Las Vegas Weekly

April 17, 2009 · 8:32 AM

Cirque du Soleil’s O celebrates milestone 5,000th performance

By Robin Leach

Ten years after it opened, Cirque du Soleil's O still impresses.

Congratulations to all the Cirque du Soleil performers in town as their water-themed show O at the Bellagio celebrates its 5,000th performance tomorrow night. Even after all those shows, 25 of the original cast, 26 of the original crew and two of the original staff still remain from the October 1998 premiere.

In fact, the man on fire, Ray Wold, has performed in all 5,000 shows. He has never missed a performance, and the total time he’s been on fire has totaled more than 250 hours!

The 225 performers who have worked in the production since Day One have represented nearly 30 countries. More than 25,000 costumes and more than 15,000 shoes have been worn, with the wardrobe department handling more than 144,000 loads of laundry. To style the wigs, more than 23,500 ounces of hairspray have been used since O began more than a decade ago.

The crew has spent more than 100,000 hours underwater during the shows. The team of high divers who travel 60 feet per show has racked up of 227 miles -- the equivalent of journeying into space 3.6 times.

More than 8.5 million guests have enjoyed O since it opened.

Robin Leach has been a journalist for more than 50 years and has spent the past decade giving readers the inside scoop on Las Vegas, the world’s premier platinum playground.

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