When Cirque du Soleil first came to the Las Vegas Strip in 1992, the acrobatic troupe set up a blue- and-yellow tent in a hotel parking lot. Fast-forward to 2005 and the Canadian-based Cirque has unveiled its newest Las Vegas extravaganza in its own $135 million theater at the MGM Grand hotel-casino. "It's great," a glowing Guy Laliberte, Cirque's founder, said shortly before the gala premiere of "KA" on Thursday night. "What we're trying to do is break new ground each time." 
The visually stunning $30 million production represents a number of firsts for Cirque du Soleil, French for "Circus of the Sun." It's the first time a Cirque show has a defined story -- a perilous journey involving twins who are separated from each other and their family.
"KA" also employs the use of puppets, fitted to performers who frolic onstage as an assortment of creatures, including starfish, crabs and a snake. "We're trying to find a familiar world that is fantastic and different at the same time," said puppet designer Michael Curry, known for his work on the stage production of "The Lion King."
More than a thousand props are used in "KA," which takes its audience on a journey from the sea to a mythical forest and includes an epic aerial battle. Seats are equipped with speakers to envelop the audience with the show's pounding score.
The stage, if it can be called that, is a captivating and integral part of the show. When "KA" first begins, there is an enormous void occupying the space where the stage should be. As the story unfolds, platforms rise from the theater's depths, tilting and spinning until the curtain falls. "It's a theatrical, cinematic, movement piece," said choreographer Jacques Heim. "It's a fusion of different elements, different languages. It does become like a different art form."
The 1,951-seat theater was designed by rock concert designer Mark Fisher, who created a dynamic stage to complement the hall's cathedral-like, subterranean feel.
