‘O’-wesome

Melissa Schorr

Wednesday, Oct. 21, 1998 | 10:08 a.m.

The big "O" received a standing "o" from the crowd at the Bellagio on opening night earlier this week.

Just like the fountains outside the casino, the newest Cirque du Soleil production show is making a big splash inside.

For the multitudes who swear allegiance to Las Vegas' long-running Cirque production "Mystere" at Treasure Island, "O" is a less ominous, more soothing production, like a day at the spa for the soul. Maybe it's all the mist wafting out into the audience.

It probably isn't anything especially groundbreaking as far as the actual acts go -- sure, there was a girl who balanced on the top of her head while swinging on a trapeze, a man engulfed in flames, some Mongolian contortionists who performed unnatural acts and a group of high divers who plunged 60 feet into the pool below.

All are Cirque-worthy, but what really raises the bar with this production is the addition of the 150-foot long, 25-foot deep liquid stage.

The notion that the water is the real star of the show is shown by these facts: The hotel spent four years and $70 million designing and constructing the 1,800-seat theater -- and $20 million on the show itself, which is expected to enjoy a 10-year run.

Cirque, a Quebec-based company that has created 10 shows over 14 years, has never attempted an aquatic show before.

"O," of course, is a phonetic play on "eau" -- the French word for water. Cirque, never a troupe to miss an opportunity to elaborate, notes in the playbill that water is also symbolic of the circle of life, rhapsodizing: "O the circle, o the cycle, o la vie, an ode to thee o water of life, please carry me." (Oh, puleeze.)

As the man responsible for creating all of Cirque's productions, designer Franco Dragone told the New York Times last week that the decision to incorporate water had an "influence on everything," from electrical lighting to costume design.

Cosutmes had to be made of water-friendly materials such as silicon and -- would-you-believe-it? -- bull hide. As any woman knows, water is the mortal enemy of long-lasting makeup, so all the makeup in "O" had to be waterproof.

To allow the cast members to wait in the wings, so the speak, underwater, all are SCUBA certified. Below the surface, cast members use air provided by divers. (Sure, it seems highly treacherous in the imperfect world of theater, and there have already been a few close calls, but one hopes that Cirque technicians have devised a foolproof plan.)

The pool itself holds 1.5 million gallons of water (kept a balmy 82 degrees Fahrenheit) for the performers to freely enter and exit. The theater's temperature has been adjusted so that it would be cool enough for the audience in the seats, but warm enough for wet performers onstage.

Instead of a raised tank, such as the one on stage at the Riviera's "Splash," the "O" water's surface only begins at stage level, with a base that rises and falls to constantly change the depth of the pool from an inch down to 25 feet deep. Most of the use of the water takes place at surface level, with performers either diving into the water, brushing its surface as they swing from trapeezes, or appear to "walk on water" when the surface is made shallow.

The cast of 74 includes a fabulous squad of 16 Esther Williams-style synchronized swimmers -- led by former Olympian gold medalist Sylvie Frechette -- who kick off the show by wiggling their legs at us from underwater.

Some of the highlights of the show's underwater "breath-defying" acts include the Bateau (boat) act, performed on a steel frame of a ship swinging back and forth across the high seas, sort of like the "Pirates of Penzance" gone gymnastic.

Another crowd-pleaser is the exuberent Russian Swing act, an homage to the chapels of Las Vegas featuring girls in bridal gowns and their bridegrooms taking the plunge off swinging teeter-totters into the water.

Also of note for a Las Vegas showroom is the use of an eclectic international live band of 10 musicians, including a Chinese violin, Colombian guitar, Medieval woodwinds, and bagpipes, and featuring lovely music composed by Benoit Jutras. It's a compelling Andrew Lloyd Webber-sounding score with a greater sense of urgency and a chorus echoing in the background.

(I know the company is Canadian and the show is French and it is set at the Italian Bellagio, but would it kill them to ever set a song in English words? Not that it really matters anyway -- according to one viewer, all the lyrics are gibberish anyway, whatever the language)

Described by one critic as being in a Salvadore Dali painting come to life, "O" must be enjoyed for what is is: a visual orgy. Those who try to understand it are doomed to be tormented, advised another. Meaning is arbitrary anyway -- you see whatever you want to see in it, one theater-goer said. You must understand "O" is not: brain food.

The only annoyance is when Cirque forgets that and tries to find deeper significance, offering up platitudes and psycho-babble, such as the Hallmark-worthy comment offered up by Cirque designer Franco Dragone, who describes "O" as "an homage to the theater, the place where we try to entertain all of humanity. For it is in the theatre where humanity tries to understand itself."

(Frankly, Franco, if you're looking to learn something about humanity from the theater, taking in a play by Arthur Miller or Anton Chekhov will do you more good than watching bodies fip in midair though hoops, but to each his own.)

But forgive Cirque for its high-minded aspirations. If you're looking to see an example of the latest outlandish vision Las Vegas has to offer, or been raring for a sequel to "Mystere," "O" won't disappoint.

The first show in Las Vegas to reach the "double 00" -- the big $100 ticket price -- "O" will undoubtedly have you opening your wallet wide -- and your jaw even wider.