Step up to the front; tap your toe to the beat. Let the music move your limbs. That's right... a step to the right; a step to the left; two steps back. Alegría is about to begin! A crash of cymbals and the pounding of drums announce a procession... the musicians march into view, creating mayhem wherever they go. They are dressed in white and are followed by a overly rounded man dressed in red: Fleur. He is our guide, carrying a magical stick (lit at its tip) ready to show the cruelness and lonliness of the world to us. Fleur struts about like an ill-manored man before appearing on stage. And then, as he looks out at the spectators who have come to see his play, he takes a deep breath and yells out with all his might: "ALEGRIA!"

"Mirko" fills the air as characters of all shapes, sizes and colors fill the stage. A trio of clowns waddle out and sit upon a suitcase, only to be frightened away by a big bolt of white light. Enigmatic characters in white fill and then leave the stage. The two singers, White and Black, come to us and fill the world with melodies. The Nymphs join the chorus, strutting about in birdlike fashion. We're introduced to Tamir and little Tamir; followed by the Fire Man. And then the most aristocracic characters of them all: the Old Birds. The nostalgic Old Birds observe the goings-on as though they were still young and beautiful and the future was still theirs. They admire their reflections in mirrorless frames, but are only empty shells, shadows of their former selves. They are the old aristocracy, still convinced of their power and beauty. But they are twisted, deformed and ugly. And thus Alegría begins!