By ETHAN SMITH And ALEXANDRA BERZON
Adding momentum to the posthumous Michael Jackson business, the late pop singer's estate and Cirque du Soleil on Tuesday announced plans for two shows based around the pop singer's music.
The first of the yet-to-be-named shows is to tour arenas around the world starting in late 2011. That show is going to be designed to emulate in some respects a Michael Jackson concert, blending Jackson-inspired choreography with Cirque du Soleil's trademark acrobatics. The other is to run as a long-term residency at a Las Vegas casino owned by MGM Mirage, starting in 2012. That show is to more akin to a theme-park attraction, possibly featuring elements like motion simulators and 3-D visuals. It's also likely to include a nightclub and restaurant that include a Michael Jackson theme. The casino has not been selected.
Both shows' specifics are still being mapped out. Describing the creative process thus far, Cirque du Soleil President and CEO Daniel Lamarre in an interview said: "We want to immerse ourselves in the Michael Jackson world."
For instance, Cirque creative personnel have spent time recently at Mr. Jackson's Neverland Ranch in Southern California.
The productions are to be jointly owned by Cirque du Soleil and the estate of Mr. Jackson, who died last year at age 50, on the eve of a planned series of comeback concerts in London. The rehearsals for those shows were the subject of a successful concert film, "This Is It."
The music in both shows is to include newly edited and mixed versions of Jackson favorites, along the lines of the music for the Beatles-themed Cirque du Soleil show called "Love." The music is to be licensed to the shows by the estate.
MGM Mirage said it and Cirque struck the Jackson deal after Mr. Jackson's long-time lawyer and estate administrator, John Branca, came to Las Vegas and saw existing Cirque du Soleil shows in casinos owned by MGM Mirage.
"Several other folks wanted to get access to the estate and everything that represented Michael," MGM Mirage Chief Marketing Officer Bill Hornbuckle said. "Because of what Cirque did out there we thought we would be able to convince them that the partnership would be in their best interest."
Mr. Hornbuckle said that although details have not yet been worked out, the arena show is likely to start its run in Cirque du Soleil's home base of Montreal and then travel to the Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas around Thanksgiving weekend in 2011, running for six to eight weeks there.
The other show is to open in Las Vegas later in 2012. MGM Mirage hasn't yet determined whether one of its other Cirque shows will be uprooted to make room for it, Mr. Hornbuckle said. He said the company is unlikely to build a special new theater for the production, but could still decide to do that.
Cirque du Soleil has had a Las Vegas presence since 1993, when its Mystere show opened at the Treasure Island casino. Today, six Cirque du Soleil shows perform most nights at casinos owned by MGM Mirage. The newest, "Viva Elvis," is built around the music and life story of Elvis Presley. (Treasure Island, where Mystere still runs, was sold by MGM Mirage to a private investor.)
The new shows could lead to more Michael Jackson-branded nightclubs, restaurants and other features outside of Las Vegas—particularly in hotels that MGM Mirage's hospitality unit is planning in the Middle East and Far East.
Write to Ethan Smith at
ethan.smith@wsj.com
Any name ideas for the show???
I like Moonwalker....
Hmmmm...Private show last week at Neverland???
