Cirque du Soleil is back in North America, after touring in Japan for over a year, and Phoenix is their FIRST stop of only four U.S. cities along their tour! This time, their production of KOOZA, a show written and directed by David Shiner, combines acrobatic performance and the art of clowning. “The show highlights the physical demands of human performance in all its splendor and fragility, presented in a colorful mélange that emphasizes bold slapstick humor.”
We were able to go see KOOZA Cirque du Soleil show live on opening night which was such a treat! I had only ever seen one other Cirque du Soleil performance before and that was about 7 years ago when we were able to see a showing at Sea World. The show we saw then was great too, but the stadium there was enormous and our seats weren’t very good. KOOZA plays under a big top which brings a whole authentic circus feel to the whole show and limits the crowd size tremendously. Looking around the area, I don’t think any of the seats could be “bad” seats because there were only about 25 rows back from the front of the stage. The show had a ton a humor packed throughout and a lot that was very unexpected! One of my favorite humor moments was when a magician called up a guest from the audience. He proceeded to confuse the gentleman to focus on a simple ball trick while he emptied his pockets and even stole his tie from around his neck! When he released him to return to his seat, he asked him if he had everything and proceeded to return all of his “paper and more paper” that had been stashed in his wallet and pockets. He sent him on his way again and then asked if he was positive he had everything. To which we all laughed as he finally came to realize he didn’t even notice his tie was removed right from off his neck! There was popcorn being blown over the guests, caution tapped wrapped around aisle seated guests, and the like that really made the pre-show and warm of to the main event a fun atmosphere!
Once the acrobatics portion began, the stage was literally transformed to where you felt like you were along on a journey into a whole mystical world. I was completely fascinated and drawn in as the cast built up the surroundings. There was a lot of great acrobatic events to be seen, tight ropes, contortionists, chair stacking, unicycle and others. My very favorite part of the whole show was the intense and thrilling portion with the “Wheel of Death” where two of the performers would run inside this large circles on either end. When they started it spinning and had one of the performers inside propelling it to move up and around by the way he moved inside his circle I was in anticipation watching for the other performer thinking he would hop right into the middle of the opposite sides circle. Instead, catching myself and I’m sure at least half of the audience by surprise, he grabbed on to the outside of the metal circle and propelled himself upward onto the top of the high reaching circle. He then proceeded to run along the outside of the circle and jump off of it leaving him free falling until he’d meet up again with the frame. This act has so many awesome moves and had me in awe! We all really enjoyed KOOZA Cirque du Soleil! It made for the perfect date night. It’s a must-see if it will be touring near you!
KOOKA Tour Information
KOOZA opened on June 8th and will be here in Phoenix through July 15th. Adult tickets range in price from $35 to $130 with specially priced tickets for children, seniors, military and students. Show times are available Tuesday to Friday at 8 pm, Saturdays at 4 pm and 8 pm and Sundays at 1 pm, some exceptions may apply. Visit cirquedusoleil.com/kooza for full schedule and ticketing information!
KOOZA Cirque Du Soleil will also travel to:
- Houston, TX opens on July 26th, 2012
- Dallas, TX opens on September 19th, 2012
- Tampa, FL opening date to be determined
Then, Cirque du Soleil will be off to the United Kingdom. Don’t miss your chance to see this great show live! You can also find out what other Cirque du Soleil performances might be coming to your town through the Cirque du Soleil website.
You can view a brief preview of KOOZA Cirque du Soleil here:
Disclosure: We were able to enjoy a trip to see KOOZA Cirque du Soleil in exchange for this honest review. I was not compensated in any other manner. The opinions expressed above are my own and any claims should be verified on the sponsor’s site.