"The Greatest LIve Show They Have Ever Seen"

After yesterday's rain, "water" has become the theme for the week.

Tonight I saw my first Cirque du Soleil show, "O", at the Bellagio. Yes, the tickets were pricey at $181 apiece including the Ticketmaster surcharge, but there's nothing like it in the world. The mix of acrobatics, dancing, synchronized swimming, heart-stopping dives, live original music, and costumes all choreographed for a non-stop two hours, is, to use an over-used adjective, unique. Many people are willing to pay the price to see it: "As of early 2011, O has grossed over a billion dollars since the show opening in 1998."

Equally amazing was the wizardry behind the set, a vast pool that transforms into a wooden stage and back again (performers high-dive into the pool, so the machinery better be working). Physical and technical legerdemain aside, the two-hour production is beautiful. Chicago Tribune: "Many people consider it the greatest live show they have ever seen."

The set's elaborate machinery means that this show won't be going on the road. One must come to Las Vegas to see it. "O", the sacrifices we have to make....

Posing for this set piece is one of the few occasions the performers aren't whirling like dervishes.