[dropcap]Envision[/dropcap] a world occupied by people with blue-pigmented skin. No, this isn’t a performance by the famed Blue Man Group. Inspired by James Cameron’s record-breaking 2009 blockbuster Avatar, Cirque Du Soleil presents one of their most stunning productions: Toruk – The First Flight.
Toruk is set thousands of years before the events depicted in the film, as told by a Na’vi narrator. The journey itself comes alive courtesy of Cirque du Soleil’s jaw-dropping standards of choreographed acrobatics.
Toruk is Cirque Du Soleil’s most extensive venture into narrative storytelling and serves as a prequel to the phenomenon that is Avatar, recreating the breathtaking world of Pandora and the Na’vi, its native population, in more dimensions than what we saw on the big screen. The production follows a pair of Na’vi youths coming of age in a quest that sends them around the planet to save the all-important Tree of Souls from destruction and their people from annihilation. In the end, they must confront the dreaded Toruk, a giant, flying predator whose menacing shadow repeatedly terrorizes the Na’vi.
The show marks a change from Cirque’s du Soleil’s usual production, trading its poetic themes for a more story-driven setting. But you can expect breathtakingly choreographed fight scenes and battles that will keep you on the edge of your seat.
If this prequel to the 2009 film isn’t enough, then the sequels will definitely have you rapturing in blue. Yes, James Cameron has announced the first of three sequels, simply titled Avatar 2. The film is set for release in 2017.
Toruk – The First Flight leaps to Tulsa at the BOK Center, 200 South Denver Ave. with six shows March 24-27. Tickets start at $35.
