Bubs
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Las Vegas, Michael Jackson: One, Cirque du Soleil:
Whether you’re watching precision break-dancing, trampoline artistry or jaw-dropping acrobatics, Michael Jackson: One fuses the magic of the star and the circus in a beautiful spectacle
By: Richard Ouzounian Theatre Critic, Published on Wed Nov 05 2014
If you’d like to know the meaning of the phrase, “the best of both worlds,” then you really ought to check out Michael Jackson: One, the latest Cirque du Soleil show now packing them in at Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas.
Ever since opening Mystere at Treasure Island on Christmas Day, 1993, Cirque has been a major part of the Vegas scene. They currently have eight shows running, all of them with something to recommend them.
But none of them have ever balanced the unique charm of Cirque with the splash and sizzle that is Vegas like Michael Jackson: One.
On the showbiz level, it features state-of-the-art use of holograms and projections that will blow your mind and make you occasionally feel like Michael Jackson himself was back on stage again.
But the genius of Cirque is also there to make sure everything is more than just spectacle, in the form of the unique kind of poetry of movement that the Quebec-based group has always been providing since its earliest shows in 1984.
The mixture of M.J.’s magic and Cirque’s sorcery hits you from the very beginning, with “Beat It” providing the soundtrack for a jaw-dropping display of skill by four bungee-jumping acrobats who serve notice that something special is on display.
The music, by the way, is 100-per-cent Michael Jackson, but it’s been remixed and enhanced by sound designer Jonathan Deans and music director, Kevin Antunes, so that it comes to the audience through speakers embedded in each individual seat. (A strategy that Cirque began with its Beatles tribute, Love.) Live band tracks combine with enhanced versions of the original recordings, but, don’t worry, the only voice you hear is Michael’s!
The set by Francois Séguin is a knockout, a world of constantly moving giant towers that keep redefining the playing area and providing a framework for the never-ending light and video effects.
Like all Cirque shows, this isn’t a strictly plotted entertainment or a mere collection of random acts. In a structural device freely borrowed from The Wizard of Oz (let’s never forget Jackson was The Scarecrow in The Wiz!), a quartet of misfits called Clumsy, Shy, Smarty Pants and Sneaky get sucked by a vortex into the world of Jackson’s life and music.
By the show’s end, the magic of Michael has given each one of them what they need (balance, confidence, grace and style), all qualities Jackson himself possessed in abundance.
But don’t think you’re in for anything heavy or “meaningful!” The brilliance of Jamie King, who wrote and directed the show, is that he lets the artistry of Jackson, himself, guide the evening. Whether you’re watching videos of the man performing, listening to the power of his music, or watching the dances he created and inspired, you will be blown away.
My favourite moments included a masterpiece of precision break-dancing on a thin strip of tape during “Bad,” a heartbreaking recap of Jackson’s famed Charlie Chaplin during “Smile;” a rendition of “Billie Jean,” featuring dancers in illuminated suits (bravo to designer Zaldy Goco throughout); an adrenaline-rush of trampoline artistry during “Thriller,” and a sublime rendition of “How Does It Feel?,” which fills the theatre with snowflakes and reminds us of Jackson’s love for the dreams of childhood.
But, if you’re still hesitating about coming to the show, I would urge you to show up for just one sequence: the “Man-in-the-Mirror” dance, involving a Jackson hologram and the entire company. It’s the moment when the genius of both Cirque du Soleil and Michael Jackson reach out and embrace each other, reminding us of how beautiful and fulfilling an entertainment like this can be.
http://www.thestar.com/life/travel/2014/11/05/las_vegas_michael_jackson_one_cirque_du_soleil.html
Whether you’re watching precision break-dancing, trampoline artistry or jaw-dropping acrobatics, Michael Jackson: One fuses the magic of the star and the circus in a beautiful spectacle
By: Richard Ouzounian Theatre Critic, Published on Wed Nov 05 2014
If you’d like to know the meaning of the phrase, “the best of both worlds,” then you really ought to check out Michael Jackson: One, the latest Cirque du Soleil show now packing them in at Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas.
Ever since opening Mystere at Treasure Island on Christmas Day, 1993, Cirque has been a major part of the Vegas scene. They currently have eight shows running, all of them with something to recommend them.
But none of them have ever balanced the unique charm of Cirque with the splash and sizzle that is Vegas like Michael Jackson: One.
On the showbiz level, it features state-of-the-art use of holograms and projections that will blow your mind and make you occasionally feel like Michael Jackson himself was back on stage again.
But the genius of Cirque is also there to make sure everything is more than just spectacle, in the form of the unique kind of poetry of movement that the Quebec-based group has always been providing since its earliest shows in 1984.
The mixture of M.J.’s magic and Cirque’s sorcery hits you from the very beginning, with “Beat It” providing the soundtrack for a jaw-dropping display of skill by four bungee-jumping acrobats who serve notice that something special is on display.
The music, by the way, is 100-per-cent Michael Jackson, but it’s been remixed and enhanced by sound designer Jonathan Deans and music director, Kevin Antunes, so that it comes to the audience through speakers embedded in each individual seat. (A strategy that Cirque began with its Beatles tribute, Love.) Live band tracks combine with enhanced versions of the original recordings, but, don’t worry, the only voice you hear is Michael’s!
The set by Francois Séguin is a knockout, a world of constantly moving giant towers that keep redefining the playing area and providing a framework for the never-ending light and video effects.
Like all Cirque shows, this isn’t a strictly plotted entertainment or a mere collection of random acts. In a structural device freely borrowed from The Wizard of Oz (let’s never forget Jackson was The Scarecrow in The Wiz!), a quartet of misfits called Clumsy, Shy, Smarty Pants and Sneaky get sucked by a vortex into the world of Jackson’s life and music.
By the show’s end, the magic of Michael has given each one of them what they need (balance, confidence, grace and style), all qualities Jackson himself possessed in abundance.
But don’t think you’re in for anything heavy or “meaningful!” The brilliance of Jamie King, who wrote and directed the show, is that he lets the artistry of Jackson, himself, guide the evening. Whether you’re watching videos of the man performing, listening to the power of his music, or watching the dances he created and inspired, you will be blown away.
My favourite moments included a masterpiece of precision break-dancing on a thin strip of tape during “Bad,” a heartbreaking recap of Jackson’s famed Charlie Chaplin during “Smile;” a rendition of “Billie Jean,” featuring dancers in illuminated suits (bravo to designer Zaldy Goco throughout); an adrenaline-rush of trampoline artistry during “Thriller,” and a sublime rendition of “How Does It Feel?,” which fills the theatre with snowflakes and reminds us of Jackson’s love for the dreams of childhood.
But, if you’re still hesitating about coming to the show, I would urge you to show up for just one sequence: the “Man-in-the-Mirror” dance, involving a Jackson hologram and the entire company. It’s the moment when the genius of both Cirque du Soleil and Michael Jackson reach out and embrace each other, reminding us of how beautiful and fulfilling an entertainment like this can be.
http://www.thestar.com/life/travel/2014/11/05/las_vegas_michael_jackson_one_cirque_du_soleil.html
