October 5, 2007

Cirque du Soleil or "O"

This week I returned from Las Vegas, where I saw the show "O." Usually I can write a review of a movie, book or Broadway Show, but I'm at a loss with Cirque du Soleil O. I'm not putting the show down, I just did not understand it. Is there anyone out there trained in theater who can explain to me what this show is about, in simple, laymen terms? I beg for an explanation.

I can honestly say it is the first Broadway show that I have seen that was fantastic and I did not understand anything about it. I can describe some facts about it. There were highly talented acrobats doing magnificent aerial acts, there were high divers diving into water from about 60 feet, there was a person reading (a newspaper I think) that was on fire, there was a beautiful opera song, sung by a women, there were clown acts, there were people that were submerged in the water and stayed there for a long time and then they would come up. There was water dripping from a roof and the people below had holes in their umbrella. An old man would reappear on the stage - running around. The water the divers dived into would come and go. At the end of the show, the water was gone, the acrobats and actors standing on a stage.

I have seen at least 10 Broadway productions, many of them on Broadway in NY and I understood them. But I could not follow nor understand Cirque du Soleil O. There is so much ranting and raving about "O" that there must be something to it. I hope there is someone who can explain it to me in simple terms. Was it a display of theater techniques? What was the story if there was one? To me it seemed like an amalgamation of many things that could be done in a theater, but none of it was unified or otherwise coherent in a story like way. The performances by humans was just amazing. I'm not sure but I think the clown act on the raft in the water was supposed to be some type of comic relief. I don't know. The show seemed like the best wine in the world, mixed with the best oatmeal in the world mixed with the best filet of fish mixed with the best chocalate dessert - just all mixed together. Each were fantastic in themselves but they were all mixed together. So I'm begging for an explanation.

I can enjoy and appreciate figure skating or ballroom dancing, or Mozart or Handel's Messiah. I can enjoy Luciano Pavoratti even when he sings in Italian ( which I do not understand) and I can enjoy the Air Force Thunderbirds flying in formation or the spectacular athleticism of professional football players, but I could not understand "O". I beg for a simple explanation of what it was.