Cirque du Soleil’s next Las Vegas show a radical departure from its acrobatic present

SFChronicle.com: For 35 years, Cirque du Soleil has sold tickets and stunned audiences by creating live, theatrical spectacles that largely follow an understood, if not explicit, set of rules: The music is live. The narrative is loose. There are no stars. High-tech stages and sets support the sense of wonder, created largely by acrobats doing things you didn’t know a human body could do. I’ve left most Cirque shows feeling awed and inspired — and like I desperately needed to hit the gym.