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Las Vegas Shows and Entertainment:
Mystere Show Tickets and Reviews |
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Mystere by Cirque du Soleil
Reviewed July 10, 2002
by Ted Newkirk
 December, 1993. Treasure Island Las Vegas. A city still best known
for cheap buffets and cheap rooms. No Mandalay Bay, no Bellagio, no Venetian, no Paris Las
Vegas. Cirque du Soleil was popular in art and theatre circles but few in regular walks of
life were familiar with the French Canadian company and their unique brand of human-based
circus theatre. Boy, did that all change!
Almost a decade later, Mystere is still one of the hottest shows on the Las Vegas Strip
and with great reason. This troupe of highly skilled athletic actors combine drama,
rhythmic music, and fantastic feats that defy gravity.
The "Aerial Cube" features Paul Bowler suspended high above, spinning in a
glistening steel cube at amazing heights. In the "Chinese Poles," highly
costumed performers use amazing muscular strength and control to mimic what may be insects
on stalks of grass or wheat. They cling to, climb, and spring between the poles in
superhuman fashion using only their own power and balance.
Marco and Paul Larador (brothers from Portugal) perform "Hand To Hand." This
strength and balancing act done on a rotating dome must be seen to be believed. But just
when you feel you can't be more amazed, "Bungee" takes center stage. Six
performers suspended high above spring deep from trapezes in an amazing choreographed
routine.
Other segments include the traditional circus act "Korean Plank" performed in
a new and more complex way, the "Aerial High Bar" (a gymnastics inspired
swinging high bar routine), and the "Trampoline and Fast Track" where a huge
winged trampoline set let's performers fly sideways between upright trampolines.
So save some cash and catch Ringling Bros. & Barnum and Bailey next time they hit
your town, right? WRONG. The circus style acts are performed in a custom theatre with
amazing costume, masks, color, and original live music that pulls at every sense and
emotion. These acts just help paint part of a bigger canvas.
We are escorted through the show by a nontraditional clown. His disdain for the hoopla
and childlike mischief (set off by the appearance of being an aged character) provide both
comic relief and provoking thought. Babies (actors playing them) take us to the innocence
and simplicity and hope for a bright tomorrow. Mysterious creatures remind us of childhood
dreams, fantasies, and bedtime stories.
Mystere has earned worldwide respect and will leave you with lasting memories. This
show was continually voted the best in Las Vegas until sister show "0" opened at
Bellagio. Even then, it is well within the top five and a highlight of a Las Vegas trip.
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