{"id":481,"date":"2010-01-11T03:39:59","date_gmt":"2010-01-11T07:39:59","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.itsnotaboutme.tv\/news\/?p=481"},"modified":"2010-01-11T03:39:59","modified_gmt":"2010-01-11T07:39:59","slug":"live-productioncirque-du-soleil-kooza","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/itsnotaboutme.tv\/news\/live-productioncirque-du-soleil-kooza\/","title":{"rendered":"LIVE PRODUCTION:CIRQUE DU SOLEIL–KOOZA"},"content":{"rendered":"

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CIRQUE DU SOLEIL–KOOZA<\/em><\/h1>\n

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I love circuses. As many of you already know, maybe that\u2019s because I was in one when I was a teen-ager. (Don\u2019t worry–it makes no sense to me, either, and I\u2019m the one who lived it!) More deets on my experiences some other time, because, as this site states, it\u2019s not about me!<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>Sad to say, but this is only the fourth Cirque du Soleil <\/em>show I\u2019ve ever seen! Nothing will be as magical as that first time on the Santa Monica pier, but I\u2019m happy to say that I loved this one as well. I don\u2019t think that any one of their creations can ever be bad.<\/p>\n

I had missed this year\u2019s show, Kooza<\/em>, when it was housed in their signature blue and yellow tent, the Grand Chapiteau, close to me in Santa Monica. Not wanting to miss out on the fun while it\u2019s still in Southern California, I invited my friend, Caryn, (convenient when we meet strangers; though it\u2019s spelled differently, they have only one name to remember!,) and we headed down to Irvine, which is really no big deal if you leave enough time for traffic, and just grab a bite once you get there.<\/p>\n

We attended Opening Night, so, as it turned-out, we didn\u2019t even have to worry about food because they served passed hors d’oeuvres to the entire assemblage! Complimentary popcorn and soda, as well! The servers told me that they do that for every<\/em> opening in every <\/em>city, too. Good to know, n\u2019est pas<\/em>? (The organizers are French-Canadian, hence my use of Francais<\/em>.)<\/p>\n

First, some props for the venue. Orange County Great Park was easy enough to get to, had very accessible parking, and an absolutely lovely staff! Especially Andy, who helped us park. Not awful Andy Gumps, either. Definitely a step up from my <\/em>circus days!<\/p>\n

Now to Kooza<\/em> itself. Everything just works, from the international cast (can you imagine the cacophony of languages backstage?) to the music, which runs the gamut from big band to pounding techno, to colorful costumes, which we\u2019ve come to expect from this group.<\/p>\n

If you\u2019ve never seen any Cirque<\/em> show, all I can tell you is that this is as good a one to start with as any. If you have, I\u2019ll let you know what\u2019s different about this production. It may not be as extraordinary as some of the rest, but what I love about it is that it takes conventional circus acts and performs them to the nth degree, all with exotic twists.<\/p>\n

As each act began, I thought to myself, \u201cI\u2019ve seen this many times before.\u201d But as it progressed, so did my amazement. The whole audience was screaming after a while. (This audience started out a tad slow in the appreciation department, as far as I\u2019m concerned, maybe because they were too full of free popcorn and finger food to put their hands together.) Where do the Cirque<\/em> creators continually find these unbelievably gifted entertainers? (I know–mainly Europe and Canada; just a rhetorical question.)<\/p>\n

While all the performers were astonishing, I had three favorite acts. First up were three amazing female contortionists, Julie Bergez, Natasha Patterson, and Dasha Sovik. My back actually hurt just watching them. And they smiled the whole time they were contorting! Oh My Gosh to this one. (Shamefully, I<\/em> was billed as \u201cWorld Famous Contortionist Little Mina From Copenhagen\u201d back then. It\u2019s pretty amusing to people who know me, especially when there are phenoms like this out there.)<\/p>\n

\"highwire\"Next up was a high-wire act the likes of which I\u2019ve never seen. There were four guys (Flouber Sanchez and the Dominguez Family) on two wires simultaneously. We audience members alternately held our breath and screamed through their whole routine. I wish they hadn\u2019t gilded the lily, though, by having a spotlight on the female band singer while they walked the tightrope. The Indian-type music added to the drama, but her perpetual motion was a tad distracting.<\/p>\n

The audience responded the most to Jimmy Ibarra and Carols Marin Loaiza on the Wheel Of Death. It was a scream-fest from start to finish. I thought they were going to have to bring out oxygen masks\u2026for us spectators! We were truly aghast. (I just looked-up synonyms for \u201caghast,\u201d and trust me, we were all of them!)<\/p>\n

\"wheel\"In-between these feats of derring-do is the clown acts, which are the thread of the whole show. I must admit that I\u2019ve never been a fan of clowning, although I recognize the merit of it. Perhaps that\u2019s because of my own personal experience with the main clown in my circus. (I promise I\u2019ll recount the whole story on a day when nothing else needs to be posted in a timely fashion here, so please check back for it from time to time. Trust me, it\u2018s a good one!)<\/p>\n

(Or perhaps it\u2019s because a fan of my show who was from Puerto Rico once said I reminded her of Hermalita, The Clown from her country, and I thought she was slamming me. Turns out she meant it as a compliment–Hermalita was considered the top comedian on TV there.)<\/p>\n

But the audience seemed to enjoy the Cirque<\/em> clowns, so who am I to judge? I\u2019m sure they were good; they just reminded me of that guy Ross on The<\/em> Tonight Show<\/em>–high-pitched annoying-voiced and unfunny. I did appreciate them, though, for giving me a few minutes to grab back my composure, and breath(!), in-between the gutsy acrobatic performers. Now that I\u2019m fully recovered, I\u2019m ready to hit Vegas and catch some of their \u201cresident shows.\u201d<\/p>\n

One last note: As if entertaining us so royally isn\u2019t enough, I\u2019m happy to report that this group is involved in charitable projects. Cirque<\/em> founder, Guy Laliberte, has formed a foundation, ONE DROP, \u201cto fight against poverty by providing access to water and raising awareness among individuals and communities about the need for mobilization in order to make safe water accessible to all, in sufficient quantity, today and tomorrow. ONE DROP\u2122 believes in solidarity between those whose basic needs are met and those who are not as fortunate\u2014everyone should have the means to live with dignity.\u201d I say \u201cAmen\u201d to that, in every language.<\/p>\n

Cirque Du Soleil<\/em> running through February 14, 2010 <\/strong><\/strong>at\u00a0\u00a0Orange County Great Park Irvine, CA\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 800-450-1480 <\/strong> www.cirquedusoleil.com\/kooza<\/strong><\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

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CIRQUE DU SOLEIL–KOOZA   I love circuses. As many of you already know, maybe that\u2019s because I was in one when I was a teen-ager. (Don\u2019t worry–it makes no sense to me, either, and I\u2019m the one who lived it!) More deets on my experiences some other time, because, as this site states, it\u2019s not<\/p>\n

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