Going to Vegas soon...should I see Kà ...

[Ixtapa]

...considering that I've already seen Mystère and O and loved both shows but have the feeling I will not enjoy Kà that much ?!

Reading the reviews it seems to me that Kà does not have a lot of good acrobatic acts (apart from the wheel of death which by the way is performed by the Alegria Brothers whom I know and Ive seen perform lots of times before in "traditional" circuses"). If its just about music, make-up, costumes and theatrical performance, I guess I would rather see something else....

What did people who liked both Mystère and O think of that show ?

[JW]

In my opinon.....boring.
the music and the stage is what kept my attention, during the show.

But you'll never know what you might enjoy, ti'll you go see it for yourself.

[Guest]

I haven't seen Mystere but I loved O, and thought LOVE was good but not amazing.

I thought KA was great, second only to O, and not by a huge margin. Then again, I loved the theatricalized storytelling and the way the stage changes your perception of what can happen in reality right in front of you as opposed to created in a computer for the movies.

[WickedScorp]

The show is a one trick pony. It's all about the big floating stage, which is cool, but not for 90 minutes. Visually, it's bleak as you're staring into a black void most of the time. The 'story' is clumsily expressed and the characters poorly drawn and for a show that is supposed to be a sweeping epic... well, that's not such a good thing. A friend once summed the show up in a fitting blurb, 'For a show that is supposed to be about a great journey, it didn't take me very far.'


MYSTÈRE is the best of the Cirque shows on the strip. 'O' is not a personal favorite, but it is visually very stunning. Or... you could treat yourself to the best show on the strip, LE RÊVE.

[bobba]

Ixtapa, I think of KA as more of a special effects show. You're right, there aren't as many acrobatic acts as you saw in "O" and Mystere. Actually, the star of KA is the stage, not the performers and artists. I know the "O" stage is impressive, but there is no doubt that the stage in "O" compliments the performers and artists.

The KA stage takes over the entire show. It is the show.

There are a lot of battle scenes staged in a very high tech spectacular way and I think a lot of people really enjoy that. I mean they are REALLY well done. But for me, these battle scenes were like watching a bunch of VERY TALENTED stunt men and women. These highly talented people were overpowered by the stage itself.

I loved the first 20 minutes. The rest of the show was spectacular, but not what I would go see if I were in a Cirque du Soleil mood.

[Ixtapa]

Thanks for all your replies....I'm leaning more and more towards NOT seeing the show. Guess I will see once I get to Vegas. I am definitely not a fan of battle scenes, however spectacular they might be staged (I dont care for stunts and special effects in movies and have little interest in martial arts). Considering all that I might just ask my friends to take me on a backstage tour instead of seeing the show itself

Maybe Le Reve would be a good alternative option....or else I will go see O for the 3rd time

[JW]

whatever you decide to do just remeber one thing, have lots of FUN in Vegas!!

[Wingman]

Incidentally, I didn't think the "battle" scenes were all that great. For a show with the amount of high-level martial artists in the cast they are severely limited in what they are allowed to do on stage in the show.

I think the show would have been better if they had concentrated much more on the martial arts and less on the stage technology. Being in Vegas doesn't help either where he mantra for shows seems to be, to quote the upcoming production The Producers, "Keep it light, keep it happy, keep it gay". The action is more cartoony than violent, nobody actually dies and consequently the show has no emotional gravity. It would have been better were it allowed to be much darker than it actually is, but that's just my opinion.

Even the final "vertical battle" while conceptually stunning is very clumsily choreographed. Good stage fights are as tightly choreographed and graceful as ballets but this scene turned into a chaotic mess.

[JW]

I was hoping KA was going to be more like De La Guarda.

http://www.delaguarda.com/frontend/main2.html

[Zikka]

Well, If you've seen Mystere and <O> already and enjoyed them, you could either, go see one of them again (that's probably what I'd do though, I'm soooooooooo obsessed......) or you could choose between KA, Love, or Zumanity depending on your age and/or which one of the three you want to see the most deep, deep down.

[Past User]

Well, I really loved KA. I'm suprised at how many people didn't like it! I understand their point of view but I personally thought the entire show was jaw-dropping good. I'm used to the touring Cirque shows which are wonderful and unique in their own ways. But, KA just took me to a whole new level. The music was absolutely beautiful. The whole experience itself IS worth going to see...even if you don't like it. I believe it's worth the high ticket price, plus the theatre is spectacular.

I hope to go back to Vegas and see KA again someday.

[WickedScorp]

That's a curious bit of logic. You understand why people think it's a poorly written, poorly executed one-trick production with sub-par martial arts and clumsy choreography but still think it's jaw-dropping good?

[...Stacy]

I like Ka too. I like it for the "Wow! I've got a buttload of money to burn so I'm gonna make a bunch of big mechanical gizmos and make the atmosphere LOOK cool!" reason. I don't like it for the acrobatics performance. That leaves a lot to be desired. But some of the acts, in my opinion, are simple but cool. (ie, the shadow puppets, the fall in the water, the cave/flight) I enjoy Ka, but for reasons other than the acrobatics or the storyline. I like the fight on the wall. I liked the tree stump fight, which is now gone. Now, I also haven't paid for a ticket to see the show. So, bear that in mind when you read this. Would I pay $150 a ticket to see it? It wouldn't be my first choice in Vegas, but I probably would if I were interested in seeing every Cirque show there is. It's a decent show. We all have favorites and the only way to decide what your favorite is...go see them and you'll know! It's expensive, so weigh out the goods and the bads and decide if it's worth it for you.
...Stacy

[Guest]

The tree stump fight is gone? Why? That's really disappointing. What was it replaced with?

[Ixtapa]

Well...guess I might wait until I actually get to Vegas to decide what show to see. Im going there with a friend of mine who has already seen O and Mystère as well so I guess I would let her decide what she prefers to do....but knowing her taste I dont think she would care much about Kà.
Or else we could just get the cheapest tickets in the house...I think I would like to see two different shows while we are there anyway. Maybe we could also see something non-cirque (such as Le Rêve)

[sakurazero]

Nothing replaced pillars, it was just taken out of the show.

Stacy, I have to agree with you mostly. But don't you find it odd when the tickets are $150 and you've all that technology and one of the best scenes is the shadow puppet scene? Pretty sad IMO.

[Paul]

I'm in the minority here. I freakin' loved Kà.

[antoniotugnoli]

Well...guess I might wait until I actually get to Vegas to decide what show to see.

That I wouldn't do unless I were staying for a long time. What if everything you really want to see is sold out by the time you get there?

[Jun Ting]

I'm in the minority here. I freakin' loved Kà.

me too! and the costumes are great too. i loved how they were able to pull of scene changes (one of my favs are beach scene to shadowplay). that atmosphere's pretty amazing too. but that's just me... it seems you either hate this show or love it. but i agree that the only way to find out is to actually go see it.

[Rod Digga]

The tree stump fight is gone? Why? That's really disappointing. What was it replaced with?

The Pillars scene was removed because there were too many injuries from doing this specific act.

There isn't much that replaced it. The twin brother's capture now happens on the pasarelle right after Shadowplay and it is really fast. I don't like it because it takes a lot of stage time away from the twin brother character.

[pedro1216]

I saw the show last summer (sans pillars) and I don't remember much brother twin action...
André Simard was there with a shirt that read "Save The Pillars"

[Wingman]

Even though the show is mediocre I like the new commercial they produced: MGM Grand has it up on their KÀ page (click on "video tour" under the picture of Noriko).

It's glitzy and much more cinematic than the previous "critics rave" commercial, they filmed footage specifically for the ad instead of just using stock live show footage. It makes the show look a lot more exciting than it actually is.

[WickedScorp]

Still not as good as the original flash trailer, but more exciting than the actual show. Maybe they should set up some seats in the void. Everything seemed somewhat more substantial from that extreme angle.

[Ixtapa]

I'm thinking I will go see the show and make up my own mind about it...I do like dance, music and theater so I might like it in the end ???
Just have to convince my friend to go see it with me now .... she is not that crazy about Cirque ...

[WickedScorp]

If you like dance, music and theater, you should definitely go see LE RÊVE. KÀ has little dance to speak of.