Thumbs Up! Cirque du Soleil: Totem Raises the (Trapeze) Bar to Astounding New Heights

After nearly 30 years, Cirque du Soleil is still finding new ways to delight and surprise us. But let’s face it—after witnessing the magic of Alegria, Dralion, Varekai, Ka, Wintuk, Zarkana and dozens of other awe-inspiring Cirque productions throughout the years, it's hard to distiguish one amazing show from another. This isn't the case with Cirque du Soleil: Totem, which opened March 14 in a blue-and-yellow big-top just outside of New York’s CitiField. Totem is an evening of fresh, daring and downright terrifying new stunts, some of which seem so specialized, it’s a wonder they’ve found performers who can master them at all. For instance, you've never really lived until you’ve seen five pint-sized women on seven-foot unicycles balance dozens of gold bowls on their feet before flipping them effortlessly onto their heads. Although plot isn’t the prime focus in most Cirque shows, two Totem acts are exquisitely moving love stories: The first, an innovative routine featuring young lovers who squabble over a trapeze bar, and the second, a roller-skating act featuring a stoic man who, while spinning on top of a drum, whirls his beloved around at dizzying speeds to prove his devotion. Featuring an array of monkeys, frogs, fish and futuristic beings who learn to live in tandem with nature, Totem’s central theme is evolution, and the elaborate costumes, tricks and stunts are more impressive than ever before. Thumbs up to Totem for raising Cirque’s already high bar way, way up into the stratosphere.