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| - After previewing Cirque du Soleil's Mystere in one of the greatest Hollywood ad placements of all time (in "Knocked Up"), I decided that this show is possibly just weird enough for me to enjoy. And it was. Not just weird, but French, too. Nobody does weird quite like the French.
The story behind the Mystere show is loosely-based on an infant's dream about a circus. This premise binds the show together with loose threads of implied narrative, but allows it the freedom to be completely abstract, non-linear, and non-literal. There's no real dialogue, but there's is a healthy amount of artistry in the costumes, lighting, music, and choreography (although there was sometimes too much happening on stage at once to be visually coherent.) However, the show was above all else, about the movement and athleticism of the performers.
And the athleticism was impressive. We had front-row seats, so we got to see muscles trembling and butt-cheeks clenching in amazing detail. It's like Mary Lou Retton meets Pink Floyd's "The Wall". I've never seen anything quite like it.
In a city full of dubious entertainment opportunities, this is something actually worth the money and the time. (I have less kind words for Cirque's "Zumanity"...a juvenile, potty-mouthed cabaret....review forthcoming.)
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