"DELIRIUM," CIRQUE DU SOLEIL, E Center, Saturday
What is Cirque du Soleil's "Delirium"? Take modern-dance theatrics inspired by Alwin Nikolais, mix in a few shots from fantasy writer Neil Gaiman's "The Dreaming," add a dash of surrealist artist Rene Magritte, and a shot of European, Brazilian and African celebrations and mix them with a pinch of Pink Floyd and the Beatles' "Yellow Submarine."
In other words, this ain't your parents' circus.
The clowns don't wear Lou Jacobs' classic-clown makeup, and there is no actual barker, per se. Instead, the performance kicks off with a disembodied voice that acts as a hypnotist, leading the audience into a land of dreams.
Backed by two IMAX-size screens and an even bigger backdrop screen, the performers lucidly appeared on the stage while their gentle-giant images romped through projections.
The hot-shot rock band and various singers then took the lead to guide the audience through Brazilian carnivals, African high-life celebrations and European theater.
Through it all, we were reminded that Cirque du Soleil is a circus. Although there were no wild animals, one of the clowns (walking on stilts) emerged as a yipping puppy.
But there were acrobats. A team of aerial artists performed more than 30 feet above the hard, cold stage, and by using only their feet and hands, they clasped onto thin shreds of material to execute breathtaking spins, loops and rhythmic tumbles without the use of a safety net.
Other strong-man acrobats balanced themselves on each others' shoulders, heads and feet before launching themselves in tosses and flips, only to be caught in standing positions by their comrades' doubled-up fists.
The sound mix in the E Center was crisp, and the whole show took the audience by surprise during Saturday's performance.
When the production began one of the clowns raced through the audience pointing and screaming, and the audience didn't know what to think. But a few minutes later, when the production was in full swing, the performers had audience members in the palms of their hands.
And at the finale there was a rousing standing ovation.
E-mail: scott@desnews.com