Cirque du Soleil's production "Love" based on the music of The Beatles is the other main reason we came to Las Vegas this time around. Some of the family had seen the original production shortly after it premiered in 2006 at The Mirage Hotel, but not me. Rumor had it they had re-worked a lot of the performance, so it would be like new for everyone. The show was an enjoyably amazing fantasmagoric amalgamation of music, acrobatics, dance, lighting, gymnastics, and theater. Totally captivating. A veritable feast for the eyes and ears.
The Beatles were probably the most influential musical group ever. So many superlatives, so little time. So much great and timeless music.
Cirque du Soleil was founded in Montreal in 1984 by two street performers and has become the largest theatrical producer in the world. They employ over 4,000 people from 40 countries, and have 20 shows currently in production, with seven of those in Las Vegas. Cirque and Vegas are a natural combination, kinda like Lennon and McCartney, but not really.
The surviving Beatles were even involved with the original production. Turns out George Harrison knew one of the Cirque founders, Guy Laliberté. The result: gold.
The only way that show could have been better is if we'd had some acid beforehand.
Two odd angles, or, beefs, if you will.
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| just after the show |
One, just before the performance began, a man on the P.A. comes on to say that there will be some props that could be just above the heads of those in attendance, and please refrain from reaching out because you could endanger the performers. Well, no performers came anywhere close enough to us to worry about that, but at one point, they extended gigantic psychedelically illuminated sheets that covered almost the entire audience, and you had to grab it and extend it over your head so that the people behind you could grab it and extend it all the way out. So, you had to touch it, but they said don't touch it. Mixed messages can be too much for some people.
Two, before the show, they have some photographers cruising the incoming crowd like feeding sharks offering to take their pictures with an eye towards selling the crowd pictures of themselves. On the one hand, it's a decent way to produce a momento of the show for later. On the other hand, every single attendee has a camera and everyone is already taking pictures. The twist here is that the photogs will place your picture into a Love "album", along with a picture of the cast, and will only charge you $40 for the album.
It struck me as just another way to snatch some bucks from the crowd. One money-making scheme, or scam, after another. Oh, and you can save money if you buy more than one. Well, of course you can!
Here is a taste of Love from Cirque du Soleil:
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