5 Days to the Auction of Auctions at Monaco! Will Guy Laliberte Bid $1 Million for "Inside the Changing Circus"?

Author pledges a penny for every thousand dollars from Laliberte

In a letter to Cirque du Soleil founder, guide and intermittent space tourist Guy Laliberte (left, assumed to currently be on planet earth), Showbiz David (aka David Lewis Hammarstrom) challenged the Cirque King to a matching "poor-rich" grant, pledging a penny for every thousand dollars bid by Laliberte for his new book, Inside the Changing Circus: A Critic's Guide.

In his missive to Montreal, the author "directed" Laliberte's attention to a concept he devised in order to explain the often mysterious alleged story elements embedded in the Cirque du Soleil shows:

"I have devised a unique concept in a speculative mode -- drawing upon logic implicit in Plato's Theory of Forms -- to explain the intricate creative processes underpinning many of your shows which, minus narrative or dramatic elements, nonetheless manage to transport your patrons on an emotional journey of sorts. I call this Cirque way, as I have best tried to understand and describe it, 'Subliminal Structure.'"

The concept is introduced in a chapter, "Some Big Top Broccoli, Ma'am?"

Blogger Showbiz David, the author of eight books on entertainment from big tops to Broadway, received a personal invitation to send along a signed copy of his book from the Federation's executive director Laura van der Meer. The silent auction, from January 19-21, covers a two day bidding war. "What a marvelous place to introduce my book on the world stage, at the most respected circus festival anywhere."

Five days and counting.

Why the disparity among the proposed pledges? "My calculations are based upon a rough sense of what we would each respectively consider to be pocket change. Perhaps I should have suggested a penny for every million dollars from Mr. Laliberte, but I did not want to come off looking cheap. I can afford a hundred dollars. It's for a great cause, the fostering of circus arts around the world, sponsored by Princess Stephanie."

Inside the Changing Circus continues to ride high on Amazon's "Hot New [100] Releases in Performing Arts." It held the number 4 position over night, and has ranked as high as number 3. This morning (Sunday), it's holding Number 6 in new Theatre Books, Number 15 in Performing Arts.