Cirque du Soleil returning to the Grove for one day only

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As if Cirque du Soleil needed more visibility in this world, the Grove in Los Angeles will host a special day featuring performances from Cirque’s Las Vegas productions -- ‘Mystère,’ ‘O,’ ‘CRISS ANGEL Believe,’ ‘Viva ELVIS,’ ‘KÀ’ and ‘Zumanity.’

The free event will take place Aug. 22, beginning at 11 a.m. at the Grove with activities for children. Starting at 1 p.m., there will be brief performances from the aforementioned shows that will last for much of the afternoon.

There also will be a chance for the public to meet Cirque du Soleil cast members in the afternoon.

Last year, Cirque du Soleil put on a similar free show at the Grove as part of its 25th anniversary season.

Cirque du Soleil also announced that its founder, Guy Laliberté, will receive a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in the fall of 2010, but it didn’t specify the date.

In the summer of 2011, Cirque du Soleil is scheduled to launch its first resident Hollywood production at the Kodak Theatre at the Hollywood & Highland Center. The show, which still does not have a title, is inspired by the history of moviemaking in Los Angeles.

Gilles Ste-Croix and Stéphane Mongeau, both of Cirque, told The Times in late 2009 that the $100-million Hollywood production will necessitate some reconfigurations of the Kodak.
The show is expected to play year-round, but not on Oscar night.

-- David Ng

[Updated: a previous version of this post stated that some of the performances would last 30 minutes. A representative of Cirque has informed us that the shows will be briefer than that. Since the event is free, we can only assume that you will get what you pay for.]