CIRQUE DU SOLEIL QUIDAM
7:30 p.m. Verizon Arena. $38-$98.
One of the funniest things that ever happened in the Arkansas Times newsroom occurred one of the times Cirque du Soleil came to town. Suddenly, on a quiet afternoon, a herd of clowns — and weird, silent, mime-esque clowns at that, with one of them teetering around on stilts — invaded our offices as part of their tour of local media outlets.
Because then-editor and Arkansas Blog mastermind Max Brantley was scowling a blog post into the existence at the time, of course they made a bee-line for his desk. They proceeded to crowd around and bug the ever-loving hell out of him, touching his stuff and ringing a big school bell in his ear. He, meanwhile, ignored them and continued to work, frowning the whole time like a stone idol on an altar devoted to human sacrifice.
There were some clowns who didn't know how close they came to death that day.
Luckily for clowns, Max will be out of the country for this return engagement at Verizon this week, when Cirque du Soleil brings its new roadshow "Quidam" to town. Expect to be amazed by jaw-dropping feats of acrobatic grace and strength. Showtimes are 7:30 p.m. Thursday, Friday and Saturday, with matinees at 3:30 p.m. Saturday and 1 p.m. Sunday.