Memories and memorabilia from Michael Jackson’s Neverland Ranch will be part of a new, all-access and interactive playground when Cirque du Soleil opens a $200 million salute to the late King of Pop with a residency at Mandalay Bay in 2013.
The attraction also will feature unreleased songs that he’d completed before his death, plus never-before-seen video of the final dress rehearsals for the “This is It” concert run he was about to undertake at O2 Arena in London.
Cutting-edge, 3D hologram technology would even conceivably permit guests to dance alongside Michael, performing “Thriller,” “Beat It” and other hits. The all-access attraction is being built by Ubisoft, which created and marketed the dance game phenomenon Michael Jackson Experience.
But that’s only the beginning!
First up, the first-ever officially authorized Michael Jackson Fan Fest complete with re-created music video sets. It opens in tandem with the Immortal concert arena touring show that lands on the Strip on Dec. 3 at Mandalay Bay Events Center for 33 performances. It premieres Oct. 2 in Cirque’s hometown of Montreal.
I interviewed Immortal writer and director Jamie King yesterday after the official Cirque announcements, and you can see and hear that in the YouTube video posted by Richard Corey. We’ll have a report of the chat next week.
The $59 million touring show will be bigger and more ambitious than Jamie’s prior tours, including jaunts with Madonna and Britney Spears. “It will be the biggest touring show ever because of all the dancers, musicians and acrobats,” he said
In all, the financial commitment for the partners for both shows, the additional attractions and the changes at Mandalay Bay to accommodate MJ Zone are expected to hit $200 million.
Cirque du Soleil CEO Daniel Lamarre estimates that it will take 25 double tractor-trailer trucks to carry the elaborate stages, rigging and special effects equipment across North America for its two-year run. Fifty cities are already set, and more dates are being added. As the second residency show arrives on the Strip, the touring show moves to Europe and the rest of the world for at least three years.
“The demand for the touring show is phenomenal -- more than any other time in Cirque history,” Daniel said. “We have promoters across the world trying to book the show. We have to hire engineers to ensure the roof structures are strong enough to support our stages and equipment rigging. We see America and the rest of the world running for five years and conceivably even longer than that in the first go round.”
I also interviewed Daniel after the announcements, and you can watch some of that on the YouTube video. We’ll have that conversation next week, as well. As the touring show leaves Las Vegas, Cirque replaces Disney’s The Lion King at Mandalay Bay Theater and will redesign the space for the Spring 2013 opening of the as-yet-untitled show.
Daniel Lamarre - from YouTube.com
Entrances for audiences will look like Neverland with a re-created oak tree that Michael nicknamed “The Giving Tree,” where he sometimes wrote music and slept on a perch he built atop it outside his bedroom. Architectural and engineering teams from Cirque and Mandalay Bay have already begun to evaluate the transformation and the need to relocate existing venues in the casino to create the Jackson zone. The 1,800 seats will remain the same, but the stage, lobby and entry hallway will be radically changed.
Mandalay President and COO Chuck Bowling said: “We are deeply honored and humbled to become home to the incredible entertainment that will celebrate his legacy for new generations to come. He was the ultimate international icon for music, dance, style and mystique. He will now live in many new ways for years to come.”
I quizzed him on the financial investment. “It’s safe to say it will be a multi-multi-million-dollar commitment, but it’s too early to even have preliminary budget figures just yet.” We’ll have the full conversation with Chuck next week.
There also will be a Michael Jackson-themed ultra lounge, a retail boutique that will feature older brother Jackie Jackson’s fashion leather line and the interactive memorabilia museum re-creating Neverland.
Jackie Jackson - from YouTube.com
Jackie said yesterday: “It is all incredible -- bananas! So much bigger and amazing than we ever thought possible. It’s a wonderful legacy for Michael and makes him live forever. He always loved Cirque, and he would be very proud to see what he once dreamed about coming true with all of this. I’m convinced he’s very happy about all of this and from his look down from above also very proud.”
Jackie and I talked yesterday, and some of that you can see and hear on the YouTube video posted by Richard, and we’ll post the conversation next week.
I also talked at length yesterday with attorney John Branca, Michael’s one-time manager and now co-executor of his estate. He told me that Michael was a big Cirque fan since seeing the tented production in Santa Monica many years ago.
Cirque du Soleil and Michael Jackson
“He was a big supporter of Cirque and saw all their shows, even going to the headquarters in Montreal to watch behind the scenes. All of what we are doing at Mandalay Bay will give fans from around the world a permanent place to celebrate. Very few fans would ever get to visit Neverland Ranch because it was in such a remote location. Now bringing some of those memorabilia pieces, Mandalay becomes Michael Jackson’s new home and a home away from home.”
John, who I know from my Lifestyles of the Rich & Famous days, admitted that he’d met with Michael on the Wednesday before his death to get his business life in order and to plot all future business strategies.
“We are simply fulfilling that strategy that he wanted,” he told me. “You will hear Michael’s voice throughout everything. There was only one, and therefore there can be only one. You will see and hear his music that hadn’t been released along with the video that we held back from This Is It.” The interview with some extraordinary revelations will be posted next week.
Photo: Jake Novak/Berliner Photography
Director Jamie King and John Branca, executor of The Estate of Michael Jackson.
The creative phase of the touring show has been completed over the past 9 months, and everybody has been hired. With Jamie at the controls, everybody now moves to Montreal, and rehearsals start in three weeks. Six months from now, the show has its world premiere. “Michael is my co-director,” Jamie said. “I am not doing this alone. He is right at my side.”
Whereas the arena concert production will be a grand rock show spectacular, the permanent show with a different director will feature more theater and technology and will be a far more intimate experience.
Daniel summed up: “I cannot imagine this residency show ever closing. It will last forever. Yes, we have a five-year plus five-year plus five-year deal as with all of our Vegas contracts, but in the tradition of Cirque, our shows last forever.
“The changes coming to Mandalay Bay will be permanent. This is the biggest entertainment project we have ever undertaken. It is also our biggest challenge but also the most exciting. It will be the very best experience you could ever imagination and fully exceed the expectation of all of his fans.”
We’ll have all the interviews on a day-by-day basis next week right here at Vegas Deluxe -- and also keep breaking the news of all the future developments.
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.
Entrances for audiences will look like Neverland with a re-created oak tree that Michael nicknamed “The Giving Tree,” where he sometimes wrote music and slept on a perch he built atop it outside his bedroom. Architectural and engineering teams from Cirque and Mandalay Bay have already begun to evaluate the transformation and the need to relocate existing venues in the casino to create the Jackson zone. The 1,800 seats will remain the same, but the stage, lobby and entry hallway will be radically changed.
Mandalay President and COO Chuck Bowling said: “We are deeply honored and humbled to become home to the incredible entertainment that will celebrate his legacy for new generations to come. He was the ultimate international icon for music, dance, style and mystique. He will now live in many new ways for years to come.”
I quizzed him on the financial investment. “It’s safe to say it will be a multi-multi-million-dollar commitment, but it’s too early to even have preliminary budget figures just yet.” We’ll have the full conversation with Chuck next week.
There also will be a Michael Jackson-themed ultra lounge, a retail boutique that will feature older brother Jackie Jackson’s fashion leather line and the interactive memorabilia museum re-creating Neverland.
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Jackie said yesterday: “It is all incredible -- bananas! So much bigger and amazing than we ever thought possible. It’s a wonderful legacy for Michael and makes him live forever. He always loved Cirque, and he would be very proud to see what he once dreamed about coming true with all of this. I’m convinced he’s very happy about all of this and from his look down from above also very proud.”
Jackie and I talked yesterday, and some of that you can see and hear on the YouTube video posted by Richard, and we’ll post the conversation next week.
I also talked at length yesterday with attorney John Branca, Michael’s one-time manager and now co-executor of his estate. He told me that Michael was a big Cirque fan since seeing the tented production in Santa Monica many years ago
“He was a big supporter of Cirque and saw all their shows, even going to the headquarters in Montreal to watch behind the scenes. All of what we are doing at Mandalay Bay will give fans from around the world a permanent place to celebrate. Very few fans would ever get to visit Neverland Ranch because it was in such a remote location. Now bringing some of those memorabilia pieces, Mandalay becomes Michael Jackson’s new home and a home away from home.”
John, who I know from my Lifestyles of the Rich & Famous days, admitted that he’d met with Michael on the Wednesday before his death to get his business life in order and to plot all future business strategies.
“We are simply fulfilling that strategy that he wanted,” he told me. “You will hear Michael’s voice throughout everything. There was only one, and therefore there can be only one. You will see and hear his music that hadn’t been released along with the video that we held back from This Is It.” The interview with some extraordinary revelations will be posted next week.
The creative phase of the touring show has been completed over the past 9 months, and everybody has been hired. With Jamie at the controls, everybody now moves to Montreal, and rehearsals start in three weeks. Six months from now, the show has its world premiere. “Michael is my co-director,” Jamie said. “I am not doing this alone. He is right at my side.”
Whereas the arena concert production will be a grand rock show spectacular, the permanent show with a different director will feature more theater and technology and will be a far more intimate experience.
Daniel summed up: “I cannot imagine this residency show ever closing. It will last forever. Yes, we have a five-year plus five-year plus five-year deal as with all of our Vegas contracts, but in the tradition of Cirque, our shows last forever.
“The changes coming to Mandalay Bay will be permanent. This is the biggest entertainment project we have ever undertaken. It is also our biggest challenge but also the most exciting. It will be the very best experience you could ever imagination and fully exceed the expectation of all of his fans.”
