Ka

Mom, Dad and I saw Ka at the MGM Grand on Friday. You can read about it on the website, but it's a story of a brother and a sister's journeys and growth.

Everyone involved in the performance had a story, so even the ushers looked and acted a little funny. My two favorite ushers are the spiky hair guy who kept saying "Helloo!" as you came in, playing peek-a-boo, and the guy with the big nose and walking stick that you could tell had a very complicated backstory. Anyways, it allows the suspension of reality to start early, which is good for such a complicated show.

Those of you Archi-people (you know who you are) would appreciate the set, which reminds me a lot of Lebbeus Woods. There were these big nasty turrets, pipes and catwalks all around the sides of the stage. These maori-inspired people would get fire buckets from the void, then carry them around using bungee cords and pulleys.

The show itself was incredible. Most of the action happened on this huge sheet of metal that could turn in almost any direction. So, it acted as a mountain, a beach, a matrix-like battle scene setup, a huge pinball game, a platform for a royal court, etc.

This was still the rehearsal shows, so there is still some tweaks to be made. If anyone from Cirque is reading this (one can always hope :) ), the biggest problem I saw was that there was no allowance for the audience to applaud. What happens in those cases is while the show was outstanding, the reaction of the audience is paralysis instead of rousing applause at the end. I think everyone was so awe-struck at the show to really show the cast that they really liked it!

Anyways, I won't give up any of the rest of it, but you really should go see it if you are in Las Vegas! I don't think anyone came out of there not thinking that it was the best Cirque show ever!