Nouvelle Expérience was Cirque du Soleil's fourth touring circus show, which premiered in 1990. Before the show's conception, Cirque du Soleil attempted to revive one of its previous shows, Le Cirque Réinventé. The attempt was abandoned after a weak critical reception. Laliberté and Ste-Croix instead created a new show based on the plans that had originally been drawn up by Caron before his departure. Originally intended to be called Eclipse, they renamed the show Nouvelle Expérience and launched it in 1990. Franco Dragone agreed to return—albeit reluctantly—but only if he had full creative control of the show's environment. One of the first things he did was to remove the curtain that separated the artist from the audience, so that they would both feel part of a larger show. Whereas in a traditional circus the artist could go past the curtain and drop his role, Dragone had created an environment where the artist had to remain in character for the full length of the production. Although Dragone was given full control over the show, Laliberté oversaw the entire production. He was in favor of Dragone's new ideas. Inspired by Jules Verne's "La Chasse au Météore", Dragone's concept for the show was that the performers were playing the parts of jewels spread around the Earth. Nouvelle Expérience turned out to be Cirque du Soleil's most popular show up to that point and would continue running until 1993. It spent one of those years at the Mirage Resort and Hotel on the Las Vegas Strip, seen by over 1.3 million people during its 3½-year run. By the end of 1990, the company was profitable again and was prepared to start a new show. Characters Flounes: The fallen angels. Dressed in browns and ochres. Devils: The spirits of disobedience. Dressed in reds. Corporation: The slaves of the world. Dressed in blue. Madame Corporation/Enterprise: Queen of the Flounes, and along with the Great Chamberlain, ruler of the Corporation. Great Chamberlain (aka Ringmaster): Madame Corporation's right-hand man. Everyman: Dressed in a brown suit, this clown character was originally performed by David Shiner. Shiner played a slightly absent-minded mute who tried to make friends with the Flounes; his acts included sparring with audience members who challenged him, and playing a incompetent film director who tries to make a romantic tragedy. British actor Geoff Hoyle replaced Shiner in early 1991 for one-off understudy performances in San Diego &