It's one week before the opening night for a new Cirque du Soleil show at the MGM Grand Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas. A dozen acrobats are in rehearsal, hanging from a giant metal stage that rotates up at an angle to simulate an icy cliff. One by one, the spikes they cling to will disappear into the stage, sending the performers sliding into a 50-foot pit below. Spontaneously, the acrobats begin crying out, not for mercy, but for a steeper incline. "We want danger!" they quip. It's just another day in the bizarre world of Cirque du Soleil, the French-Canadian acrobatic troupe that has built a $600 million-a-year entertainment empire combining daredevil stunts with cutting-edge technology―and a devoted public that will pay almost any ticket price (from $40 to $195) to see the elab- orate shows. On Nov. 26, Cirque opened its latest production, Ka, at the MGM Grand. The extravaganza―complete with giant puppets, archers shooting flaming arrows, and a spinning contraption called the "Wheel of Death" ―cost $165 million to stage, more than all 36 Broadway productions last year.
展开▼
