Voila!

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But as these shows get bigger, so do the challenges. The Cirque bosses need to be pleased; the powerful men they deal with need to be attended, though not appeased. Ste-Croix says that when Wynn saw a run-through of Mystere, he didn't like it: "He thought it was too heavy, like an opera." Ste-Croix assured his sponsor that the piece was still in rehearsal but that Cirque would not dilute its brand of theater to turn Mystere into a standard Vegas show. The company is equally unlikely to compromise on movie offers. Disney and Universal (two film companies with theme-park operations that might welcome a Cirque attraction) have expressed interest, but Ste-Croix insists that Cirque have artistic control, which he doubts any big studio will agree to.

Meanwhile, the gifted vagabonds from the streets of Montreal have established a globe-trotting itinerary for each new tent show, which they continue to produce biennially: the first year in Canada and California; second year, the East Coast and Chicago; third year, Japan and Asia; fourth and fifth years, Europe.

"Our latest five-year plan will bring us into the year 2000, and then," Ste-Croix says with a chuckle, "we'll go to Mars!" But why reach for the heavens? As an enchanting theatrical experience -- as a place where audiences can watch a Prometheus glide magically in space and then find themselves soaring with him -- this Circus of the Sun already rules the earth.