways and swing from column to column. I can't emphasize enough how impressed I was with the entire theatre.

The staff was excellent. The ushers all were in character and very charismatic. When the ushers spotted small children, they grabbed their gophers, also in character, and sent them to get booster cushions and deliver them to the children. Everyone was in costume. The "guards" did not speak and the explanation was that they had taken vows of silence. Random staff members were scattered around to do nothing but create atmosphere.

The costumes were very impressive. All the initial characters seen wore t-shirts that blended so seemlessly with them that they all looked heavily tattooed. The costumes were very heavily Japanese influenced, except for the main characters whose costumes were very heavily Chinese influenced. I'm actually thinking of going as one of the initial characters for Halloween this year. Beyond the costumes, the shirts they have for sale in the Ka store are really, really cool. The only problem is the price. $65 for a cotton long sleeve tee? No.

The show. Ah, the show. Well, obviously a great number of people who have seen the show before and a great number of people who saw the show at the same time I did were very impressed. I wasn't. Non-martial arts fanatics may be impressed by the sloppy Wushu and stylized fights, which comments from the exiting crowd seemed to indicate. I wasn't. People who have never seen Cirque may be impressed by the, seemingly, amazing physical feats. I wasn't. The story was interesting, if a bit choppy. And the dialogue, which was a sort of bastardized Japanese sounding collection of strung together noises, was pretty interesting to listen to. The sort of intro randomness was entertaining, and looked like a lot of fun. The music was good, as is typical of a Cirque show, although this was a lot more modern and rock than their usual fare, which I preferred. But, really, that's about it. The physical feat aspect was incredibly sub-par for Cirque. Baton twirling? Please, if I want to see that, I'll watch a parade. There are better examples of Wushu drills in Soul Caliber. And almost everything was wire work. Yes, I know it's not as easy as they make it look and takes quite a bit of physical control. BUT, using your hands to "walk" up a vertical pole while holding your body perfectly horizontal takes a heck of a lot more than flipping yourself around in a wire harness and making sure you don't go splat against the wall you're twirling next to. And lets be honest about what sets Cirque apart from other shows. It's the physical feats. They produce great music and have very original costumes, but no one, and I mean no one, would pay over $100 for a ticket to Cirque if that was all they were getting.

Now, if you have minimal martial arts familiarity and minimal Cirque du Soleil familiarty, you may really enjoy this show. A lot of people love it. It was highly recommended to me by several people. However, as someone who knows what real martial arts can look like and as someone who knows just what the performers at Cirque are capable of, I didn't like it. If you're looking to see it, get the $69 ticket, don't get tickets in the top two price tiers. If you really want to see a good Cirque show, my recommendation remains O at Bellagio. Mystere I also really like, and it is probably the cheapest Cirque show in Vegas. If you are not familiar with Cirque du Soleil at all, I would recommend seeing Mystere first as it is basically a compilation of all the best parts of their traveling show(which changes every year or so).