After my last visit to Vegas, when I’d shelled out hundreds to see a number of shows, Mama Mia and Elton John’s Red Piano among them, I began to fear I’d grown spoiled or overly critical, because nothing was ringing my bell. Even these highly touted, long-running shows fell flat on me. The performances seemed so rote and the stories ho-hum. Perhaps I‘d grown past the stage of wonderment in my level of theatrical appreciation. That would be awful, because I basically love theatrics.
Faith was happily restored during my recent visit to Vegas after receiving an invitation to Ka, the Cirque du Soliel show staged at the MGM Grand. I feared I’d never say this again and am therefore thrilled to report that KA is nothing short of spectacular.
The story is built on ancient legend whereby twins, a boy, and a girl are separated and taken from their peaceful home after the king of the underworld sends his minions to wreak havoc. Orphaned during the battle, one child is carried away by the most acrobatic guardian ever known to myth and legend, while the other is ushered to safety by an adorably plump, rosy-cheeked nursemaid, the quintessential nurturer.
Each is carried to exotic worlds, the boy to a tropical deserted island, where a force of native birdlike creatures joins the battle to reunite him with his sister. Meanwhile, we follow the journey of the sister as she is carried to the north, where a society of snow dwellers nurse her and her guardian back to health before being carried off in a magnificent birdlike vessel five stories above the audience.
The costumes, pageantry, dance, and acrobatics would be enough to put this production in the ranks of best ever, but the mechanical theatrics, specifically the stage platform that moves, turns, and provides a parallel universe, requiring performers to climb, slide, dive, roll, and even fight the final battle while scaling it, are the most remarkable I’ve ever seen.
When the players, suspended by flying cords, rappel off the sides of the parallel stage, they seem to float above the audience. The opening scene gymnastics prove that video game antics are not beyond belief, as they manage to mimic the unreal acrobatics of that genre a la Matrix without the benefit of distortion or special effects. The show closes with onstage pyrotechnics, an elaborate fireworks display typically reserved for outdoor venues.
Ka is a performance not to be missed. The story is told without words, as most Cirque du Soliel performances are. The reason is simple: with such outstanding theatrics and performances, words would only get in the way. Miming the story also commands close attention. Absence of dialogue intensifies the surreal effect, with everything happening so fast that it becomes like a dream. Afterward, it’s difficult to recall everything you saw, but you remember one thing with certainty. It was fabulous and you want to see it again.