When you think of the big Cirque du Soleil productions, you normally tend to think of the Las Vegas shows like O at Bellagio and Mystere at Treasure Island. Now, it seems more are coming to LA with the Iris show in Hollywood at the Kodak Theatre and now opening, Ovo, in Santa Monica. There was a Goldstar special for the Iris show for about $75 for Orchesta Floor seats – it was a good deal considering it was close to the stage about 4 rows back.

There’s really no place to park around there, so the best bet is to just buy or eat something there at Hollywood and Highland, so you can have your parking validated. It’s only ten dollars max for the day anyways. I decided on grabbing lunch first at The Grill at the top floor. It’s a decent restaurant with pretty good service – the normal American standard fare. If you become a member of the Hollywood and Highland and print out the free membership card, you can get a free appetizer! We got the calamari which was fresh and delicious. For lunch, my date got the mahi fish tacos and I opted for the cheeseburger. The burger was nice and juicy, a little over medium, but not too bad. And I like the steak fries.

After lunch, we just walked around for a bit ’til it was closer to the starting time. We walked in about 20mins early and inside was okay with some concessions for snacks and drinks. Inside the theater, we got into our seats. The Kodak Theater is beautiful and I was happy to be close up to the stage with a good view. There were some actors walking around interacting with the audience before the show. One of them was Mimi who wears this rotating dress which when she spins it, shows a moving picture. Another actor was “Smitty” who asked if I was a director. I pretended to be one and played along. He asked for my name and this would lead to something interesting after the intermission.

The first half was good. I enjoyed the acrobats flying from atop and across the stage. It was beautifully done. Also, the Chinese female acrobats were just amazing. The part I didn’t really care for was the male acrobats dressed up in colorful bug outfits. I thought there were too many errors and mistakes.

There is about a 20 minute intermission until the second half starts. The beginning of the second half was much more to my liking. Everyone was on stage doing something and there was so much to look at that you are staring back and forth at everything. I also enjoyed the music a bit more. Then, for the most embarrassing part of the night, I was able to take part in the show. There is an audience participation section where I have to fight “Smitty” for an academy award. I was chosen the winner and brought up on my stage. Everything seem so surreal at this point, I just went with the flow and tried my best to make it funny. I pretended not to want to give the award back. We also had to do a dancing number, sexy pose, and an acting bit to finally determine the winner. When I got back to my seat, people were telling me I did a good job and my date was laughing hilariously. I enjoyed the rest of the show. Afterwards, people were pointing at me outside the theater and smiling since they recognized me from the part in the show. I quickly left before more humiliation could ensue!

For your chance to get in on the action, check out Iris or Ovo, which opens January 20th!