New Doc Chronicles Near Death of Cirque’s “O” Show at Bellagio Las Vegas

“The Beatles LOVE” wasn’t the only recent Cirque du Soleil casualty in Las Vegas. “Zumanity,” which closed at New York-New York just before the pandemic shutdown in March 2020, never reopened. And “O,” the aquatic show that opened along with the Bellagio in 1998, nearly followed suit.

“Cirque du Soliel: Without a Net,” a new documentary that premiered on Amazon Prime on Thursday, chronicles the darkest period in the Montreal-based theater company’s 40-year history. During the pandemic shutdown, Cirque was forced to lay off 95% of its more than 4,000 employees and file for bankruptcy protection.

Within 48 hours, we went from 44 shows around the world to zero shows,” Daniel Lamarre, Cirque’s president & CEO, said in the film. “For a moment, I thought maybe this is the end.”

Directed by Dawn Porter (“Gideon’s Army,” “John Lewis: Good Trouble,” “Trapped”), “Without a Net” tells the story of the company’s journey back from the existential brink through the lens of “O’s” acrobats, swimmers, and divers as they attempt to adjust to their uncertain future.

“It’s really, really difficult to live without purpose,” said trapeze artist Emma Garrovillo.

Some of Garrovillo’s fellow acrobats were unable even to land temporary jobs due to the status of their work visas.

Re-“O”-pening Jitters

In November 2020, Cirque was able to reorganize, but only after its owners gave up control of their company to a group of its creditors.

Most performers were out of practice and struggled. Some quit and had to be replaced, creating the task of training newbies in such an impossibly short span.

But they did it, of course, and “O,” which celebrated its 25th anniversary last year, continues to be Cirque’s highest-grossing show.