Cirque du Soleil: 'Toruk - The First Flight'

There are a lot of people who have never seen a production by "Cirque du Soleil" and unthinkingly regard it as a combination of Disneyworld and Clorox bleach: something bland and homogenous by and for whites.

In fact, the company is composed of an astonishing number of gifted artists, including not only its troupe of acrobats and dancers but also lighting technicians and designers, costumers, puppet-masters, composers, sound designers and choreographers. All of those are on display in its new traveling arena show, "Toruk - The First Flight."

The production takes its inspiration and its setting from the movie, "Avatar." Think of it as a very early prequel. Located on the same moon in the Alpha Centauri solar system where the film professed to take place, it depicts the native Nav'i people in an earlier epoch.

The focus is upon a pair of brothers, one adopted, who leave their tribe on a quest to find five "talisman." A prophecy has instructed them that the symbols can be used to prevent an environmental catastrophe which threatens an ancient tree essential to their way of life. Along the way, the brothers meet a princess who assists them. In the background is the dragon-like predator bird known as the Toruk.

The story is partly mimed and partly related to the audience by an unseen narrator. So don't expect great drama or much in the way of acting. The latter would be impossible in any event in the huge indoor arenas, like the Barclays Center in which its being staged on its national tour.

What "Toruk" instead provides is a dazzling spectacle. This comes in many forms. One is its use of massive projections. These are used to present the settings and to depict rapidly flowing oceans and waterfalls, erupting volcanoes, arid desert landscapes, and dewy forests. There are also astonishing kites, gorgeous tent-like costumes for the production's many dancers, wonderful puppets of the planet's beasts and the high-wire acts for which the company is most known. The whole is complemented by lots of propulsive, original music. Some of that uses percussion to suggest tribal music and energy. Other pieces are more melodic, often making use of vocalize.

Most kids will love it. But I think that most parents will greatly enjoy the show as well. I might add that the tickets are not outrageously priced. The seats from which my significant other and I saw the show were quite good, and we learned later that they would have been $49 each. In all, tickets range from $37 to $135, and many of the nosebleed sections were deliberately left empty to ensure that those in attendance had a good view.

"Toruk - The First Flight" runs through Sept. 11 at the Barclays Center, 620 Atlantic Avenue in Brooklyn, as part of their national tour. For tickets, go to http://www.barclayscenter.com/events/detail/cirque-du-soleil or call 917-618-6800. The show will then head to the Prudential Center in Newark where it will run from Sept. 15-18. For those tickets, go to http://www.prucenter.com/event.php?EventID=325 or call Ticketmaster at 800-745-3000.