Cirque du Soleil’s many strengths converged at the Pepsi Center on Wednesday night in “Delirium,” an impressive multimedia musical spectacle entering a four-show stint in Denver.
The loose narrative, which outlines the urban alienation felt by main character and everyman stand-in Bill, felt incidental next to the constant and eye-popping barrage of video projections, acrobatics, brightly outlandish costumes and death-defying stunts.
Montreal-based Cirque du Soleil is well-known for its over- the-top theatrics, but “Delirium” takes them to an arena-sized scale. Unfailingly precise and upbeat, the mostly live music was handled by a cadre of drummers, guitarists, singers and trumpeters appearing randomly on different parts of the 130-foot-long, 20-foot-wide double-sided stage.
Bisecting the arena – so the audience is forced to look at either side of itself – is a brilliant way to involve a normally passive crowd. Bright video projects, swinging acrobats and huge bouncing balloons released at the finale also broke down the fourth wall, but mostly this was a production at which to sit back and marvel.
The huge projections on either side of the stage, the equivalent of four IMAX screens, helped tell the story by incorporating video from the stage with ponderous, pre-taped scenes of slow-motion explosions and people floating through space or opening giant doors.
Of course, one’s tolerance for quasi-philosophical clichés and new age spiritualism also played into the enjoyment. Disembodied voices said things like, “We are all fragments of eternity floating through space and time,” which, while true, can sound corny when surrounded by brightly festooned men on stilts laughing maniacally while prowling the stage.
Particularly bizarre was the show’s ability to be both mournful and celebratory, primitive and theatrical.
The overt sensuality of the dancing, accomplished by a gorgeous, muscled cast of mixed race-and- gender performers, gave the show a refreshingly mature edge.
Whether the sentiments were hackneyed or universally heartfelt depends on your tolerance for such soul-searching entertainment. The fact is, no one else is doing the kind of massively complex, seamlessly staged shows at which Cirque excels. Anyone looking to be overwhelmed by “Delirium” will leave the show completely satisfied.
Staff writer John Wenzel can be reached at 303-954-1642 or jwenzel@denverpost.com.
