The singing is quite skillful, too. ?Kaos,? a ?Las Vegas meets Broadway? production, presents glossy song-and-dance routines, eye-popping acrobatic stunts, sleek magic involving huge jungle cats and some other stunning acts that have yet to be categorized. It would be a perfectly justifiable indulgence to catch it, if you haven?t yet. Or even if you have.

Named for the rare white lion that?s a pivotal member of the cast, ?Kaos? is ongoing six times weekly at the Newport Performing Arts Theater in Resorts World Manila, Pasay City, but not for much longer. It opened the lifestyle/entertainment complex?s premier venue last Dec. 1; final presentation is on May 31, by which time the show will have been staged 144 times.

To the tune of ?Where is Love?,? two Chinese acrobats swirl in the air, held aloft by a length of chiffon-like material flowing down from an overhead pulley. It looks so easy, even romantic, until you notice shoulder and arm muscles working double time.

Beautiful muscle men dressed as galleons (yes, sailing ships) steal the thunder from the women in medieval finery. Two of those men later engage the audience with an intense routine, including one of them carrying the other for a breathtaking 15 seconds like a yoke, but vertically, on the sheer strength of his nape. He must have grown steel pockets on his back! On what extreme protein variety were these boys from Belarus raised?

Kaos the lion and the two enormous Bengal tigers (they hold the spectators spellbound by simply walking listlessly onstage) belong to a menagerie of animal performers specially trained by master illusionist Enrique Polo, from Spain. He has at least five mind-boggling spots in the show.

Did we mention that this is an international ensemble?

Certainly the most awesome and best applauded number is ?Cycle of Life? ? five motorcyclists, also from Spain, who perform is-that-possible stunts inside a metal globe that can?t be even a tenth of that one in front of Mall of Asia. And oh, are those two South American guys on the ?Human Time Machine? human?

The Filipino cast component consists of singer/actor Gian Magdangal as the lovesick prince; half-Pinay ?Canadian Idol? alumna Martha Joy as the princess; Joel Trinidad as the scheming royal advisor; Jemuel Victorina as the king (based on the story line, these are the four top roles); hip hop dance champions Philippine All Stars; singer Natasha Garucha as Princess Flora; and the Manila Symphony Orchestra (playing dreamily from a balcony perch). Many of the dancers are Pinoys as well.

Centerpiece of the state-of-the-art (and technology) 1,500-seat venue is a complex fly system with 27 battens and a nine-meter diameter revolving stage with three sets of scissor-type stage risers that can be lifted up to two meters from the stage floor.

Huh? That?s the technical explanation for some unexplainable aspects of ?Kaos.? There?s more, but you need not look at these things rationally; illusion works for reality escapees.

(Tickets are from P988 to P3,000. Call 836-6333 or visit www.rwmanila.com.)