Cirque Du Soleil Quidam

Not a fan of the circus and NOT a fan of clowns, I wasn’t quite sure what to expect with this performance. I intentionally didn’t read too much about it so that I would come in with an open mind.
Mind. Blown.
Held at Time Warner Arena, I couldn’t imagine being close enough to the action to appreciate facial expressions and whatnot. Luckily, the seating is way pared down and the only seats available are the ones directly around the stage. I had excellent seats, but in looking around since I got there early, there didn’t seem to be a bad seat in the house from what was provided.
There was a lot of symbolism to the show, which goes over my head, but even just enjoying the feats of strength, agility and stamina — amazing. The music was incredible with a live band and singers actually singing. The first «act» went so fast that I couldn’t believe it was time for the 20 minute intermission (not quite an hour in). There were a couple of acts in the second half that seemed to drag a bit (one where audience members were brought onto stage to make a movie with one of the performers at his direction, and then a man and woman team that did body balancing — it was impressive, but slowed the momentum of the show down to a halt), but overall the show was amazing. Are they clowns or acrobats? Not sure what the preference is, but every performer was amazing. With the recent tragedy at the Las Vegas show, for every high in the air act (ropes or what looks like long scarves that they twirl and wrap around themselves; young lovely ladies on large rings twirling and balancing), I held my breath and hoped for a perfect routine.
The «ring master» was hilarious. Zoe, the «young girl» that sets everything in motion had a beautiful voice. All of the performers put on wonderful routines (some more exciting than others) and I enjoyed the entire show very much. While the website says it’s okay for children, and there isn’t necessarily any direct reference to adult themes, the show is pretty dark (in tone) and there are a few minutes interspersed that are lights-​out with «lightning». I saw very few children there (showtime was at 7:30) but of the ones around me, some were attentive throughout, while others seemed to be getting bored/​antsy after the intermission.
The total time show, with the intermission was right at 2 hours and 20 minutes. The souvenirs/​memorabilia were priced as most shows of this type are — I think tshirts were around $ 20, I got a program (heavy card stock) for $ 10, a magnet for $ 5 and a reusable tote (I have a tote bag addiction problem) for $ 2.
Excellent show!