I just took the Insider Access backstage tour of the O show at the Bellagio. First of all WOW. I was not disappointed at all. The backstage tour of Love had some advantages and disadvantages, but this tour was very good. My only negative comment was that it was only one hour long, and I would have liked for it to have lasted much longer as I was having fun taking in the tour.
We met at 3:00pm by the box office where we were given lanyards and our tickets. We walked through the small Richard MacDonald museum to the main entrance to the theater. Richard MacDonald is the guy that makes all those weird Cirque like statue/action figures. Anyway, just like the other tour, we were told that the tour includes line passes to the concession stand, which is a nice convenience.
On into the theater, we had a look around as they pointed out several things. There is a real nice pretty colored ceiling before the show, and when regular house lights are up it looks like a fancy wire mesh. And later on we saw it was just chicken wire. We learned some fun facts about the design of the theater and basically it is made to roughly simulate an old opera house. Some fun facts about the pool is that it is about 25 feet deep, but with all the lifts and stuff, the deepest it gets is about 18 feet deep. There are at least 4 different temperature zones. The stage area is set to about 88 degrees, the seats have air conditioners under them to keep the audience about 72 degrees, and the control booth upstairs is bone chilling cold because of all of the computers. The two musicians areas used to be open, but there was too much humidity for the instruments so they sealed them in and air conditioned them. Then it was too dry for the instruments. Now they have their own climate control system.
We visited the Green Room where actors and employees go to relax, eat, watch TV, play on computers, etc. Everything in there is water proof.
The next stop was the water light room. Underneath the theater, and on the front wall of the pool are several huge plastic windows. Think of it as an aquarium or shark tank like area when you can look into the pool. But no humans are down here. This where the lights shine into the pool to give the pool color. The plastic windows are 4 inches thick. Each window has a series of lights that shine into the pool. There are lots and lots of lights and electrical power equipment. Nobody is down here during the show as it is all automated and remotely controlled. It was down here that we notice lots of things inside the pool. For one, there are plenty of air regulators for everyone in the water. There is air available on the bottom of much of the equipment that floats. Even the piano that sinks has it's own air supply. And we learned about bubbles. There are bubble machines that provide bubbles most of the time in the pool. They serve several purposes. They provide texture for the lights to reflect off of. They provide a cushion for the actors that fall into the water. They also aid in depth perception for divers from high up. And they work well for cosmetics of the stage.
We then went by the costume rooms where costumes are cleaned and dried. And there is another room where costumes are repaired and maintained. There are dressing rooms near this area also. There are two big practice rooms where the actors can work out and practice their moves. There are even practice pools.
We made a big loop down one side of the stage around the back and up the other side, stopping many times to look at equipment and props and watch some practice going on. Most of the props in the pool float on their on and many are self powered. We got very close to the water and got some great views of things. There was one small spot where we could take pictures near the carousel horses.
Next we took the elevator up to the catwalks backstage. then on across to the back control booths, and that was the end of the tour. The show ended at exactly 4:00pm, they gave us a goody bag with a program and a CD.
I left out a lot of stuff so as not to completely steal the show. For instance, I asked about the main curtain before and after the show. And we learned some stuff about the fire. I left out a bunch because I'm old and forgetful and just don't remember. I do know it gave me a whole new perspective and I got a lot more out of the show than previous viewings. Speaking of perspective, my seat was Sec 103 row J seat 10. Front center, 10 rows back. The clowns came down this row with their big life raft in the pre show.
I then killed 3 hours walking around and showed back up at 7pm for a 7:30pm show. The show was great and it was fun to see things that I knew to watch for. This is not a cheap event. It is $260, but that includes an excellent seat, a great tour, a program, a CD, line pass to concessions, and I think there were passes to a nightclub. I recommend this show highly. I know some of you will not want to do this, but for those of you that have some interest and pause long enough to consider the value, I am here to urge you to go.
I also posted that the Love tour has been enhanced. To check out the Insider Access program, visit
http://www.bestofvegas.com/Cirque-Du-Soleil-Insider-Access-Show-Tickets/
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