Are there in the show, any lasers????
Why MJ never used them or now Immortal tour is without lasers for example projecting pics on the ceiling or big walls ...., this is really.... beyond my understanding.
[h=1]Cirque rebounds with Michael Jackson-themed ‘Immortal’[/h]
Throw yourself a party, Cirque du Soleil. While its new Michael Jackson show is, like its chief inspiration, imperfect and bizarre, Immortal still hits it out of the park and deserves the blockbuster sales it’s bound to enjoy when it finally nests in Mandalay Bay in 2013, after its current world tour. During the first performance of the production’s brief December stay at the resort’s Events Center last night, Cirque not only proved it could do justice to one of the world’s most beloved song catalogs, it avoided a third strikeout.
Just this week, MGM Resorts essentially gave Viva Elvis, Cirque’s first Vegas flop, the heave-ho from Aria. And we haven’t forgotten the artistic development disaster that is Criss Angel Believe, a brutal reminder to Cirque that while it can maintain what is essentially a headliner show, it cannot execute its magic while the star sledgehammers his. A failure to deliver thrills on a show devoted to Mr. Thriller himself would have worsened the minor brand damage the Montreal-based nouveau circus-cum-showroom spectacular producer has suffered at least locally in the past three years. Bullet dodged: Immortal captivates and impresses during most of its long-for-Vegas 120 minutes — even for those of us who have tired of hearing Jackson’s music overplayed since his 2009 death.
It’s as if Cirque drew on the strengths of its first pop-centered show, The Beatles Love, and learned its lessons from its last, Viva Elvis. What Immortal has going for it is expert use of Jackson’s iconography and remixing/mashing of his music — two chief selling points of Love. Furthermore, it exploits a nostalgia for Jackson that just doesn’t exist anymore — at least in America — for Elvis. Where as the King of Rock ‘n’ Roll appeals primarily to Baby Boomers and rockabilly enthusiasts, the King of Pop’s death has made him a crossover hit with the younger generations. Whether that adoration survives 20 or 30 years after Jackson’s death is another matter, though a crowdpleaser like Immortal makes it more of a possibility.
The show also captures the fan fervor stirred by Jackson a la Love’s tasteful appropriation of Beatlemania, and that’s exactly where Immortal begins: A crew of devotees and wannabes busting MJ-like moves and scaling a screen projecting moving imagery during “Working Day and Night” — it’s Off the Wall in more ways than one. From there, Immortal stumbles to establish its flow, as it goes from a lullaby-like “Childhood” scenario (complete with a Teddy Ruxpin-like Jackson robot inside a “floating” hot air balloon), to a randomly tribal take on “Wanna Be Startin’ Something,” to a Jackson 5 revue with the fan crew again. Is Cirque flirting with a linear, biographical narrative, with occasional fantasy sequences? Or is Cirque just being Cirque? Once you realize the producers are more interested in Jackson’s inspirations than the man himself, and the sequence transitions feel less sudden and more seamless, Immortal really takes off.
In fact, the show’s real highlights start begin at this point: a trance remix of “Dancing Machine,” joined by the first acrobats to swing over the crowd; the mobster motif of “This Place Hotel” setting up “Smooth Criminal” — just like the ghost-story theme uses “Is It Scary”/”Threatened” to set up a mummy-filled “Thriller”; man-sized gloves and moonwalker shoes (essentially costumes for three dancers) enhancing “Beat It”; producers augmenting the gospel element of “Will You Be There,” tugging the heartstrings as the next number, a straightforward “I’ll Be There” accompanied by projections of young Michael, outright yanks them; and a climactic megamix including “Can You Feel It,” “Don’t Stop Til’ You Get Enough,” “Billie Jean,” and “Black or White.”
One could treat the whole affair as a Jackson-less concert — the band recreates the instrumental parts to near-perfect effect; Michael’s vocal overdubs and looped remix elements round out the musical performance — if not for some of the human and special-effect eyecandy Cirque would be remiss to underplay. The casting agent who found the one-legged hip-hop dancer deserves a hefty bonus, as does the one who nurtured a longtime relationship with the lead mime performer. Stomachs and mouths drop as Japanese tumblers fall flat during “Scream.” LED lights consistently enhance human movement, from the elegant levitations in “Human Nature” to the illuminated, flashing suits during “Billie Jean.”
The stage elements won’t wow those who’ve seen O or Ka or even Viva Elvis, but since Cirque opted for a more arena-entric show — especially one to be built and taken down a couple times a week while on tour — collapsible screens, columns and platforms make do. Aside from the human glove and shoes, the props are largely forgettable. A book with the MJ initials attempts, and fails, to serve as the show’s MacGuffin, or narrative engine. For Immortal is not the story of Michael Jackson’s life. It’s an homage, a celebration, a concert — and a production Jackson would have marveled at, if not loved to produce himself. For fans and fairweather admirers — and anyone else looking for a good, populist entertainment — this is it.
| How I learned to stop worrying and loveImmortal Phil Spector made the song "Be My Baby." Roman Polanski directed the film Rosemary's Baby. I enjoyed both those cultural classics recently, and thought nothing of the crimes for which those two men were convicted -- just as I put the allegations of child abuse against Michael Jackson aside before I took in Cirque du Soleil's new production celebrating his artistry, Immortal. Truthfully, I had to put more than that out of my mind before my notebook and I entered the Mandalay Bay Events Center on Dec. 3, the Las Vegas debut of the show, which will tour arenas worldwide before settling into the resort's smaller showroom in early 2013. There was no way I was going to give it a fair shake, much less enjoy the show, if I brought with me all the issues I have with the so-called King of Pop. I normally believe a critic should take certain biases with him when evaluating a creative work. It is his informed judgments, emotional instincts and time-refined tastes that help earn and develop his pedigree. But every artist whose new work the writer is to grade deserves a clean slate. I've adapted this philosophy into my criticism. It's how I've praised artists whose previous work failed to impressed me, and how I've delivered negative verdicts against my favorite artists. The jury may never have sent Michael Jackson to jail. But in my courtroom, he's guilty of many things: a shoddy post-Thrillercreative output that went from Bad to worse; blaming the media for exposing problems of his own making; and gross megalomania that erased damn near all the charm he exhibited as a child performer. (And if I could indict the general population for its overzealous mourning of dead celebrities -- especially Jackson -- it would be a record-quick deliberation.) And yet, despite hints of all those things surfacing during the 120-minute Immortal, I was able to suspend belief -- which is to say, I shelved the realities of Jackson and my feelings toward him, and put myself in a position where I could be sucked into the fantasy of the show, if it could manage that. And it did. Sure, I cringed during certain segments, where the performers couldn't match the energy of the music, the flow stumbled and the emotional manipulation went over the line. But overall, I found myself getting swept into the spectacle, and I appreciated most of how Cirque and show director/writer Jamie King visually interpreted and arranged Jackson's music -- including some of the material I disliked. I'll cop to feeling weird about liking Immortal, given my strong feelings against Jackson. But just as I don't apologize for those opinions, I'm not sorry I enjoyed his Cirque show. MIKE PREVATT Read the full review of Immortal at www.lasvegascitylife.com. |
