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Cirque du Soleil 'Michael Jackson ONE' permanent Las Vegas show
- Thread starter marc_vivien
- Start date
bluesky
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- Oct 31, 2009
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Re: Cirque du Soleil "Michael Jackson ONE" permanent Las Vega show
More pics from twitter
@MIKESNEDEGAR
Dress Rehearsal for #MJOne cirque - Sooooooo DOPE! Can't wait to see it again! @ Michael Jackson ONE http://instagram.com/p/Zo715mCb2-/
More pics from twitter
@MIKESNEDEGAR
Dress Rehearsal for #MJOne cirque - Sooooooo DOPE! Can't wait to see it again! @ Michael Jackson ONE http://instagram.com/p/Zo715mCb2-/
morinen
Proud Member
- Joined
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Re: Cirque du Soleil "Michael Jackson ONE" permanent Las Vega show
When I was at "Beatles LOVE" show a couple years ago in Vegas, I visited the theater store with all the Beatles memorabilia and wished there was the same store for MJ. In Hollywood too you can buy so many Beatles and Elvis things, but almost nothing MJ apart from a few lousy T-shirts. Now my dream is finally coming true!! Oh my poor credit card...
When I was at "Beatles LOVE" show a couple years ago in Vegas, I visited the theater store with all the Beatles memorabilia and wished there was the same store for MJ. In Hollywood too you can buy so many Beatles and Elvis things, but almost nothing MJ apart from a few lousy T-shirts. Now my dream is finally coming true!! Oh my poor credit card...
bluesky
Proud Member
- Joined
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Re: Cirque du Soleil "Michael Jackson ONE" permanent Las Vega show
OK more pics@
@Robin_Leach
Inside the Michael Jackson One show at Mandalay Bay for 1st preview. Guy LaLiberte Cirque founder here pic.twitter.com/FJ03kgHPKV
7:08 PM - 23 May 2013
@Robin_Leach
Imagery of MJ glove hat shoes white sox on the screen before show starts pic.twitter.com/xppWEH3Ff5
7:10 PM - 23 May 2013
@Robin_Leach
Paparazzi roams dally Bay theater for new MJ1 show https://vine.co/v/bV7AudhIUID
7:12 PM - 23 May 2013
Vine @vineapp
@Robin_Leach
Stunning incredible dancing in MJ1 show https://vine.co/v/bV71BDMuj0Y
7:39 PM - 23 May 2013
OK more pics@
@Robin_Leach
Inside the Michael Jackson One show at Mandalay Bay for 1st preview. Guy LaLiberte Cirque founder here pic.twitter.com/FJ03kgHPKV
7:08 PM - 23 May 2013
@Robin_Leach
Imagery of MJ glove hat shoes white sox on the screen before show starts pic.twitter.com/xppWEH3Ff5
7:10 PM - 23 May 2013
@Robin_Leach
Paparazzi roams dally Bay theater for new MJ1 show https://vine.co/v/bV7AudhIUID
7:12 PM - 23 May 2013
Vine @vineapp@Robin_Leach
Stunning incredible dancing in MJ1 show https://vine.co/v/bV71BDMuj0Y
7:39 PM - 23 May 2013
bluesky
Proud Member
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Cirque's Michael Jackson tribute begins ticketed previews<figure style="float: left;" class="video media-735621 mlink even">
MICHAEL QUINE/LAS VEGAS REVIEW-JOURNAL
<figcaption class="caption">Cirque du Soleil debuts part of the new "Michael Jackson One" show at Mandalay Bay on May 7. The show is scheduled to debut in its entirety on June 29.
</figcaption> </figure> <figure style="float: left;" class="image media-760096 mlink odd">
JESSICA EBELHAR/LAS VEGAS REVIEW-JOURNAL
<figcaption class="caption">Cirque du Soleil performers debut part of the new "Michael Jackson One" show at Mandalay Bay on May 7. It offered glimpses of the show to media and was not open to the public. The show is scheduled to debut in its entirety on June 29.
</figcaption> </figure> <figure style="float: left;" class="image media-760101 mlink even">
JESSICA EBELHAR/LAS VEGAS REVIEW-JOURNAL
<figcaption class="caption">The hallway leading up to Cirque du Soleil's "Michael Jackson One" show at Mandalay Bay features pictures of Jackson performing.
</figcaption> </figure> <figure style="float: left;" class="image media-760206 mlink odd">
JESSICA EBELHAR/LAS VEGAS REVIEW-JOURNAL
<figcaption class="caption">Cirque du Soleil performers debut part of the new "Michael Jackson One" show at Mandalay Bay on May 7. It offered glimpses of the show to media and was not open to the public. The show is scheduled to debut in its entirety on June 29.
</figcaption> </figure> <figure style="float: left;" class="image media-760211 mlink even">
JESSICA EBELHAR/LAS VEGAS REVIEW-JOURNAL
<figcaption class="caption">The entry leading into Cirque du Soleil's "Michael Jackson One" show at Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino is seen in Las Vegas on May 7, 2013.
</figcaption> </figure> <figure style="float: left;" class="image media-760216 mlink odd">
JESSICA EBELHAR/LAS VEGAS REVIEW-JOURNAL
<figcaption class="caption">Cirque du Soleil performers debut part of the new "Michael Jackson One" show at Mandalay Bay on May 7. It offered glimpses of the show to media and was not open to the public. The show is scheduled to debut in its entirety on June 29.
</figcaption> </figure> <figure style="float: left;" class="image media-760221 mlink even">
JESSICA EBELHAR/LAS VEGAS REVIEW-JOURNAL
<figcaption class="caption">Cirque du Soleil performers debut part of the new "Michael Jackson One" show at Mandalay Bay on May 7. It offered glimpses of the show to media and was not open to the public. The show is scheduled to debut in its entirety on June 29.
</figcaption> </figure> <figure style="float: left;" class="image media-760226 mlink odd">
JESSICA EBELHAR/LAS VEGAS REVIEW-JOURNAL
<figcaption class="caption">Cirque du Soleil performers debut part of the new "Michael Jackson One" show at Mandalay Bay on May 7. It offered glimpses of the show to media and was not open to the public. The show is scheduled to debut in its entirety on June 29.
</figcaption> </figure>
<figure style="float: left;" class="video media-735621 mlink even">
</figure> <figure style="float: left;" class="image media-760096 mlink odd">
</figure> <figure style="float: left;" class="image media-760101 mlink even">
</figure> <figure style="float: left;" class="image media-760206 mlink odd">
</figure> <figure style="float: left;" class="image media-760211 mlink even">
</figure> <figure style="float: left;" class="image media-760216 mlink odd">
</figure> <figure style="float: left;" class="image media-760221 mlink even">
</figure> <figure style="float: left;" class="image media-760226 mlink odd">http://www.reviewjournal.com/entertainment/shows/cirques-michael-jackson-tribute-begins-ticketed-previews</figure>
<aside class="ds-coll">
Preview
"Michael Jackson One"
7 p.m. Saturday-Wednesday
Mandalay Bay, 3950 Las Vegas Blvd. South
$79.26-$189.15 (877-632-7400)
</aside> By MIKE WEATHERFORD
LAS VEGAS REVIEW-JOURNAL
So you made your first $281 million. Now what do you do for an encore?
But that was always the challenge for the creators of “Michael Jackson One,” the next phase of Cirque du Soleil’s partnership with the late superstar’s estate.
The new show carries over much of the creative team behind Cirque’s hit arena tour “Michael Jackson The Immortal,” this time for a salute to the King of Pop more in line with the company’s other Las Vegas spectacles.
“It really is part two,” director Jamie King says of the Mandalay Bay show that began ticketed previews Thursday, building to an official opening night June 29. “Being able to use Michael’s catalog in a different way was very exciting — and very challenging.”
While “The Immortal” $281.6 million gross to date (counting presales in Japan) may or may not have surprised its creators, they’ve known for three years, from the first announcement of Cirque’s partnership with the Jackson estate, that a Las Vegas edition would follow.
“The Immortal” set out to create an arena-concert atmosphere with a live band. But “One” remixes Jackson’s actual recordings in the manner of Cirque’s Beatles-themed “Love,” and makes full use of fixed technology and permanent staging, including holographic-type effects.
“This is really a fairy tale. It’s the story of four heroes who go on a journey,” King says. “It is hard to tell a story in a rock show setting. ... Whereas in a theater here at Mandalay Bay, it’s more intimate. So now we can really immerse the audience with the performers. We can really tell a story and deliver in that way creatively.”
The larger plan may have been mapped out from the beginning, but many of the details had to wait for ticket-buyer reaction to “The Immortal.”
Cirque took its time before announcing whether the two shows would carry the same title, how much material would overlap and whether “Immortal” director Jamie King — known for staging arena tours for pop stars such as Madonna — would be entrusted with the more theatrical follow-up.
Success provided answers. “The Immortal” is still hard-charging through Asia, so if for no other reason, a new name was needed to distinguish the two different products, Cirque President Daniel Lamarre noted in February.
As for King? At one point, Lamarre said the director’s involvement would end with the arena tour. But as “The Immortal” kept clicking turnstiles around the globe, Lamarre told reporters in February, “We wanted the content of each show to be very different, but there was one guy we wanted to keep ... because Jamie knows so well the universe of Michael Jackson.”
For King, who began his career as a background dancer on Jackson’s 1992 “Dangerous” tour, it threw down the sequined gauntlet to top himself.
“Once you’ve really gotten into what a song means for you, I had to believe that this acrobatic act or this dance style really made sense to that song,” he says.
“So now to kind of erase that? And create a new story for what ‘Thriller’ is, or what ‘Beat It’ is, it was ... challenging at first,” the youthful, upbeat director says with a smile.
But Cirque paired King’s outside perspective with an insider, recruiting co-creator Welby Altidor from within its own ranks.
“It’s about the common space that exists between the world of Michael and the world of Cirque,” says Altidor, who previously helped the Montreal-based company with casting and strategic partnerships; this is his first time working as a “Director of Creation.”
Altidor’s experience with acrobats allowed him to tackle what he considers the new show’s central question: “What would happen, how would Michael move if he was an acrobat?”
Like most Cirque shows, “The Immortal” drew a fairly clear line between choreography as a framing element for acrobatics. This time, the goal was “to try to mix those two elements,” Altidor says.
“The way we use elements of urban dance, elements of acrobatics, are absolutely new and unique,” he adds. In “Smooth Criminal,” dancers do a gravity-defying forward lean in unison, before floor gymnasts spring into action on discretely concealed trampoline apparatus.
“Our goal is to create almost a 90-minute video clip journey,” Altidor says. The 1,800-seat theater — remodeled after past productions such as “The Lion King” and “Mama Mia!” — creates an atmosphere “that’s immersive, to where you really feel the performers. You feel them up close.”
“One” puts its “four misfits” (as the show’s ad copy describes them) on a quest with Jackson as their spirit guide, empowering them with his “agility, courage, playfulness and love” along the way.
“When we start to explore the genius of Michael, those are the four attributes we kept coming back to,” Altidor explains. “He was a man of love. He tried all the time to heal the world, to change the world, to inspire people to do that.”
And even as “someone who was quite shy in his private life,” Jackson as a stage presence displayed “this incredible showmanship and this courage in terms of speaking of things that sometimes felt uncomfortable.” The video for “They Don’t Care About Us,” Altidor says, is “still current to this day.”
Those who worked with Jackson “keep on saying how playful he was. And of course, “Michael had this incredible grace and agility.”
But, he adds, “any good story has an antagonist, obstacles you need to overcome.” In life, Jackson was constantly dogged by the tabloid press. So in “2 Bad” the heroes are menaced by caped creatures with cameras growing out of their heads.
The “One” stage is backed by a wall-to-wall video screen, which creates dimensional effects and the ability for the late superstar himself to show up now and then.
Just how often will be determined in the tinkering phase before June 29, as one hard lesson of “Viva Elvis” — Cirque’s only Las Vegas strike-out to date — was that when Elvis Presley appeared on video, people quit paying attention to the live acrobats on the stage.
“We wanted to create a situation where people long for his presence and long for the performer that he was,” Altidor says of effects such as Jackson appearing as an apparition amid wispy clouds, behind a rope-entwined aerialist, during “Stranger in Moscow.”
The goal is to be “feeling his presence in different ways, without necessarily revealing so much, so early, so specifically — from say, a video — that his presence overpowers everything else.”
Otherwise, Altidor says, Jackson’s presence was welcome.
At times, the creators felt “almost this divine intervention. Almost like Michael was conspiring with us to make it all work perfectly. It made the journey really inspiring.”
http://www.reviewjournal.com/entert...hael-jackson-tribute-begins-ticketed-previews
MICHAEL QUINE/LAS VEGAS REVIEW-JOURNAL
<figcaption class="caption">Cirque du Soleil debuts part of the new "Michael Jackson One" show at Mandalay Bay on May 7. The show is scheduled to debut in its entirety on June 29.
</figcaption> </figure> <figure style="float: left;" class="image media-760096 mlink odd">
<figcaption class="caption">Cirque du Soleil performers debut part of the new "Michael Jackson One" show at Mandalay Bay on May 7. It offered glimpses of the show to media and was not open to the public. The show is scheduled to debut in its entirety on June 29.
</figcaption> </figure> <figure style="float: left;" class="image media-760101 mlink even">
<figcaption class="caption">The hallway leading up to Cirque du Soleil's "Michael Jackson One" show at Mandalay Bay features pictures of Jackson performing.
</figcaption> </figure> <figure style="float: left;" class="image media-760206 mlink odd">
<figcaption class="caption">Cirque du Soleil performers debut part of the new "Michael Jackson One" show at Mandalay Bay on May 7. It offered glimpses of the show to media and was not open to the public. The show is scheduled to debut in its entirety on June 29.
</figcaption> </figure> <figure style="float: left;" class="image media-760211 mlink even">
<figcaption class="caption">The entry leading into Cirque du Soleil's "Michael Jackson One" show at Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino is seen in Las Vegas on May 7, 2013.
</figcaption> </figure> <figure style="float: left;" class="image media-760216 mlink odd">
<figcaption class="caption">Cirque du Soleil performers debut part of the new "Michael Jackson One" show at Mandalay Bay on May 7. It offered glimpses of the show to media and was not open to the public. The show is scheduled to debut in its entirety on June 29.
</figcaption> </figure> <figure style="float: left;" class="image media-760221 mlink even">
<figcaption class="caption">Cirque du Soleil performers debut part of the new "Michael Jackson One" show at Mandalay Bay on May 7. It offered glimpses of the show to media and was not open to the public. The show is scheduled to debut in its entirety on June 29.
</figcaption> </figure> <figure style="float: left;" class="image media-760226 mlink odd">
<figcaption class="caption">Cirque du Soleil performers debut part of the new "Michael Jackson One" show at Mandalay Bay on May 7. It offered glimpses of the show to media and was not open to the public. The show is scheduled to debut in its entirety on June 29.
</figcaption> </figure>
<figure style="float: left;" class="video media-735621 mlink even">
</figure> <figure style="float: left;" class="image media-760096 mlink odd">
</figure> <figure style="float: left;" class="image media-760101 mlink even">
</figure> <figure style="float: left;" class="image media-760206 mlink odd">
</figure> <figure style="float: left;" class="image media-760211 mlink even">
</figure> <figure style="float: left;" class="image media-760216 mlink odd">
</figure> <figure style="float: left;" class="image media-760221 mlink even">
</figure> <figure style="float: left;" class="image media-760226 mlink odd">http://www.reviewjournal.com/entertainment/shows/cirques-michael-jackson-tribute-begins-ticketed-previews</figure>
<aside class="ds-coll">
Preview
"Michael Jackson One"
7 p.m. Saturday-Wednesday
Mandalay Bay, 3950 Las Vegas Blvd. South
$79.26-$189.15 (877-632-7400)
</aside> By MIKE WEATHERFORD
LAS VEGAS REVIEW-JOURNAL
So you made your first $281 million. Now what do you do for an encore?
But that was always the challenge for the creators of “Michael Jackson One,” the next phase of Cirque du Soleil’s partnership with the late superstar’s estate.
The new show carries over much of the creative team behind Cirque’s hit arena tour “Michael Jackson The Immortal,” this time for a salute to the King of Pop more in line with the company’s other Las Vegas spectacles.
“It really is part two,” director Jamie King says of the Mandalay Bay show that began ticketed previews Thursday, building to an official opening night June 29. “Being able to use Michael’s catalog in a different way was very exciting — and very challenging.”
While “The Immortal” $281.6 million gross to date (counting presales in Japan) may or may not have surprised its creators, they’ve known for three years, from the first announcement of Cirque’s partnership with the Jackson estate, that a Las Vegas edition would follow.
“The Immortal” set out to create an arena-concert atmosphere with a live band. But “One” remixes Jackson’s actual recordings in the manner of Cirque’s Beatles-themed “Love,” and makes full use of fixed technology and permanent staging, including holographic-type effects.
“This is really a fairy tale. It’s the story of four heroes who go on a journey,” King says. “It is hard to tell a story in a rock show setting. ... Whereas in a theater here at Mandalay Bay, it’s more intimate. So now we can really immerse the audience with the performers. We can really tell a story and deliver in that way creatively.”
The larger plan may have been mapped out from the beginning, but many of the details had to wait for ticket-buyer reaction to “The Immortal.”
Cirque took its time before announcing whether the two shows would carry the same title, how much material would overlap and whether “Immortal” director Jamie King — known for staging arena tours for pop stars such as Madonna — would be entrusted with the more theatrical follow-up.
Success provided answers. “The Immortal” is still hard-charging through Asia, so if for no other reason, a new name was needed to distinguish the two different products, Cirque President Daniel Lamarre noted in February.
As for King? At one point, Lamarre said the director’s involvement would end with the arena tour. But as “The Immortal” kept clicking turnstiles around the globe, Lamarre told reporters in February, “We wanted the content of each show to be very different, but there was one guy we wanted to keep ... because Jamie knows so well the universe of Michael Jackson.”
For King, who began his career as a background dancer on Jackson’s 1992 “Dangerous” tour, it threw down the sequined gauntlet to top himself.
“Once you’ve really gotten into what a song means for you, I had to believe that this acrobatic act or this dance style really made sense to that song,” he says.
“So now to kind of erase that? And create a new story for what ‘Thriller’ is, or what ‘Beat It’ is, it was ... challenging at first,” the youthful, upbeat director says with a smile.
But Cirque paired King’s outside perspective with an insider, recruiting co-creator Welby Altidor from within its own ranks.
“It’s about the common space that exists between the world of Michael and the world of Cirque,” says Altidor, who previously helped the Montreal-based company with casting and strategic partnerships; this is his first time working as a “Director of Creation.”
Altidor’s experience with acrobats allowed him to tackle what he considers the new show’s central question: “What would happen, how would Michael move if he was an acrobat?”
Like most Cirque shows, “The Immortal” drew a fairly clear line between choreography as a framing element for acrobatics. This time, the goal was “to try to mix those two elements,” Altidor says.
“The way we use elements of urban dance, elements of acrobatics, are absolutely new and unique,” he adds. In “Smooth Criminal,” dancers do a gravity-defying forward lean in unison, before floor gymnasts spring into action on discretely concealed trampoline apparatus.
“Our goal is to create almost a 90-minute video clip journey,” Altidor says. The 1,800-seat theater — remodeled after past productions such as “The Lion King” and “Mama Mia!” — creates an atmosphere “that’s immersive, to where you really feel the performers. You feel them up close.”
“One” puts its “four misfits” (as the show’s ad copy describes them) on a quest with Jackson as their spirit guide, empowering them with his “agility, courage, playfulness and love” along the way.
“When we start to explore the genius of Michael, those are the four attributes we kept coming back to,” Altidor explains. “He was a man of love. He tried all the time to heal the world, to change the world, to inspire people to do that.”
And even as “someone who was quite shy in his private life,” Jackson as a stage presence displayed “this incredible showmanship and this courage in terms of speaking of things that sometimes felt uncomfortable.” The video for “They Don’t Care About Us,” Altidor says, is “still current to this day.”
Those who worked with Jackson “keep on saying how playful he was. And of course, “Michael had this incredible grace and agility.”
But, he adds, “any good story has an antagonist, obstacles you need to overcome.” In life, Jackson was constantly dogged by the tabloid press. So in “2 Bad” the heroes are menaced by caped creatures with cameras growing out of their heads.
The “One” stage is backed by a wall-to-wall video screen, which creates dimensional effects and the ability for the late superstar himself to show up now and then.
Just how often will be determined in the tinkering phase before June 29, as one hard lesson of “Viva Elvis” — Cirque’s only Las Vegas strike-out to date — was that when Elvis Presley appeared on video, people quit paying attention to the live acrobats on the stage.
“We wanted to create a situation where people long for his presence and long for the performer that he was,” Altidor says of effects such as Jackson appearing as an apparition amid wispy clouds, behind a rope-entwined aerialist, during “Stranger in Moscow.”
The goal is to be “feeling his presence in different ways, without necessarily revealing so much, so early, so specifically — from say, a video — that his presence overpowers everything else.”
Otherwise, Altidor says, Jackson’s presence was welcome.
At times, the creators felt “almost this divine intervention. Almost like Michael was conspiring with us to make it all work perfectly. It made the journey really inspiring.”
http://www.reviewjournal.com/entert...hael-jackson-tribute-begins-ticketed-previews
bluesky
Proud Member
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Re: Cirque du Soleil "Michael Jackson ONE" permanent Las Vega show
@Cirque Checkin' in from Michael Jackson's One premier at Mandalay Bay. http://telly.com/OXH1KK
[h=3] Check out this video on Telly [/h] Video posted by Waynehoffman (@waynehoffman) on Telly.
@Cirque Checkin' in from Michael Jackson's One premier at Mandalay Bay. http://telly.com/OXH1KK
[h=3] Check out this video on Telly [/h] Video posted by Waynehoffman (@waynehoffman) on Telly.
bluesky
Proud Member
- Joined
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Re: Cirque du Soleil "Michael Jackson ONE" permanent Las Vega show
Monsters Thriller dance put of this world at MJ1 https://vine.co/v/bV7UIq760HQ
Vine
Robin Leach's post on Vine
Monsters Thriller dance put of this world at MJ1
View on web
One fabulous incredible spectacular https://vine.co/v/bV7900BHBv2
Vine
Robin Leach's post on Vine
One fabulous incredible spectacular
View on web
Robin Leach ?@Robin_Leach 5m
Audience on its feet cheering at finale https://vine.co/v/bV7VeY36i5x
Vine
Robin Leach's post on Vine
Audience on its feet cheering at finale
View on web
[/i][/i]
Monsters Thriller dance put of this world at MJ1 https://vine.co/v/bV7UIq760HQ
Vine Robin Leach's post on Vine
Monsters Thriller dance put of this world at MJ1
View on web
One fabulous incredible spectacular https://vine.co/v/bV7900BHBv2
Vine Robin Leach's post on Vine
One fabulous incredible spectacular
View on web
Robin Leach ?@Robin_Leach 5m
Audience on its feet cheering at finale https://vine.co/v/bV7VeY36i5x
Vine Robin Leach's post on Vine
Audience on its feet cheering at finale
View on web
[/i][/i]
bluesky
Proud Member
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Re: Cirque du Soleil "Michael Jackson ONE" permanent Las Vega show
Cheering continues for MJ 1 https://vine.co/v/bV7YMLiVT2r
Vine
[h=3] Robin Leach's post on Vine [/h] Cheering continues for MJ 1
View on web
[/i]
Cheering continues for MJ 1 https://vine.co/v/bV7YMLiVT2r
Vine[h=3] Robin Leach's post on Vine [/h] Cheering continues for MJ 1
View on web
[/i]
bluesky
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@MarkSwarfCalape
<iframe data-twttr-rendered="true" title="Twitter Follow Button" style="width: 102px; height: 20px;" class="twitter-follow-button twitter-follow-button" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets/follow_button.1368146021.html#_=1369369826935&id=twitter-widget-1&lang=en&screen_name=MarkSwarfCalape&show_count=false&show_screen_name=false&size=m" allowtransparency="true" frameborder="0" scrolling="no"></iframe> May 23rd!The time is now!The time has come
After 8 long hard months, blood sweat and tears!Was… http://instagram.com/p/ZqLsyPAbF4/
May 23rd!The time is now!The time has come After 8 long hard months, blood sweat and tears!Was for this day! We are here today to truly represent one of the most iconic people in history MICHAEL JACKSONAs said by the M.J estate we are his partners now! And we are representing his spirit now! Protecting him and making sure he lives forever Hearing people's opinions on the show and ESP people I look up to saying its "the best show in the block" you know who's you are seriously makes me feel so humbled to be apart of something so magical (cirque&m.j) what more could I have asked for in life? Like really knowing that we are the artist on stage that are bringing him back to life and bringing people to tears is a feeling I can't describe! That is the artist we are I would like to congratulate everyone on our team from cast to crew to directors wardrobe riggers lighting sound! Allll of yalllll have worked really hard and I really appreciate everyone now lets give birth to this baby MJONE
And the show begins Here we go to represent the spirit of the one and only Michael Jackson <s>#</s>mjone http://instagram.com/p/ZrWeGdAbA-/
Photo: And the show begins Here we go to represent the spirit of the one and only Michael Jackson <s>#</s>mjone http://tmblr.co/ZEEPOylhUUx7
<iframe data-twttr-rendered="true" title="Twitter Follow Button" style="width: 102px; height: 20px;" class="twitter-follow-button twitter-follow-button" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets/follow_button.1368146021.html#_=1369369826935&id=twitter-widget-1&lang=en&screen_name=MarkSwarfCalape&show_count=false&show_screen_name=false&size=m" allowtransparency="true" frameborder="0" scrolling="no"></iframe> May 23rd!The time is now!The time has come
After 8 long hard months, blood sweat and tears!Was… http://instagram.com/p/ZqLsyPAbF4/
May 23rd!The time is now!The time has come
After 8 long hard months, blood sweat and tears!Was for this day! We are here today to truly represent one of the most iconic people in history MICHAEL JACKSONAs said by the M.J estate we are his partners now! And we are representing his spirit now! Protecting him and making sure he lives forever Hearing people's opinions on the show and ESP people I look up to saying its "the best show in the block" you know who's you are seriously makes me feel so humbled to be apart of something so magical (cirque&m.j) what more could I have asked for in life? Like really knowing that we are the artist on stage that are bringing him back to life and bringing people to tears is a feeling I can't describe! That is the artist we are I would like to congratulate everyone on our team from cast to crew to directors wardrobe riggers lighting sound! Allll of yalllll have worked really hard and I really appreciate everyone now lets give birth to this baby MJONEAnd the show begins Here we go to represent the spirit of the one and only Michael Jackson <s>#</s>mjone http://instagram.com/p/ZrWeGdAbA-/
Photo: And the show begins Here we go to represent the spirit of the one and only Michael Jackson <s>#</s>mjone http://tmblr.co/ZEEPOylhUUx7
Annita
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The “One” stage is backed by a wall-to-wall video screen, which creates dimensional effects and the ability for the late superstar himself to show up now and then.
Just how often will be determined in the tinkering phase before June 29, as one hard lesson of “Viva Elvis” — Cirque’s only Las Vegas strike-out to date — was that when Elvis Presley appeared on video, people quit paying attention to the live acrobats on the stage.
I don`t like this. I really appraciate Michael on the big screen in the Immortal Tour even it quits the attention from the acrobats. He has to be there.
Just how often will be determined in the tinkering phase before June 29, as one hard lesson of “Viva Elvis” — Cirque’s only Las Vegas strike-out to date — was that when Elvis Presley appeared on video, people quit paying attention to the live acrobats on the stage.
I don`t like this. I really appraciate Michael on the big screen in the Immortal Tour even it quits the attention from the acrobats. He has to be there.
bobmoo79
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http://www.forbes.com/sites/zackoma...hael-jacksons-hologram-rocks-las-vegas-arena/
Michael Jackson's Hologram Rocks Las Vegas Arena...
It only seems fitting that Michael Jackson, the man who brought the world “Thriller,” was resurrected on a Las Vegas stage late Thursday night—in the form of a hologram.
The moment occurred toward the end of the first public performance of Michael Jackson ONE, a joint venture between Cirque du Soleil and Jackson’s estate. The singer’s apparition materialized from a cloud of gold pixie dust and proceeded to deliver a rousing rendition of “Man In The Mirror.”
Throughout the song, Jackson’s hologram stomps around the stage as a coterie of backup dancers swirl around him, moving in unison like a school of fish with one illusory leader. The phantom Jackson even executes a move that involves dropping to one knee and getting back up; he’s briefly transformed into a Jackson 5 era version of himself before evaporating at the song’s end.
When Jackson first appeared onstage, you could feel a swell of energy ripple through the sellout crowd at Mandalay Bay. It wasn’t accompanied by the volume level of some of the show’s other big moments, almost as if the audience was holding its collective breath to keep from shattering the fleeting sliver of hope that this was not an illusion, but the King of Pop himself.
That’s the same sort of reaction that Tupac Shakur’s hologram received when it debuted at Coachella last year. Indeed, similar technology was used for both (technically, they’re illusions, not holograms). But Jackson’s actually danced and overlapped with cohorts onstage; Shakur’s merely rapped in the direction of Snoop Dogg, who was standing ten feet away.
Much was made of Shakur’s spectral return and the possibility of a hologram tour, yet nothing of the sort has progressed beyond rumor. Shortly after Jeff Jampol (who serves as a consultant to the Jackson estate) took over management of Shakur’s estate, he downplayed the likelihood of a solo tour for the rapper.
The illusory Jackson, on the other hand, is just one cog in a vast postmortem performance machine. The Michael Jackson Immortal World Tour grossed $160 million in it its initial leg, tops among all North American tours last year.
The new Vegas-based show will be hard-pressed to match Immortal’s results, given that it’s based in a 1,800-seat venue, while the latter fills up basketball arenas.
But if last night was any indication, ONE is headed in the right direction: according to sources close to the matter, all performances are sold out through the end of May at an average ticket price of about $125.
The King of Pop pulled in $145 million in 2012—and now with two Cirque du Soleil shows and a hologram, this year’s number should stay in the stratosphere.
Michael Jackson's Hologram Rocks Las Vegas Arena...
It only seems fitting that Michael Jackson, the man who brought the world “Thriller,” was resurrected on a Las Vegas stage late Thursday night—in the form of a hologram.
The moment occurred toward the end of the first public performance of Michael Jackson ONE, a joint venture between Cirque du Soleil and Jackson’s estate. The singer’s apparition materialized from a cloud of gold pixie dust and proceeded to deliver a rousing rendition of “Man In The Mirror.”
Throughout the song, Jackson’s hologram stomps around the stage as a coterie of backup dancers swirl around him, moving in unison like a school of fish with one illusory leader. The phantom Jackson even executes a move that involves dropping to one knee and getting back up; he’s briefly transformed into a Jackson 5 era version of himself before evaporating at the song’s end.
When Jackson first appeared onstage, you could feel a swell of energy ripple through the sellout crowd at Mandalay Bay. It wasn’t accompanied by the volume level of some of the show’s other big moments, almost as if the audience was holding its collective breath to keep from shattering the fleeting sliver of hope that this was not an illusion, but the King of Pop himself.
That’s the same sort of reaction that Tupac Shakur’s hologram received when it debuted at Coachella last year. Indeed, similar technology was used for both (technically, they’re illusions, not holograms). But Jackson’s actually danced and overlapped with cohorts onstage; Shakur’s merely rapped in the direction of Snoop Dogg, who was standing ten feet away.
Much was made of Shakur’s spectral return and the possibility of a hologram tour, yet nothing of the sort has progressed beyond rumor. Shortly after Jeff Jampol (who serves as a consultant to the Jackson estate) took over management of Shakur’s estate, he downplayed the likelihood of a solo tour for the rapper.
The illusory Jackson, on the other hand, is just one cog in a vast postmortem performance machine. The Michael Jackson Immortal World Tour grossed $160 million in it its initial leg, tops among all North American tours last year.
The new Vegas-based show will be hard-pressed to match Immortal’s results, given that it’s based in a 1,800-seat venue, while the latter fills up basketball arenas.
But if last night was any indication, ONE is headed in the right direction: according to sources close to the matter, all performances are sold out through the end of May at an average ticket price of about $125.
The King of Pop pulled in $145 million in 2012—and now with two Cirque du Soleil shows and a hologram, this year’s number should stay in the stratosphere.
Xtarlight and Mpenziwe
Proud Member
Re: Cirque du Soleil "Michael Jackson ONE" permanent Las Vega show
The moment is one of the highlights of the show, but I think is better for the non-fan audience. They want to evoque MJ's magical presence with the hologram who dissapear in the air as pixie dust and colouring the characters of the dancers, but the image is not the real MJ.
The moment is one of the highlights of the show, but I think is better for the non-fan audience. They want to evoque MJ's magical presence with the hologram who dissapear in the air as pixie dust and colouring the characters of the dancers, but the image is not the real MJ.
innuendo141
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Bubs
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I got to see this
The moment occurred toward the end of the first public performance of Michael Jackson ONE, a joint venture between Cirque du Soleil and Jackson’s estate. The singer’s apparition materialized from a cloud of gold pixie dust and proceeded to deliver a rousing rendition of “Man In The Mirror.”
Throughout the song, Jackson’s hologram stomps around the stage as a coterie of backup dancers swirl around him, moving in unison like a school of fish with one illusory leader. The phantom Jackson even executes a move that involves dropping to one knee and getting back up; he’s briefly transformed into a Jackson 5 era version of himself before evaporating at the song’s end.
When Jackson first appeared onstage, you could feel a swell of energy ripple through the sellout crowd at Mandalay Bay. It wasn’t accompanied by the volume level of some of the show’s other big moments, almost as if the audience was holding its collective breath to keep from shattering the fleeting sliver of hope that this was not an illusion, but the King of Pop himself.
I'm off to buy a lotto ticket :wild:
The moment occurred toward the end of the first public performance of Michael Jackson ONE, a joint venture between Cirque du Soleil and Jackson’s estate. The singer’s apparition materialized from a cloud of gold pixie dust and proceeded to deliver a rousing rendition of “Man In The Mirror.”
Throughout the song, Jackson’s hologram stomps around the stage as a coterie of backup dancers swirl around him, moving in unison like a school of fish with one illusory leader. The phantom Jackson even executes a move that involves dropping to one knee and getting back up; he’s briefly transformed into a Jackson 5 era version of himself before evaporating at the song’s end.
When Jackson first appeared onstage, you could feel a swell of energy ripple through the sellout crowd at Mandalay Bay. It wasn’t accompanied by the volume level of some of the show’s other big moments, almost as if the audience was holding its collective breath to keep from shattering the fleeting sliver of hope that this was not an illusion, but the King of Pop himself.
I'm off to buy a lotto ticket :wild:
Erandi
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Re: Cirque du Soleil "Michael Jackson ONE" permanent Las Vega show
I know it's not really MJ, but still...it would be great to see it from an artistic point of view. I also bet that the "awe-sensation" is still there with most of the fans who witness it "live"...
I know it's not really MJ, but still...it would be great to see it from an artistic point of view. I also bet that the "awe-sensation" is still there with most of the fans who witness it "live"...
TheChosenOne
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Re: Cirque du Soleil "Michael Jackson ONE" permanent Las Vega show
This is so wonderful!
I was thinking to go to London next year but I feel I need to make a little trip to Vegas. I HAVE TO SEE THIS!
This is so wonderful!
I was thinking to go to London next year but I feel I need to make a little trip to Vegas. I HAVE TO SEE THIS!
bluesky
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Inside 'Michael Jackson One,' the new Cirque du Soleil show
Go behind the scenes of the new magical Las Vegas extravaganza
BY MELINDA NEWMAN THURSDAY, MAY 23, 2013 12:33 PM
"Michael Jackson ONE"
Credit: Getty Images for Cirque du Soleil
Tonight, “Michael Jackson One,” Cirque du Soleil’s new show heralding the King of Pop, starts previews at the Mandalay Bay Resort & Casino in Las Vegas. Will the show, which officially opens June 29, bring the same fervor and excitement as Cirque’s “Love,” which features the music of the Beatles?
Hitfix got a sneak peek at “MJ One” a few weeks ago when we saw four production numbers in the tale that follows four misfits: each one comes into possession of a certain article associated with Jackson: his sequined glove, his dancing shoes, his bowler hat and his sunglasses and the story follows their journey of discovery.
Through 22 different Jackson tunes, different scenes play out. For example, during “Bad,” the dancers and acrobats swing from scaffolding in a city landscape complete with a running subway.. For “Tabloid Junkie,” they find themselves pursued by “Matrix”-like futuristic paparazzi who come complete with cameras built into their shoulders. It’s a reinterpretation of Jackson’s songs via Cirque’s magical world.
“It’s expressing and experiencing things in a new way,,” says the show’s director and writer Jamie King, who toured with Jackson as a dancer on the “Dangerous” tour. “It’s taking Michael’s videos like ‘Thriller’ and ‘Beat It’ and being able to put a twist on them in the very fantastical way Cirque has. Imagine taking the ‘Thriller’ dance from the sky? What could that look like? There were all these opportunities.”
Indeed, Welby Altidor, the show’s director of creation (how’s that for a title?), says the Cirque troupe re-envisioned Jackson from a 360 perspective. “If Michael were an acrobat, how would he move? How would he fly? How would he do some of the things that Cirque du Soleil is known for doing?” Take those elements and tie in inspiration from urban dance, hip-hop and many other dance forms and those ideas created the springboard for the show.
The idea was also for the spectacular to focus on Jackson’s theme of unity. “The message we heard in many, many of his songs [was] togetherness, oneness. It’s something we want to explore and celebrate in his show.”
“He had a very simple message at the end of the day,” King says of Jackson. “We are one.”
“One” is the second show created by the estate of Michael Jackson and Cirque du Soleil. Unlike “Immortal,” the tremendously popular touring show about Jackson, “Michael Jackson One” features his songs in their near entirety, as opposed to in mash-ups, as well as follows a narrative based on these four characters.
<iframe id="google_ads_iframe_/7072559/hitfix/articles_2" name="google_ads_iframe_/7072559/hitfix/articles_2" width="120" height="60" scrolling="no" marginwidth="0" marginheight="0" frameborder="0" style="border-width: 0px; vertical-align: bottom;"></iframe>
Read more at http://www.hitfix.com/news/inside-m...new-cirque-du-soleil-show#yAJb5FobZVH4rjeJ.99
Go behind the scenes of the new magical Las Vegas extravaganza
BY MELINDA NEWMAN THURSDAY, MAY 23, 2013 12:33 PM
"Michael Jackson ONE"
Credit: Getty Images for Cirque du Soleil
Tonight, “Michael Jackson One,” Cirque du Soleil’s new show heralding the King of Pop, starts previews at the Mandalay Bay Resort & Casino in Las Vegas. Will the show, which officially opens June 29, bring the same fervor and excitement as Cirque’s “Love,” which features the music of the Beatles?
Hitfix got a sneak peek at “MJ One” a few weeks ago when we saw four production numbers in the tale that follows four misfits: each one comes into possession of a certain article associated with Jackson: his sequined glove, his dancing shoes, his bowler hat and his sunglasses and the story follows their journey of discovery.
Through 22 different Jackson tunes, different scenes play out. For example, during “Bad,” the dancers and acrobats swing from scaffolding in a city landscape complete with a running subway.. For “Tabloid Junkie,” they find themselves pursued by “Matrix”-like futuristic paparazzi who come complete with cameras built into their shoulders. It’s a reinterpretation of Jackson’s songs via Cirque’s magical world.
“It’s expressing and experiencing things in a new way,,” says the show’s director and writer Jamie King, who toured with Jackson as a dancer on the “Dangerous” tour. “It’s taking Michael’s videos like ‘Thriller’ and ‘Beat It’ and being able to put a twist on them in the very fantastical way Cirque has. Imagine taking the ‘Thriller’ dance from the sky? What could that look like? There were all these opportunities.”
Indeed, Welby Altidor, the show’s director of creation (how’s that for a title?), says the Cirque troupe re-envisioned Jackson from a 360 perspective. “If Michael were an acrobat, how would he move? How would he fly? How would he do some of the things that Cirque du Soleil is known for doing?” Take those elements and tie in inspiration from urban dance, hip-hop and many other dance forms and those ideas created the springboard for the show.
The idea was also for the spectacular to focus on Jackson’s theme of unity. “The message we heard in many, many of his songs [was] togetherness, oneness. It’s something we want to explore and celebrate in his show.”
“He had a very simple message at the end of the day,” King says of Jackson. “We are one.”
“One” is the second show created by the estate of Michael Jackson and Cirque du Soleil. Unlike “Immortal,” the tremendously popular touring show about Jackson, “Michael Jackson One” features his songs in their near entirety, as opposed to in mash-ups, as well as follows a narrative based on these four characters.
<iframe id="google_ads_iframe_/7072559/hitfix/articles_2" name="google_ads_iframe_/7072559/hitfix/articles_2" width="120" height="60" scrolling="no" marginwidth="0" marginheight="0" frameborder="0" style="border-width: 0px; vertical-align: bottom;"></iframe>
Read more at http://www.hitfix.com/news/inside-m...new-cirque-du-soleil-show#yAJb5FobZVH4rjeJ.99
qbee
Proud Member
Michael Jackson One’ is Cirque du Soleil’s best — and includes snow at Mandalay Bay
<!-- END .story-header -->
Tom Donoghue/DonoghuePhotography.com
A sneak peek of Cirque du Soleil’s “Michael Jackson One” at Mandalay Bay on Tuesday, May 7, 2013.
Tom Donoghue/DonoghuePhotography.com - A sneak peek of Cirque du Soleil's "Michael Jackson One" at Mandalay Bay on Tuesday, May 7, 2013.
Tom Donoghue/DonoghuePhotography.com - A sneak peek of Cirque du Soleil's "Michael Jackson One" at Mandalay Bay on Tuesday, May 7, 2013.
Tom Donoghue/DonoghuePhotography.com - A sneak peek of Cirque du Soleil's "Michael Jackson One" at Mandalay Bay on Tuesday, May 7, 2013.
Die-hard Michael Jackson fans flew in from as far away as Thailand and Japan to attend Thursday night’s first preview performance of Cirque du Soleil’s new “Michael Jackson One” at Mandalay Bay. Tickets, hotel and airfare cost a small fortune, but like me — and I purchased my tickets — they agreed that it was worth every penny, and then some.
The routine using rare, lengthy footage of Michael dancing as a hologram for the Cirque troupe is modern technology at its most brilliant. It’s emotional because it’s so magically real. Michael has become the star of the show he would’ve been thrilled to have watched or taken part. So much so that Michael’s image and creative genius were still alive last night.
“Michael Jackson One” is a fabulous and incredible spectacular from start to finish. This was a preview; imagine how Cirque and writer-director Jamie King can make it even bigger or better for the June 29 premiere. We posted a preview of the show Thursday with links to my interviews with “One’s” creative team leading up to last night’s performance.
“One” is such a riveting and immersive experience, you’ll want to return time and again to catch what you miss. The nonstop action is throughout the theater, up in the ceiling and in the aisles alongside the audience, as well as on the stage and sidewalls.
The dancing is beyond superb. The multi-colored costumes and illuminated wardrobe creations are beyond dazzling. The music compilation of Michael’s No. 1 hits is a seamless audio montage beyond anything experienced before. The video imagery is beyond perfection. Without a shadow of doubt, this is Cirque’s best spectacular in its nearly 30-year history. The pyrotechnics and fireworks onstage add to the explosive show.
The Canadian circus arts company has set itself a new bar of entertainment with a capital E, and now executives and producers will have to revitalize its seven other shows on the Strip to bring them to the astounding levels achieved with “One.” No wonder Cirque founder Guy Laliberte was “bouncing off the walls with joy” last night. “He was the most excited and animated I’ve ever seen him,” one of his partners told me at the private celebration party post-show.
Guy was there only a short time with his President Daniel Lamarre before jetting to the Cannes Film Festival for a One Drop charity event and flying back for the opening of Light Nightclub at Mandalay Bay this weekend, Cirque’s first foray into nightlife. Jamie was cheered and applauded at the party but had to jump a jet to New York, so his was a quick visit, too.
Michael’s estate lawyer John Branca told me: “We are so proud of this show. It could not really be any better, and yet this was our first preview. We’ll still tweak it, tinker with it, but to see and feel the joy, excitement and overwhelming approval from an audience that arrived from all over the world was fantastic. You thought Michael was alive again tonight onstage; I am convinced he was here in some way to watch this extraordinary night. It is beyond a success. It is the very best that could have been done.”
Sneak Peek of 'Michael Jackson One'
Steve Marcus - Dancers and acrobats perform during a sneak preview of the "Michael Jackson One" show at the Mandalay Bay Tuesday, May 7, 2013. The new show, by Cirque du Soleil and the Estate of Michael Jackson, is scheduled to hold a media premiere June 29.
Steve Marcus - "Ngame," (Valerie Kimani) sings during a sneak preview of the "Michael Jackson One" show at the Mandalay Bay Tuesday, May 7, 2013. The new show, by Cirque du Soleil and the Estate of Michael Jackson, is scheduled to hold a media premiere June 29.
Steve Marcus - A performer poses during a sneak preview of the "Michael Jackson One" show at the Mandalay Bay Tuesday, May 7, 2013. The new show, by Cirque du Soleil and the Estate of Michael Jackson, is scheduled to hold a media premiere June 29.
The audience’s unfettered, loud and enthusiastic cheering during the show and at the finale took the roof off the theater. The most memorable moments? There are too many to mention, and I don’t want to spoil your experience. So, brief descriptions of my favorites:
* Contortionist Charles “Lil Buck” Riley almost steals the show with his remarkable body movements. I thought the contortionist at Cirque’s “Zumanity” was remarkable, but this young man in “One” amps it up to sheer wonder and disbelief. If you were blown away the first time you saw Michael moonwalking, wait until you see what this guy achieves balanced on one toe. Exceptional.
* The Michael Jackson hologram dance with the cast might well be one of the best theatrical illusions ever created, and Carlos Santana might just have a rival under the same hotel roof with the golden goddess on her guitar.
*For the opening “Beat It,” the four sky-high acrobats on a bungee swing take your breath away as white sequined dancers swing in and out of the scaffolding-like set. The electric, one-wheeled gliders will have everybody calling the Neiman Marcus Christmas catalog for that treasure.
* Cirque and Jamie’s interpretation of “How Does It Feel” from “Stranger in Moscow” with snowflakes falling in the entire theater is pure joy, reminding of the wonder of the first Christmas with Santa.
* The urban-street breakdances performed on a tiny strip of tape for “Bad” are an eye-popping wonder.
* The Korean acrobatic troupe seem to have miracle powers floating and flying through the air in a steady stream of somersaults that Michael Jordan wished he’d had in his winning NBA days.
* I was moved by the message of hope poignantly written by Michael himself for “They Don’t Care About Us,” with scenes of global violence, the battle against AIDS and the fight with Martin Luther King Jr. for the end of discrimination.
* I loved old video of Michael as Charlie Chaplin for the song “Smile” that led into a mesmerizing tall black female dancer in blue, then partnered with others in luminescent yellow-and-pink outfits and the blow-your-socks off ‘Dangerous” that followed with more dancers flying in from all over the theater as pyrotechnics and fireworks exploded.
* The “Billie Jean” sequence with the dancers in lighted-up, multicolored suits was so vibrant, I almost missed the acrobats walking up the walls.
* For “Thriller,” the trampoline artists were synchronized better than Olympic swimmers, even performing upside down and falling out of the ceiling. Beware the zombie monsters that ran amok through the theater because one could creep up from behind to scare.
* Shooting stars set up the opening of the Neverland gates and into its magical gardens with an aerial ballet for “I Cant Stop Loving You.” The “Man in the Mirror” hologram dance with Michael could easily have been the show-closer, but Cirque and Jamie still weren’t done with the amazement.
* “Can You Feel It” was the appropriate way to bring this theatrical stunner to a close as flags of different countries were marched over the Neverland bridge.
Michael was alive again last night, his genius and musical creativity rekindled to perfection. “One” is a show that will reign as No. 1 on the Strip for many years to come. There is one word to sum up “Michael Jackson One”: triumphant.
Robin Leach has been a journalist for more than 50 years and has spent the past decade giving readers the inside scoop on Las Vegas, the world’s premier platinum playground.
Follow Robin Leach on Twitter at Twitter.com/Robin_Leach.
Follow Vegas DeLuxe on Twitter at Twitter.com/vegasdeluxe.
Follow VDLX Editor Don Chareunsy on Twitter at Twitter.com/VDLXEditorDon.
Read more: http://www.lasvegassun.com/news/201...cirque-du-soleil-best-and-incl/#ixzz2UG2ac0F9
<!-- END .story-header -->
Tom Donoghue/DonoghuePhotography.com
A sneak peek of Cirque du Soleil’s “Michael Jackson One” at Mandalay Bay on Tuesday, May 7, 2013.
Tom Donoghue/DonoghuePhotography.com - A sneak peek of Cirque du Soleil's "Michael Jackson One" at Mandalay Bay on Tuesday, May 7, 2013.
Tom Donoghue/DonoghuePhotography.com - A sneak peek of Cirque du Soleil's "Michael Jackson One" at Mandalay Bay on Tuesday, May 7, 2013.
Tom Donoghue/DonoghuePhotography.com - A sneak peek of Cirque du Soleil's "Michael Jackson One" at Mandalay Bay on Tuesday, May 7, 2013.
Die-hard Michael Jackson fans flew in from as far away as Thailand and Japan to attend Thursday night’s first preview performance of Cirque du Soleil’s new “Michael Jackson One” at Mandalay Bay. Tickets, hotel and airfare cost a small fortune, but like me — and I purchased my tickets — they agreed that it was worth every penny, and then some.
The routine using rare, lengthy footage of Michael dancing as a hologram for the Cirque troupe is modern technology at its most brilliant. It’s emotional because it’s so magically real. Michael has become the star of the show he would’ve been thrilled to have watched or taken part. So much so that Michael’s image and creative genius were still alive last night.
“Michael Jackson One” is a fabulous and incredible spectacular from start to finish. This was a preview; imagine how Cirque and writer-director Jamie King can make it even bigger or better for the June 29 premiere. We posted a preview of the show Thursday with links to my interviews with “One’s” creative team leading up to last night’s performance.
“One” is such a riveting and immersive experience, you’ll want to return time and again to catch what you miss. The nonstop action is throughout the theater, up in the ceiling and in the aisles alongside the audience, as well as on the stage and sidewalls.
The dancing is beyond superb. The multi-colored costumes and illuminated wardrobe creations are beyond dazzling. The music compilation of Michael’s No. 1 hits is a seamless audio montage beyond anything experienced before. The video imagery is beyond perfection. Without a shadow of doubt, this is Cirque’s best spectacular in its nearly 30-year history. The pyrotechnics and fireworks onstage add to the explosive show.
The Canadian circus arts company has set itself a new bar of entertainment with a capital E, and now executives and producers will have to revitalize its seven other shows on the Strip to bring them to the astounding levels achieved with “One.” No wonder Cirque founder Guy Laliberte was “bouncing off the walls with joy” last night. “He was the most excited and animated I’ve ever seen him,” one of his partners told me at the private celebration party post-show.
Guy was there only a short time with his President Daniel Lamarre before jetting to the Cannes Film Festival for a One Drop charity event and flying back for the opening of Light Nightclub at Mandalay Bay this weekend, Cirque’s first foray into nightlife. Jamie was cheered and applauded at the party but had to jump a jet to New York, so his was a quick visit, too.
Michael’s estate lawyer John Branca told me: “We are so proud of this show. It could not really be any better, and yet this was our first preview. We’ll still tweak it, tinker with it, but to see and feel the joy, excitement and overwhelming approval from an audience that arrived from all over the world was fantastic. You thought Michael was alive again tonight onstage; I am convinced he was here in some way to watch this extraordinary night. It is beyond a success. It is the very best that could have been done.”
Sneak Peek of 'Michael Jackson One'
Steve Marcus - Dancers and acrobats perform during a sneak preview of the "Michael Jackson One" show at the Mandalay Bay Tuesday, May 7, 2013. The new show, by Cirque du Soleil and the Estate of Michael Jackson, is scheduled to hold a media premiere June 29.
Steve Marcus - "Ngame," (Valerie Kimani) sings during a sneak preview of the "Michael Jackson One" show at the Mandalay Bay Tuesday, May 7, 2013. The new show, by Cirque du Soleil and the Estate of Michael Jackson, is scheduled to hold a media premiere June 29.
Steve Marcus - A performer poses during a sneak preview of the "Michael Jackson One" show at the Mandalay Bay Tuesday, May 7, 2013. The new show, by Cirque du Soleil and the Estate of Michael Jackson, is scheduled to hold a media premiere June 29.
The audience’s unfettered, loud and enthusiastic cheering during the show and at the finale took the roof off the theater. The most memorable moments? There are too many to mention, and I don’t want to spoil your experience. So, brief descriptions of my favorites:
* Contortionist Charles “Lil Buck” Riley almost steals the show with his remarkable body movements. I thought the contortionist at Cirque’s “Zumanity” was remarkable, but this young man in “One” amps it up to sheer wonder and disbelief. If you were blown away the first time you saw Michael moonwalking, wait until you see what this guy achieves balanced on one toe. Exceptional.
* The Michael Jackson hologram dance with the cast might well be one of the best theatrical illusions ever created, and Carlos Santana might just have a rival under the same hotel roof with the golden goddess on her guitar.
*For the opening “Beat It,” the four sky-high acrobats on a bungee swing take your breath away as white sequined dancers swing in and out of the scaffolding-like set. The electric, one-wheeled gliders will have everybody calling the Neiman Marcus Christmas catalog for that treasure.
* Cirque and Jamie’s interpretation of “How Does It Feel” from “Stranger in Moscow” with snowflakes falling in the entire theater is pure joy, reminding of the wonder of the first Christmas with Santa.
* The urban-street breakdances performed on a tiny strip of tape for “Bad” are an eye-popping wonder.
* The Korean acrobatic troupe seem to have miracle powers floating and flying through the air in a steady stream of somersaults that Michael Jordan wished he’d had in his winning NBA days.
* I was moved by the message of hope poignantly written by Michael himself for “They Don’t Care About Us,” with scenes of global violence, the battle against AIDS and the fight with Martin Luther King Jr. for the end of discrimination.
* I loved old video of Michael as Charlie Chaplin for the song “Smile” that led into a mesmerizing tall black female dancer in blue, then partnered with others in luminescent yellow-and-pink outfits and the blow-your-socks off ‘Dangerous” that followed with more dancers flying in from all over the theater as pyrotechnics and fireworks exploded.
* The “Billie Jean” sequence with the dancers in lighted-up, multicolored suits was so vibrant, I almost missed the acrobats walking up the walls.
* For “Thriller,” the trampoline artists were synchronized better than Olympic swimmers, even performing upside down and falling out of the ceiling. Beware the zombie monsters that ran amok through the theater because one could creep up from behind to scare.
* Shooting stars set up the opening of the Neverland gates and into its magical gardens with an aerial ballet for “I Cant Stop Loving You.” The “Man in the Mirror” hologram dance with Michael could easily have been the show-closer, but Cirque and Jamie still weren’t done with the amazement.
* “Can You Feel It” was the appropriate way to bring this theatrical stunner to a close as flags of different countries were marched over the Neverland bridge.
Michael was alive again last night, his genius and musical creativity rekindled to perfection. “One” is a show that will reign as No. 1 on the Strip for many years to come. There is one word to sum up “Michael Jackson One”: triumphant.
Robin Leach has been a journalist for more than 50 years and has spent the past decade giving readers the inside scoop on Las Vegas, the world’s premier platinum playground.
Follow Robin Leach on Twitter at Twitter.com/Robin_Leach.
Follow Vegas DeLuxe on Twitter at Twitter.com/vegasdeluxe.
Follow VDLX Editor Don Chareunsy on Twitter at Twitter.com/VDLXEditorDon.
Read more: http://www.lasvegassun.com/news/201...cirque-du-soleil-best-and-incl/#ixzz2UG2ac0F9
qbee
Proud Member
Michael’s estate executor John Branca:
“We are so proud of this show. It could not really be any better, and yet this was our first preview. We’ll still tweak it, tinker with it, but to see and feel the joy, excitement and overwhelming approval from an audience that arrived from all over the world was fantastic. You thought Michael was alive again tonight onstage; I am convinced he was here in some way to watch this extraordinary night. It is beyond a success. It is the very best that could have been done.”
“We are so proud of this show. It could not really be any better, and yet this was our first preview. We’ll still tweak it, tinker with it, but to see and feel the joy, excitement and overwhelming approval from an audience that arrived from all over the world was fantastic. You thought Michael was alive again tonight onstage; I am convinced he was here in some way to watch this extraordinary night. It is beyond a success. It is the very best that could have been done.”
Re: Cirque du Soleil "Michael Jackson ONE" permanent Las Vega show
yes he did
-m-1.jpg)
and this is what he wrote back in 2007
http://ww.vegaspopular.com/2007/02/...ve-interview-michael-jackson-talks-about-his/
yes he did
and this is what he wrote back in 2007
http://ww.vegaspopular.com/2007/02/...ve-interview-michael-jackson-talks-about-his/
loveforever
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Re: Cirque du Soleil "Michael Jackson ONE" permanent Las Vega show
How I wish I could fly to Las Vegas right away to see the show. It sounds toooo amazing.
How I wish I could fly to Las Vegas right away to see the show. It sounds toooo amazing.
Bubs
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Re: Cirque du Soleil "Michael Jackson ONE" permanent Las Vega show
"Michael's friendship and professional relationship with director and choreographer Kenny Ortega dates back many years, and once again they are teaming up. "Be it a concert tour or a show staged from Vegas they'll tackle it together," said a friend. "They have complete trust in one another so it will be their project going forward."
Be It concert turned to be This Is It, and Kenny was already in the picture in 2007.
yes he did
and this is what he wrote back in 2007
http://ww.vegaspopular.com/2007/02/...ve-interview-michael-jackson-talks-about-his/
"Michael's friendship and professional relationship with director and choreographer Kenny Ortega dates back many years, and once again they are teaming up. "Be it a concert tour or a show staged from Vegas they'll tackle it together," said a friend. "They have complete trust in one another so it will be their project going forward."
Be It concert turned to be This Is It, and Kenny was already in the picture in 2007.