At the foot of the Strat Hotel, Casino and Skypod in Las Vegas is a 30,000-square-foot tent where a new production, "Celestia," reaches for the stars.
Stunning acrobatics, imaginative dance numbers and breathtaking aerial feats propel the 70-minute production. The audience quickly meets a girl made of stars, Celestia, who shines light on different inhabitants of the planet and engages with them in different ways. She encounters two clowns -- a star-catcher and a janitor, one a dreamer and one more practical -- who go on the fast-moving journey with her.
"This show has a buoyancy and an adventurous spirit that's constantly changing and keeps you guessing what's going to happen next," said Allegra Libonati, the show's director. Libonati was the assistant director of the Tony Award-winning revival of "Hair" along with many other Broadway and off-Broadway credits.
"I'm very proud of how we were able to put the acts together in a way that feels like you're going on a journey but you don't have to get too bogged down in the intellectual. You can just go on a ride with it," she said.
"Celestia" features more than two-dozen performers. They include the hand-and-head balancing father-daughter duo Sergey and Sasha, who appeared on NBC's "America's Got Talent" and the Sandou Trio Russian Bar, who were also seen on that show as well as in the 2017 film "The Greatest Showman."
The original score by Michael Brennan and AnnMarie Milazzo complements the journey, which includes a Wheel of Death (a large, rotating apparatus on which performers carry out synchronized acrobatic skills), a knife-throwing and crossbow marksman and a trapeze act.
Libonati said she has been surprised and delighted by the reactions of children in the audience. "You see them with their hands over their faces watching the Wheel of Death. They're jumping in their seats. They're laughing and clapping along. In the rock number inspired by AC/DC music, the kids go crazy with the music and the performance."
"Celestia" is performed eight times a week at the Strat (formerly the Stratosphere), with 7 p.m. shows on Wednesdays and Thursdays and 7 p.m. and 9 p.m. shows on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays. Tickets are $29 to $89, not including taxes and fees and are available at StratRising.com.