Cirque du Soleil’s touring production, “Crystal” — its first one staged on an ice rink — launched in 2017. It arrived at the recently opened Fishers Event Center on Jan. 23 of 2025. That night was my first encounter with both the venue and this particular Cirque production. Or so I thought.

Some thoughts.

— For me, Cirque shows have run hot and cold. While I still have strong memories of “La Nuba,” the production presented in a specially designed theater at Walt Disney World, I was less enamored with “Varekei,” the “Avatar”-themed “Toruk” (and wondering if purists consider that Pandora canon), and a few other touring ones. While usually bowled over by the talents on display, there often comes a moment when it all seems to get a bit boring. And there’s guilt with that, since the feats being demonstrated border on godlike. No CGI-enhanced cinematic superhero can come close to this level of amazement. But, still, a numbness tends to set in.

— That didn’t happen at “Crystal,” which fit comfortably into the new arena in Fishers. Never bored, I enjoyed each segment while looking forward to what the Cirque team would come up with next.

— What surprised me most, though, wasn’t what I witnessed during the show, but what I realized afterwards: I had already seen “Crystal.” In fact, I wrote about it on this very website back in 2019. At no point watching it this time, though, did I have a flashback or moment of deja vu. That may say something about the ephemeral nature of Cirque shows. Or it may something about me.

— Whatever the case, I stand by what I wrote then: With elements of “The Wizard of Oz,” “Alice in Wonderland,” and “Rollerball” (yes, “Rollerball”) “Crystal” loosely follows a dissatisfied young woman who falls through a crack in the ice into a world of, well, Cirque acts and psychobabble. There’s joyous juggling to klezmer music, a hockey-ish match where ramps send players into the air while Irish tunes blast, a briefcase brigade, and poll climbers and chair stackers who effective do what seems impossible–and then raise the stakes even higher. There’s also some incoherent stuff about a magic pen. And narration that seems to come from the Marianne Williamson’s playbook (“My thoughts become their actions. I can write my own joy…”).

— As for the venue, while it doesn’t yet have a distinct personality, the 7500-seat arena proved comfortable and seems to fill a niche for indoor concerts and events between the 1500-seat Palladium/2500-seat Murat and Gainbridge Fieldhouse’s 18,000, while also doubling as a sports venue.

— Be warned: There’s a hefty parking fee that isn’t well posted (if posted at all). If the weather is amenable, it’s not a bad walk from the nearby restaurants — or the IKEA parking lot.

— Speaking of which, there’s no shortage of eateries in the immediate vacinity. We tried the new Kuro Revolving Sushi Bar without any complaints.