A Cirque Primer: Vegas Edition
For Cirque du Soleil in Las Vegas, Viva Elvis makes No. 7, always a pleasing number in these parts. But as the brand has taken over showroom by showroom, how has the quality held up? Here’s a primer, in order of their debut, of what to expect and whether it’s worth it according to Portfolio contributor and VegasHappensHere.com blogger Steve Friess, who has seen them all in recent months.
Image courtesy of: Cirque du Soleil
Mystère (1993), at Treasure Island
The Hershey bar of Cirque, this is the pure and unadulterated original full of soaring acrobatics, clever humor, and a beautiful score played live. Ostensibly a child’s fantastical dreams told in a succession of astonishing physical feats by people in outlandishly colorful costumes, the show is timeless.
Grade: A
Image by: Al Seib
O, (1998) at Bellagio
You know that kid in high school who got straight A’s but had no personality? That’s long been my take on O, an aquatic version of Mystere that has many daring acts but lacks a certain heart. Everything is done well—costumes, music, performances—and yet the diving gets redundant and the soul is not touched the same way as in its predecessor.
Grade: B
Image by: Veronique Vial
Zumanity, (2003) at New York-New York Hotel
Cirque’s first step away from its traditions, Zumanity is an adult show featuring a drag queen, topless women, bare-chested hunks, and an aerial bondage sequence. I wasn’t initially a fan, but a recent revisit showed a number of problems fixed. New drag hostess Edie has a lighter touch, some sequences with audience plants were axed, and a ridiculous part where the host leads the audience in a phony orgasm is gone. That said, a gorgeous ballet between two gay lovers is now harsher and ambiguous with the addition of a female interloper.
Grade: B
Image by: Ethan Miller/Getty Images
Ka, (2004) at MGM Grand
Cirque’s first venture into linear storytelling is this eye-popping spectacle about a pair of imperial twins separated by bad guys who eventually triumph over evil. The human stars share equal billing with the $135 million stage that flies and twirls on its axis, one minute being a sandy beach and the next being the side of a snowy mountain. Whereas many of Cirque’s touring shows have similar ingredients to Mystere, Ka shows what’s possible when an artist like Canadian filmmaker Robert LaPage has a blank check and a blank canvas in a way that can only be executed in Vegas.
Grade: A+
Image by: Tomas Muscionico
Love, (2007) at the Mirage
Beatles fans were terrified when Cirque put its oversized gloves on such a sacred canon, but original Fab Four producer George Martin went into the vault with his son, producer Giles Martin, to remaster and remix the original recordings. That, combined with a Cirque-quality theater-in-the-round with a stage that folds into itself and seats that have individual speakers, resulted in a runaway hit. There’s very little acrobatics and a lot of great dancing, but it still feels like Cirque when the room fills with pink bubbles for “Strawberry Fields Forever.”
Grade: A+
Image by: Richard Termine
Criss Angel Believe, (2008) at Luxor
A magic show bereft of awesome magic and a Cirque show without inspired acrobatics or dance. The alliance with Angel was a mess from the start and is still being “fixated.” That’s a far cry from Angel saying this show will redefine live magic; it doesn’t. The show I saw last month was marginally better than the opening one, with Angel a little less obnoxious and some disturbing elements removed. But now it’s a simplistic tale that can be interpreted as racist, Angel chases a blonde woman dressed in white while fending off an angry, violent, African American vixen garbed in black. She’s the only black person in the cast.
Grade: D
Image by: Tomasz Rossa
Viva Elvis, (2009) at Aria
Elvis Presley is the icon to end all Vegas icons. The focus is more on his personality than his music, with his voice piped in and the theater lacking the acoustical effort that showed at Love how much Cirque respected aural impact. Still, there’s colorful dancing and thrilling visual tableaux including a hanging guitar set upon which two acrobats flip and twirl. The show hit some awkward notes in previews—notably with a strange narration and a sequence with stuntmen in superhero outfits. But they get props for not using singing Elvis impersonators, although many dancers do wear Elvis-esque wigs.
Grade: B-
Image by: Julie Aucoin
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