Two Takes on Cirque du Soleil in Washington DC and Baltimore

My favorite part of Totem was the bowl-flipping unicycle girls.

Cirque du Soleil has always been on my bucket list of things to do. I finally got the chance yesterday to see its Totem show under the big top by National Harbor in DC.

It was certainly enjoyable, and most of the feats performed really made you marvel at how humans could do those things, but I can't say I was floored quite as much as I thought I would be.

My main beefs: the story of apes evolving into cavemen and into modern humans was mindless, the Italian stereotype character repeating pizza, mamma mia, and eyeyiyi over and over was borderline offensive, and many of the skits went on too long.

Perhaps this is just one of the lesser shows in the Cirque series. I give it *** out of ***** stars. For a more appreciative take, my sister-in-law Madeline Comoglio wrote a tremendous take on a recent show in Baltimore and how she enjoyed it with her daughter Julia. Here's and excerpt and you can read the entire article at (cool) progeny.

A date night with my 6-year-old daughter sounded like the perfect evening before she started school next week … and perfect it WAS!

Back track a few years ago: I decided as a Mom I was going to stop giving my kids traditional gifts for special occasions (toys to add to their pile of toys they don’t play with, clothes they beg for but refuse to actually wear – you know where I’m going with this), and I would give them the gift of an experience. Since then I’ve had many Mother-Daughter dates with my Julia. We’ve done the countless Disney on Ices, a day at the art museum, The Lion King at the Hippodrome (amazing!) and, most recently, the American Idol Concert. I have to say that our date to Dralion is now at the very top of the list – right up there with the Lion King. A must-see experience!

The acts in Dralion are none like you’ve ever seen. The talent is beyond what you can imagine, the costumes are exquisite, and the music and orchestra are enchanting – you feel like you are watching a Broadway production, a ballet, a circus, a thrill show, a symphony, and an opera all at once.

It was an absolutely pleasure from start to finish. Honestly the perfect family treat!