Cirque du Soleil Opens "Kooza"--A Little Box of Treasures--in SF

Take your spouse/partner, your kids, your cousins, and your house guests from colder states to AT&T Park in San Francisco, where Cirque du Soleil once again unfolded its blue and yellow grand chapiteau. The U.S. premiere of "Kooza," written and directed by Cirque's own clown, David Shiner, delivers the apex of holiday entertainment for Energizer-bunny children and seasonally tired adults alike.
"The clown takes our deepest human weaknesses and makes them funny," said Shiner about his day job. "The clown is also an anarchist. The clown gets to break the rules."
And many of the rules are being broken by the King of Fools and his two Court Clowns in their extravagant adventures in the realm of "Kooza," which means something like a "box" or a "treasure," and conveys the underlying idea of a "circus in a box."
There are many other characters in the show who follow the story line in-between heart-stopping acts of contortion, teeter board and high wire to name but a few.
"Kooza's" 1,600-pound Wheel of Death rotates, powered only by two artists who leap and counter-rotate in a death-defying display of fearless acrobatics.
A creative twist on the classic unicycle number introduces a passenger to the action. Two performers constantly move around the stage with choreographic grace in a spirit of partnership.
The equipment in the Chairs Balancing act is too simple: eight chairs and a pedestal, but the artist uses them to create a 23-foot tower on which he performs a balancing act at the very peak with muscular control.
As is always the case with the Cirque, there is not a dull moment in the show, and the characters keep audiences laughing after each breathtaking act.
"Kooza" runs through January 13. Tickets at cirquedusoleil.com or call: 800-678-5440.