(Hedy Weiss’s article appeared in the Chicago Sun-Times, 8/7.)

Wondrous. Hypnotic. An unparalleled flight of the imagination, and a glorious exploration of the physical limits of the human body.

Cirque du Soleil’s “Kurios – Cabinet of Curiosities,” the 35th production in this mega-theater’s history, might very well be its most extraordinary, exquisitely wrought show to date. What makes it so special goes beyond its performers’ dazzling virtuosity and fearlessness, and the envelope-exploding conception of their routines. And it goes beyond the gorgeously hand-crafted visual beauty of every element that sweeps the stage, soars to the top of Cirque’s blue and yellow tent, or suggests the world beneath the sea.

There is, quite simply, an unadulterated magic about every minute of this “creative laboratory” devised by director-writer Michel Laprise and his wildly inspired creative team. This is physical theater of the highest order – superbly paced, with continual variations of scale and mood, and with an overall balletic flow that feels totally organic, even if the universe being celebrated is elaborately and whimsically mechanized.

http://entertainment.suntimes.com/music/cirque-du-soleils-kurios-wondrous-flight-imagination/

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