Alternative Character Interpretation: Brian Le Petit is a variant on the clown act that Wayne Hronek created and performed for the show's first seven years under the character name Benny Le Grand. The character's troublemaking actions are hardly changed, but Brian Dewhurst realized that he did not feel comfortable playing the role as "rather a dark, bitter clown", and from there developed a persona that is best referred to as "impish". Le Petit is now an Interpretative Character — the events of his segments are fixed but the approach of a given performer is up to them. Where he falls along the line of being innocently Curious as a Monkey to being a malicious Troll is largely up to the audience point of view, although the 2018 program argues in favor of the latter.
Ensemble Dark Horse: While a participant in the teeterboard/fast track act, the Red Bird is primarily a dancing character...but so popular that the official logo now features him/her (as seen on the main article's page image). One article in a Vegas tourist magazine went so far as to suggest that the Red Bird has become the real protagonist of the show!
Fan Nickname: Moha-Samedi is better known as "The Man in Pink" in the Cirque fanbase, and has even been referred to as just "Pink Guy" in official Cirque promotional materials!
Genre Turning Point: This and Sigfried and Roy's magic show at the neighboring Mirage Hotel and Casino irrevocably changed the Las Vegas entertainment landscape by opening the door for a wider, and higher-quality, variety of acts after years of showgirl extravaganzas, celebrity impersonators, and the like.
Moment of Awesome: Brian Le Petit's whole setpiece with the crate is a marvel — Le Petit is arguably pure awesome period — but if it could be boiled down to one moment, it would be after he's been told by the emcee to leave. Alone on stage, he quietly pulls out his handkerchief and drapes it over one hand, makes a magical gesture with the other, and pulls the cloth away to reveal...his middle finger, as his reply to the emcee. The emcee returns to toss him out of the show entirely, so this is the last time the audience sees Brian. Yes, even a clown act can have a moment of defiant, funny awesomeness.
One-Scene Wonder: Due to one of the protagonists (Bebe Francois) serving as a clown act, aside from the preshow / Opening Ballet and a blackout skit Brian Le Petit only gets one setpiece within the show in comparison to most Cirque clowns getting at least two and the preshow. But heavens, he makes it count.
Unpopular Popular Character: Brian Le Petit is effectively — if unintentionally — the enemy of all the other characters, having decided to just step into their world and do as he damn well pleases (and according to the 2018 program, it's just out of curiosity). He is not above injuring others to avoid being held accountable for his mischief, to the point that he shoots the Red Bird over a stolen loaf of bread and while he's friendlier with the audience, there's no getting around the fact that he effectively kidnaps a man so he can woo his date. Is it any wonder that he's not only ejected from the show but doesn't appear in the curtain call? And in a more meta sense, he's almost always Sir Not-Appearing-in-This-Trailer. None of this stops him from being one of the show's most popular characters, exceeded only by Moha-Samedi and the Red Bird, and regarded as perhaps the gold standard among Cirque du Soleil clown acts.
