World-class acrobats, synchronized swimmers, high-divers, and the usual Cirque menagerie performing in, on, and under water -- all on a stage that embodies the real magic of the show.
*Prices may be subject to additional taxes and fees.
**Show times may vary. Please see above link for more information.
For group bookings of 15 or more please call (702)-531-3855
(This show was reviewed in the September 2001 LVA some of the information contained in this review may no longer be accurate.)
This "show of Las Vegas shows" has now run for nearly three years, so you might wonder why it’s taken this long for a review to appear in LVA. The reason is the obvious one: It costs a lot of money. Can a show with a $99-$121 ticket price ever qualify as a bargain? For a true budget monger, the answer is no. But if you’re looking to experience perhaps the best production ever staged in Las Vegas, you could easily walk away from O satisfied that you’ve benefited from an excellent value-in relative terms.
Beautiful and strange, O is an absolute triumph of staging and entertainment technology. Color, choreography, and sheer numbers create a stunning visual feast -- like a living Matisse painting -- that envelops a company of world-class gymnasts, trapeze artists, synchronized swimmers, and high divers. The acts are spectacular. But it’s the stage itself that creates the magic, as it morphs from water to dry land and back again throughout the show. The transformations are quick and seamless and produce some of the most powerful illusions -- such as water walking -- you’ll ever see.
On the downside, circus-phobes might say that the show is overclowned (though the acclaimed Russian clown duo is a big hit with the kids, who are admitted age 6 and above, no discount). And you’ll have to tolerate the obligatory bendy girls (her head’s coming out of where?), an act which has become to Cirque du Soleil productions what Argentinean gouchos were to the old-time extravaganzas.
The show is long, running about two hours from seating to leaving. Despite the ticket price, drinks are extra: beers $4/$5, wines by the glass $7-$13, mixed drinks $8. As you’d expect, the showroom is so well-constructed that there are (almost) no bad seats, though paying the 20% premium to sit closer is justified.
(This show was re-reviewed in December 2005 LVA; some of the information contained in this review may no longer be accurate.)
When we reviewed O in 2001, we described it as a "triumph of staging and entertainment technology." But now, the company that produced it (Cirque du Soleil) has improved on itself so much that O has been left somewhat high and dry. The high-diving routines are still amazing, but much of the show now seems unconnected, if not just plain silly—especially the overdone Cirque “clown” character, who runs around aimlessly and, in this case, interminably. Bottom line: If you’ve seen Le Rêve or Celine or Mystère, pass on O and save the $150, or spend it on KÀ.