Are You Kidding Me?!

For a few hours today, I was able to escape in a world of fantasy and music. Although not fully recovered from a recent onset of cold and cough that still make me feel lightheaded, I was glad to be out of the confines of my apartment and be a witness to a one-of-a-kind treat!

It was my first time to watch a live Cirque du Soleil (Circus of the Sun) show, and its production of KOOZA near the Santa Monica Pier was quite an experience.

Words cannot fully capture the amusement, awe, disbelief, suspense, surprise, surrealism, excitement and enchantment that I embraced in the many scenes of the show. It was a visual and theatrical entertainment that was enhanced by live music and the VERY acrobatic and gravity-defying athleticism of the performers. Their skills and talents were entrancing, and often, breathtaking.

I was very satisfied with my seat selection (Section 205, Row L, Seat 1), which I chose months ago. As I entered the Grand Chapiteau (tent) from Door 5 and easily got settled in my seat, I was surprised by the intimacy of the setting and the sensation of a dream transport when the show began.

"Wow's!" and "Oh's!" and other monosyllabic outbursts were something that I expected from myself and the audience. But my repeated phrase of the afternoon, as the teasing suspense built around acts with mind-boggling and heart-stomping action, was ... "Are You Kidding Me?!"

The answer could later be heard from the collective gasps of relief and applause from the undoubtedly stunned but attentive crowd.

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The excerpt below taken from the CDS website:

http://www.cirquedusoleil.com/en/shows/kooza/show/about.aspx#

ABOUT THE SHOW

KOOZA tells the story of The Innocent, a melancholy loner in search of his place in the world.

KOOZA is a return to the origins of Cirque du Soleil: It combines two circus traditions – acrobatic performance and the art of clowning. The show highlights the physical demands of human performance in all its splendor and fragility, presented in a colorful mélange that emphasizes bold slapstick humor.

The Innocent's journey brings him into contact with a panoply of comic characters such as the King, the Trickster, the Pickpocket, and the Obnoxious Tourist and his Bad Dog.

Between strength and fragility, laughter and smiles, turmoil and harmony, KOOZA explores themes of fear, identity, recognition and power. The show is set in an electrifying and exotic visual world full of surprises, thrills, chills, audacity and total involvement.