Drip... Drip... Drip...
The stage that grabs our eyes
immediately, and to our first introduction of the
characters that will play out their hopes and dreams
before us. The first person we see is Guifà, a young
Sicilian boy. His curiosity about what lies ahead and
his never-ending quest for adventure become the center
point of the journey we, as spectators, are about to
undertake. There's something about the red curtain that
draws us to it; and him. It covers the entire stage,
shutting us out from a wondrous world we know nothing
about. But as curious as Guifà is, we are as well.
Look! Out from the red curtain that has been
draped over the stage, comes a white hand -- a ghoulish
hand. There! There! Did you see? "What does it want..."
you wonder. But it's not a what; but a who. The hand
beckons to Guifà to come closer. His curiosity
once again begat the best of him, and he gets a bit too
close. The hand grabs the unsuspecting man and drags him
behind the curtain. And just as we begin to worry about
the man, another jumps out at us. He is malformed,
hunched over and dressed as a gentleman - we shall call
him Eugen. This man takes a moment to look us all over,
and then, he calls for the young man to make his re-
appearance.
"Ladies and Gentlemen," Guifà cautiously lets out.
"Welcome to the Cirque du Soleil theater." He begins to
advise us of the rules of the theater, going on about
smoking, emergency exiting, and other such rules. And as
he finishes, returning the parchment of paper the before
mentioned rules were printed on to the malformed man
Guifà begins to levitate. Stricken with fear, he
suddenly realizes that he is about to enter an
unforeseen world. A realm where dreams are experienced.
A realm where anything is possible. Higher now he has
risen above the theater stage and soon, he begins to
retreat backward taking with him the red curtain that
has kept us from the world behind it. Guifà, his
curiosity getting the best of him, is about to enter the
world Eugen has prepared for him. He is about to enter
the world of "O"; taking us with him.
And doth the winds blow...
Words can hardly express the feeling one finds as
the red curtain quickly disappears into the opening
world of "O". It made the hair on my arms stand on end.
It is such a powerful image that, to each person, means
something different. Nevertheless, the world that Franco
Dragone and Gilles Ste-Croix have created for us has
opened its doors to our wanting eyes. We are now
committed to experience everything Guifà experiences. We
are now locked in the dream world with him. And in his
hopes, fears and dreams that will be acted out on stage,
we will be experiencing our own.
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