I’ve never experienced a Cirque du Soleil performance before ‘Twas the Night Before spun into town. It is quite a sight; imagine the very best of a circus on the Shea’s Buffalo stage with dazzling costumes, makeup, music, and spectacular lighting effects. No, there are no lions, seals, or ringmasters; this is elite performance art and athleticism woven into a story.

‘Twas the Night Before, as the title suggests, is a riff on Clement-Clarke Moore’s iconic “A Visit from St. Nicholas” poem. In this telling, a Father and Isabella the daughter share a holiday tradition: they read the poem together. This year, Isabella is too cool for school, with devices in hand and on head and she disses dad and the story. The poem comes to life as father and daughter get caught in some (obvious) lake-effect snow, are separated, and meet some characters along the way back home. With no spoken words, the audience extrapolates the journey from the music and movement on stage…and there’s plenty of both. This show is a non-stop energy flow.

There’s a lot of fun here. There’s high-speed juggling with rings and clubs that glow blue on a darkened stage. The ‘strap duo’ are aerialists in a precise pas de deux suspended 20-feet about the stage. Isabella meets a couple skating on a frozen lake (really a 250-lb platform that’s six-feet across) and she marvels at their tricks and trust. Les Tuques is the dance assemble that highlight their hip hop with acrobatics and lots of mime. She also meets Ava, the pampered starlet, who tosses her a gift from her stash on a hotel luggage rack, and then performs a dazzling dance as the rack spins and tilts. Two acts in particular caught my eye and admiration: an aerialist with a brilliant brunette bun is suspended by her hair (to a sturdy cable) and she spins and turns more than 100 times. The programs says her top speed is seven turns per second; and the diabolo (a figure eight-shaped juggling prop) act was pretty exciting. Jugglers as boys in puffy outerwear are tossing diabolos across the stage and from the house to the stage, too. They also bring up a couple audience members who get wrapped up -literally – in the fun. The speed and height of these glowing objects were impressive. Isabella has her moment, too, riding her new bicycle on both wheels, one wheel, no-hands, and all manner of cool positions. Finally, Santa’s reindeer get in the show with plenty of hoop diving which has them flying more than 10-feet high.

Admittedly, circus acts have never been my thing, but I side-eyed my Theatre Companion all night and he was mesmerized, so much that he forgot I was next to him. The overall effects of the entire production will do that to you. With 26 performers on stage, who are relying on their movements and gestures to lead you into a story, the entire experience here is quite captivating. There’s more music (41 pieces) than a typical Broadway show, blending original stuff with nicely arranged Christmas classics. Shout out to composer/musical director Jean-Phi Goncalves.

‘Twas the Night Before runs 85-minutes with no intermission to December 28. Find tickets and info at https://www.sheas.org.