The `irk’ in Cirque

It could be that I have been burned by the Circus of the Sun.Now, I fully realize there are worse things to suffer in life than weariness of Cirque du Soleil, the phenomenally successful new-age Canadian circus troupe. And I also realize that to be weary of Cirque means I've had the great good fortune to see a whole lot of Cirque shows.The first Cirque show I saw, Alegria, remains my favorite; a common occurrence, I've come to learn, among Cirque fans is that your first time is usually your favorite time.That initial experience really is magical. It's the kind of experience you long for in any theatrical endeavor, be it Hamlet or Don Giovanni or Oklahoma! Soaking in the Cirque mystique -- the gorgeous, colorful costumes, the rich, worldly music, the mysterious sense that somehow, somewhere the obscure ``story'' of the show actually makes sense -- is tremendously transporting.I left the Grand Chapiteau (even Cirque's name for its blue-and-yellow-striped tent has pretensions) that first time thinking I had just seen the most brilliant thing ever.I don't usually like clowns, but I liked the clowns in Alegria (among them was Slava, who turned his wondrous bit in that show into an entire, and entirely awful, theatrical experience called Slava's Snow Show).And I found the music so intriguing I went out and bought the CD.Color me a Cirque du Soleil fan circa 1995.I've seen pretty much everything since, including all the permanent Las Vegas shows. Now we have the latest tour, Kooza, making its U.S. debut in San Francisco Friday (Nov. 16), where it continues through Jan. 13 before moving down to San Jose from Jan. 31 through March 2.The arrival of a new Cirque used to set me all atwitter. Now, from my jaded, seen-it-all perspective, I shrug my shoulders, raise my eyebrows and mutter, ``Maybe,'' or if I'm feeling French-Canadian, ``Peut-etre.''The last Cirque show to come through the Bay Area, Corteo,'' had its moments, but it also had some horrors (one Act 2 clown routine is probably the worst I've seen in a Cirque show).The mega-Cirque shows in Vegas -- Ka (the Cirque with an actual plot), Zumanity (the naughty ``adult'' Cirque), Love (the Beatles Cirque), Mystere (the one with the giant sea snail) and O (the one Cirque that maintains its magical hold year after year) -- have a tendency to be mind-numbing simply because they're so big, so multifaceted and so much the same.Sure, they all have their themes and gimmicks, their beauty and their thrills. But it's all essentially ladled from the same Soup du Soleil.Does anybody really remember what differentiated Varekai from Dralion?Now that I've whined about the pioneer of modern circus, let me share what interests me about Kooza. Two words: David Shiner.Bay Area audiences know Shiner to be a master clown. Better yet, he's a master bitter clown -- belligerent, aggressive and hard-edged.We have enjoyed his sour alongside Bill Irwin's sweet in the brilliant clown show Fool Moon, which played the Geary Theater twice -- in 1998 and 2001.Shiner is the first American writer-director of a Cirque show, and he has said that Kooza, a made-up word inspired by ``koza,'' Sanskrit for ``box, chest or treasure,'' goes back to the origins of Cirque -- back when Shiner was working on Nouvelle Experience in Cirque's late '80s-early '90s days.The show, Shiner says, is about ``human connection and the world of duality, good and bad. The tone is fun and funny, light and open. The show doesn't take itself too seriously, but it's very much about ideas, too.''That sounds promising. The emphasis seems to be on acrobatics and clowning and features a stunt called ``Wheel of Death.'' Hard to resist the lure of potential death at the highbrow circus.Whatever it takes -- I'm ready for the ``irk'' to be taken out of my Cirque du Soleil attitude.Kooza continues through Jan. 13 (now extended through Jan. 20) in the tent in the parking lot behind AT&T Park, corner of Third Street and Terry A. Francois Boulevard, San Francisco. Shows are at 8 p.m. Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays; 4 and 8 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays; 1 and 5 p.m. Sundays. Tickets are $38.50 to $81. Call 866-624-7783 or visit www.cirquedusoleil.com.