Mystère Cirque du Soleil

You could view Mystère as a deep, abstract interpretation of the origins of life and the universe. Or you could simply see it as the most "pure" Cirque du Soleil experience you can get in Vegas. Either way, Mystère is going to wow you with the beauty it evokes and the acrobatic talent it showcases.

This show fuses elements of performance art, music and culture from around the world, using characters that seem both familiar and exotic all at once. Performers in colorful outfits channel birds, lizards and other colorful animals with dance and acrobatic maneuvers, just as the two baby characters bring both laughs and gasps to the audience with their innocent and often near-perilous hijinks.

And then there's troublemaker Brian Le Petit, a wild-haired man in an oversized tux whose antics start well before the show does. A throwback to entertainers of yesteryear, Brian interacts with audience members as many are still finding their seats.

Brian returns later in the show, disrupting the "flow" of the acts to straight-laced narrator Moha-Samedi's chagrin, but resulting in some of the show's most memorable moments. One can't help but cheer him on as the frustrated narrator attempts to maintain some order in the show.

The Aerial Cube is another act that dazzles early on, featuring a performer and a box made of metal tubes. The performer spins and maneuvers within and without, even balancing and spinning the structure on one corner in a display of dexterity and strength.

The Chinese Pole segment is an impressive show of agility and synchronized acrobatics, as groups of performers scale, slide and swap positions across three metal poles.

Likewise, there are plenty of aerial segments, including a trampoline act that sends performers hurtling into the air in a series of spins and flips, flying trapeze, and an aerial high bar that puts acrobats 40 feet above the stage.

Mystère is also beautifully scored, with the band's music being complemented in parts with thundering Taiko drums on the stage -- the largest of which had to be constructed inside the theater, as no door was big enough to accommodate it.

As you might expect from Cirque du Soleil, Mystère is a fun, colorful experience that doesn't disappoint and builds into a fantastic finale set piece that was hidden in plain sight all along. It's no mystery why this is the longest-running Cirque production in Vegas.

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