On November 26, 2004, Las Vegas Sun columnist Jerry Fink unveiled Cirque du Soleil’s newest production — KÀ — to his readers, and there were some interesting bits that we wanted to bring to your attention.
— The total cost of the production is $165 million US. $135 million is for the theater alone; $30 million is for staging costs.
— KÀ is designed to be 90-minutes long; however, according to production manager Stephane Mongeau, the first run-through on October 11, 2004 took nine hours. “We stopped a few times,” he said. By October 24, 2004, the production came in just under three hours. The November 5, 2004 run-through lasted two hours. Just prior to the premiere, “we did it in one hour and 45 minutes without stops,” Mongeau said. “With time, it will get shorter. Transitions are getting smoother.
— Cirque spent $12 million US on the stage alone. “Robert wanted to do a show about gravity, to change the perspective of the people,” Mongeau said. “At one point they felt the seats could go back and the audience could look up in the air.” That idea was rejected. “But he always wanted to change the perspective of the audience,” Mongeau said.
You can read the full article at the following:
< http://www.lasvegassun.com/sunbin/stories/sun/ 2004/nov/26/517887515.html?Cirque%20du%20Soleil >
