Of Cirque and sitcoms

Has anybody noticed that Cirque du Soleil is moving in the opposite direction of the Strip as a whole?

Here’s what I mean: The Strip is getting less and less schticky; Cirque’s getting more and more. The last three major casinos to open (Encore, M and CityCenter) have no discernible themes; the last three Cirque shows to open (LOVE, Believe and Viva Elvis) do. That’s the opposite of what happened in the ’90s.

I saw Viva Elvis last week, and I liked it. It’s everything a 100-million-dollar Broadway production of Bye Bye Birdie should be. Cirque modernized Elvis’s music without screwing up its sentiment. It’s a fun, flashy spectacle.

But it’s no Mystere. And it’s no Ka. (Then again, what is?) It’s familiar.

Now, familiarity isn’t necessarily a bad thing. People like familiar, which explains the success of Two and a Half Men.

But since when does Cirque do familiar? Well, since 2006, I guess. Have they gone overboard with familiarity? When Cirque premieres its Two and a Half Men show, that’ll be the giveaway.