orca

Hello,
Hoping for some feedback in choosing between these shows for my hubby's birthday. I have read all the previous posts, but I'm hoping for a bit more detail. We havn't seen any Cirque shows before. Have heard O is more dramatic, sometimes dark, gloomy but very entertaining - Mystere more traditional, more athletic oriented. Is this right? My husband would probably appreciate athletic feats over "artsy" and a more upbeat theme if there is a difference that way between the shows. Thanks for any advice.

Patrick

hmm.
I'd say that both are "artsy", but O is a little more "artsy" than Mystere in that it is more "thematic", built around the idea of water -- creatures living and playing in, above, and below the water. Mystere is more like an "artsy" circus -- with less theme, but more seemingly separate "circus acts" -- albeit very good ones.

In a stretch, you could say that Mystere is more childlike (not childish --there is a big difference) and O is a little more "adult". Mystere can be interpreted as a child's fantasy of a circus. O could be interpreted as a series of adult fantasies (no, I don't necessarily mean sexual, but with a hint of that --particularly when they start stripping off the wedding attire and jumping into the water).

If anything I'd think O is more athletic -- at least in terms of the high diving and some of the high trapeze stuff. Both have some pretty amazing acrobats, though.

The main difference to me is simply that O has the added element of everything taking place with water is a theme. It is possible to imagine Mystere being done almost anywhere and it is more similar to other Cirque shows, but there is nothing else even remotely like O, because they'd have to build an incredibly complex theatre to house it.

Walter_Walltotti

Mystere is also significantly cheaper than O. I don't know how long it is before you go but I belive O sells out way in advance. Mystere still sells out in advance. If you are staying at either Bellagio for O or TI for Mystere I believe they hold tickets back

orca

Patrick - thanks so much for your reply.
Actually they both sound great. My husband really enjoyed watching a short bit of Cirque on tv last year that featured acrobats and contortionists, but it sounds like both have plenty to amaze. Does the circle of life themes in O get real heavy (dark, depressing) or is the show basicially uplifting overall? Is O worth they extra expense over Mystere? Thanks again.

Patrick

Gee, I've never thought anything about 0 was dark or depressing!

orca

Thanks. That's great,as a couple reviews I read gave me the impression that it had gloomy parts. We will probably be staying at the Bellagio, so O would be right there, but I want to gather as much as I can on both shows to help my hubby decide. Thanks so much again.

dbenya

My brother lives in LV and has seen 'O' three times -- most recently last March with me and other members of our family, including three children under 16. In a word, it was fabulous. The stagecraft was truly unique. And when you stop to think about the engineering . . . all I can say is, it must take all the confidence anyone can have to dive from the height of the stage into what only moments before had been a solid floor. As for athleticism, one lasting memory I have is of performers treading water on their backs with their legs on the lip of the stage and then just . . . sitting up!

Birdie

I have only seen Mystere (twice!) and loved it. My husband has seen both and prefers Mystere. Yes it is a lot like other Cirque shows but does have the added thrill of dropping stages that the touring companies don't. One other point to remember is that O is in a much bigger theater and you can end up with distant seats. There is not a bad seat in the Mystere theater.

teacherD

We just saw O last week. We did not consider it gloomy at all. As previously stated the stage which keeps changing from floor to partial water to ???? feet of water so they can dive from near the ceiling at one point is just unbelieveably magnificent. We now understand why the show sells out quickly even though the theater is huge. We kept talking about the performers and how they were performing in wet costumes on wet equipment which to us made it seemed all the more challenging for the athletic feats.

Walter_Walltotti

There is now two new addition C de S shows in Vegas - Zumanity at New York New York , and another one (can't remember the name) about to open at MGM Grand.

Luxury drink and meal packages aside, don't be tempted to go for the cheaper seats. If you check the seat plans you will see why they are cheaper!

orca

Thanks to all who responded. We had been leaning towards "O", but now that I'm getting into the websites and checking seat availablity, the only seats left seem to be mid to back balcony for "O". Whereas Mystere has lots of good seats left for November.

Sidepockets

I vote for mystere.

Sabrina

Patrick, Those were great descriptions of the two shows. I have seen Mystere twice, "O" once,and a couple of other Cirque shows. Just saw a show from Russia that was along the same lines as Mystere. "O" can only be seen in Las Vegas. My favorite is "Mystere" but I loved "O" Good seats for a show are important to me, I did not think "O" was dark or depressing.

TopMan

It really is too bad that you cannot see BOTH of them..both good, both somewhat different..but both worth it.

Surfergirl

I didn't find anything dark or depressing about O either. I thought it was magical!