Glossary of Terms:
Cirque du Soleil: “a dramatic mix of circus arts and street entertainment.” There are acrobats and clowns and contortionists, plus actors and actresses, and a good deal of amazing effects.
O: The permanent Cirque show at the Bellagio. It combines the spectacle of a Cirque show with water skills like diving and synchronized swimming. See Wikipedia article.
Guy Laliberte: the founder of Cirque, who just had a visit to the International Space Station.
Plot: The pattern of events or main story in a narrative or drama.
Lyrics: a song-like outpouring of thoughts and feelings.
Oh, wait, you won’t need those last two.
Gary’s a big Cirque fan. We liked to watch that show they had on A&E (I think) explaining how each Cirque show was made. I knew I wasn’t a huge Cirque fan going in, but I love Gary and I figured he deserved it.
So, it began, and we were introduced in mime to the male lead, and the clowns, and … the man in the tuxedo with the crazy hair … and … the bride lady. The male lead kept trying to hand her a red scarf, and red Scarves Are Important because they kept shooting across the stage. And then there was synchronized swimming. And a costume change for the male lead, and if we hadn’t been in row 5 dead center I would have had no idea.
THEN the pool got shallow and there was ballet across the pool, and singing, which was puzzling because it was that incomprehensible Enya singing. The vowels are drawn out and the consonants are swallowed and you can’t really tell what the words are. “Well,” I thought, “I can look the lyrics up on line later.”
And then a crazy lady in a red dress showed up. And there was much diving. Followed by a comic interlude by the clowns, who broke wind.
It was hard to keep your eye on the action, because you’d think you were supposed to pay attention to the giant merry-go-round horses but there was a guy with a horse head dancing with the zebra people, and that seemed to be significant too.
More clowns, and high-dives, and contortionists, and the singing lady. Then I remembered the A&E show said they sang in a deliberately made-up language. Nonsense lyrics. Lyrics that you are not supposed to understand. Lyrics, if translated, would say, “See the pretty colors! See! See! Guy likes the International Space Station! He says thank you thank you!”
But then the tuxedo man crawled into a giant basket on stage and I got all weepy. And THEN the bride and the tuxedo man sat on a silver piano that sank into the pool and the lead gave the scarf to the singing lady. Then the stage curtain did an amazing poufy whirly thing and it was over. The end.
P.S. When I asked Gary what his favorite part of the trip was, he said “The BNL show.” They did do a cirque show to the tunes of the Beatles, maybe since Guy is a Canadian he might spectacularize BNL songs. Like have dancing emus and ottomans. Maybe make the ottomans into Muslims, because that would be MORE confusing.
11 responses to “Cirque du Sowhatthehellisgoingon”
OOOHHH SOOO HAPPY!! for you and your going to O!!But, perhaps this wasn’t a good fit. You being a literal and direct typer of person. Who numbers her friends.Because the cirque, it’s abstract and requires a suspension of one’s logic and need to follow a road map. either way. If I was sans husband and kids. I would TOTALLY TRY OUT to be part of that show!!!;)and btw that bathtub! DAYUM!!!! I would leave Mr. Hall for that bathtub!!!
It sounds like one of horribly long, complicated, nonsensical dreams like you might have after drinking too much and eating pizza and ice cream at midnight, which you then tried to explain to your friends but had to keep saying things like, Wait, and then I was going down this hallway and I knew it but I didn’t know it and then it turned into the cellar and there were horses, but they were really my cousins, and they were naked, and then I woke up.
When Anna was 9 there was the big New Years Eve of 2000 and she wanted to stay up to watch the Cirque de Soleil Spectacular on tv. She kept asking Why they were doing this or that and what it all meant and we had to keep saying Don’t ask so many questions, you’ll enjoy it more.
(PS, Thank you for your so sweet comment on my FB note)
My Brother-In-Law is a former Cirque member (preparing for a new Broadway show). and his girlfriend is in a new Cirque show getting ready to open in Vegas soon.
If you ever go again (which I know is kind of an if at this point), let me know. I might be able to hook you up.
Shoulda gone to Blue Man Group.
All that arty farty stuff is to lull you into thinking this is a world where it’s marvellous and meaningful when a girl BENDS IN HALF BACKWARDS AND TOUCHES HER HEELS WITH HER HEAD so you don’t go home and have nightmares about snapped spines and all the people she’s had to replace dragging themselves around their caravans ON THEIR ELBOWS.
Mrs Hall – it was the tub of a thousand tongues. Gaoo – But they could have so easily made it made sense and be lovely. Couldnt they? Overflowing Brain – Wow! Thanks for the offer, but I’m Soleiled out. LuckyBwayGirl – They are in StL every few years. I’ll catch them next time.Big Dot – but they can brush their teeth with their elbows. What more can they ask?
ALL YOU HATERS OF O!! YOU ALL GOT NO CAUSE FOR COMPLAINING!!! O IS AWESOME!!! MORE SENSE THEN THE CRAPASS NONESENSE OF THE BLUE MAN GROUP I SAY!!!
LONG LIVE THE O!!!
Keep in mind our former boss who is gaga for Cirque. You know the two of you don’t think alike!
Dear Queen,
Please understand that sometimes, people being impossibly bendy is the whole point, and the scarves, costumes and music are there to let you understand that time is still moving, and at some point, the impressively bendy people will be done with their display. Also, I think that incredibly bendy people are kind of cool. I don’t think that they’re telling us a story, though, I think that they’re just posing.
Entertaining posers. Huh.
Sincerely (meaning, of course, “without wax”),
Tami, the One True
Tub of a thousand tongues! I don’t know whether to beg for more information or not! That sounds like my kind of weekend, Cirque de Soleil be damned!
Mrs Hall – BMG may be crapass nonsense as well. O did have some humor. I forgot to mention that. Caroline – Perhaps her perceptions of cirque were … altered.Tami – Aha! I did not know that. Even though it is controversial:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sincerity#EtymologyGaoo – I don’t think you need more info. I think you can figure it out. It’s a good short-term cure for a cough.