The Justice

As the velvet curtains begin to rise up from the ground, the silhouettes of a half dozen circus performers slowly file out across the smoke-filled stage. From above, the outline of a hanging cage pokes through the darkness. The ringleader stands motionless inside, wearing a crimson jacket and black riding boots, a long whip grasped securely in her right hand. The cage is halfway down at this point, now slowly rotating for all to see. On her face she wears a cheetah mask, with wildly ornate plumes flaring out from all sides.

The cage touches ground. She steps off, slowly removing the mask to unveil a buoyant bob of healthy, blonde, shoulder-length hair. Smirking slightly, she raises the whip behind her head: "There's only two types of people in the world: the ones who entertain, and the ones who observe." With a short crack of the whip, the stage explodes with lights, sound, and smoke. Noticing an eerie silence from my right, I turn to find my neighbor frozen in pose, mouth agape and hands pressed firmly against her cheeks in disbelief. Yeah, I'd say Britney's back.

And so, "The Circus: Starring Britney Spears" began-a show that, until only about three months ago, would have seemed more like a cruel joke if offered up in conversation than an actual event. I've tried to evade the cringeworthy "C word" in describing the night's events (Get your heads out of the gutter-I'm talking about "comeback"). However, to remove the narrative from the equation would ultimately mean ignoring the symbolism behind The Circus: Standing here is a young woman, who, despite being reduced to a mere shell of herself only two years ago, drugged against her will and lost in a barrage of shady associates and media scrutiny, is now performing in the center of a sold out TD Banknorth Garden, an arena that seats approximately 18,000 people-a reality that lifts the production from the ranks of mere brilliance to a damn near miracle.

Continued...

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