The Beatles and Cirque de Soleil "Love" in Vegas*

I am getting quite worried about Apple's decisions concerning the Beatles legacy. First they agree to a release a Capitol box set before the Parlophone catalogue has been given proper treatment - and now this......​

This is from www.beatles.com ​

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CIRQUE DU SOLEIL, APPLE CORPS LTD. AND THE MIRAGE PARTNER
TO CREATE AN UNPRECEDENTED LIVE THEATRE PRODUCTION
Las Vegas, NV – October 14, 2004 – Cirque du Soleil, Apple Corps Ltd. and The Mirage announce a partnership in which they will celebrate the musical legacy and extraordinary experience of The Beatles in an unprecedented live theatre production opening in 2006. This joint artistic venture marks the first time that The Beatles’ company, Apple Corps, has agreed to a major theatrical partnership.

The production will be Cirque du Soleil’s fifth resident show in Las Vegas and will be presented at The Mirage, the resort that changed the face of Las Vegas when it opened in 1989.

The project was born out of a personal friendship and professional admiration between the late George Harrison and Cirque du Soleil founder Guy Laliberté. "This show is about living The Beatles experience," said Guy Laliberté. "We want to bring the magic of Cirque du Soleil together with the spirit and passion behind the most beloved rock band of all time to create a single, simple statement of delight."

Neil Aspinall, Managing Director of Apple Corps, said, "In the past The Beatles have been approached with theatrical proposals which never promised much beyond a traditional presentation. However, in Cirque du Soleil, Apple is fortunate to have found a creative partner with the same passion for innovation and excellence."

Robert H. Baldwin, President and CEO of Mirage Resorts, said, "This partnership builds on the solid relationship that already exists between MGM MIRAGE and Cirque du Soleil. We too are thrilled that the union between two premier entertainment icons, The Beatles and Cirque, will come together at The Mirage."

Gilles Ste-Croix, Vice President of Creation and New Project Development at Cirque du Soleil, revealed key members of the artistic team will include Cirque du Soleil writer-director Dominic Champagne and The Beatles producer Sir George Martin.

Sir George, who will oversee the music element of the show, said today, "After spending more than 40 years of my life working with The Beatles and their wonderful music, I am thrilled to be working with them once again, on this exciting project with Cirque du Soleil. The show will be a unique and magical experience."

While the project has the approval of Sir Paul McCartney, Ringo Starr, Yoko Ono and Olivia Harrison, Paul and Ringo will not appear in the production. “It is a fantastic project for us and I personally am excited to collaborate with such a great creative team," Paul McCartney said.

"How excited can I get -- The Beatles, Cirque du Soleil, an incredible venue in Las Vegas - what could be better," said Ringo. "I'm looking forward to the first show cause I'm going to be there and I hope you are too."

"The Beatles and Cirque. I think it’s a great combination: The Beatles' agile mind and Cirque's agile body," said Yoko Ono.

"George and Guy shared the same vision. They planned to utilize the extraordinary creativity of the Beatles and Cirque du Soleil to produce an uplifting moment in time. We are all very happy to see this project come to fruition," said Olivia Harrison.

Additional details of the content of the show, which aims to revisit the excitement of the remarkable era when Beatlemania ignited the world, are in creative incubation.

"The music was the obvious starting point so we approached it with great respect," said Gilles Ste-Croix, "We consider the music of The Beatles to be as significant and influential as any of the great works of art in history. We intend to not only explore their artistic contribution but to tap into their exuberance and irreverence by harnessing, to the heart of this production, the astonishing energy that they generated."

Since its founding in 1984, Cirque du Soleil has thrilled more that 40 million spectators in more than 130 cities on four continents. With its international headquarters in Montreal, the organization has been the recipient of such prestigious awards as the Emmy, Drama Desk, Bambi, ACE, Gemini, Felix and the Rose d’or de Montreux. The Mirage production will be the fifth Cirque du Soleil show at an MGM MIRAGE property, joining "O®", Mystère®, ZUMANITY™, Another Side of Cirque du Soleil™ and the latest creation, KÀ™, opening this year at the MGM Grand. For more information visit the Cirque du Soleil website at www.cirquedusoleil.com.

MGM MIRAGE (MGG) is one of the world’s leading and most respected hotel and gaming companies. It owns and operates 12 casino resorts based in Nevada, Mississippi, Michigan and Australia and has investments in two other casino resorts in Nevada and New Jersey. The company is headquartered in Las Vegas, Nevada, and offers an unmatched collection of casino resorts with a limitless range of choices for guests. Its portfolio of brands include AAA Five Diamond award-winner Bellagio, MGM Grand Las Vegas -- The City Of Entertainment, The Mirage, Treasure Island (‘TI’), New York New York, Boardwalk Hotel and Casino and 50 percent of Monte Carlo, all located on the Las Vegas Strip; Whiskey Pete’s, Buffalo Bill’s Primm Valley Resort and two championship golf courses at the California/Nevada state line; the exclusive Shadow Creek golf course in North Las Vegas; Beau Rivage on the Mississippi Gulf Coast and MGM Grand Detroit Casino in Detroit, Michigan. For more information about MGM MIRAGE, please visit the company’s website at www.mgmmirage.com.

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Wow...

 

I personally have no problem with it

 

I'll say "wow" with a different emphasis; my wife has now taken me to see two different Cirque du Soleil productions ("O", which is one of the other resident Vegas shows, and Allegria, which we caught as it came through Atlanta last year), and if they give the Beatles' material anywhere near the same artistic care and attention as their in-house productions I'll be one of the first in line for tickets.

Not that Apple's priorities aren't questionable... they certainly are. But stop and think for a moment: Cirque du Soleil sells millions of dollars worth of their own merchandise each year, solely in their after-show gift shops, plus a decent haul from online sales. And generally the folks seeing the Cirque shows in Vegas already planned on spending a fair amount of cash that night (otherwise, they wouldn't have shelled out a few hundred dollars for Cirque du Soleil tickets!). Now, wouldn't that be an ideal market for, say, a completely remastered boxed set of all the Beatles UK releases? Especially when you consider that a 16+ disc box set could be sold on par with the pricing structure already in place for the Cirque du Soleil gift shops?

- M.

 

Nothing at all wrong with this.

 

I couldn't see John wanting this...

 

Obviously some of you have not seen Cirque du Soleil. It's an amazing presentation of dance, stunts, music, incredible strength, skill and grace. this will be set to and inspired by Beatles music. What's the harm?

Everyone.....get some All Bran!

 

F**KIN' A!

 

That's what I'm picturing too, but perhaps it's not as bad as it seems. I shouldn't jump to conclusions!

 

I seem to remember Lennon endorsing and even going to see (with Alice Cooper no less) "John, Paul, George, Ringo and Bert" back in the 1970's. He even had plans to write a Broadway stage play/musical entitled "The Ballad of John and Yoko" before he died that would have featured his Beatles/solo music.

Why would Lennon have a problem with this? None of the Beatles have to appear and they still collect a paycheck. The only reason Beatlemania was closed down was because it was not authorized by Apple and they were not receiving a portion of the proceeds besides the standard performance fees for their music. If the creators had properly approached Apple (or what was left of it at that point) and agreed to pay a royalty, do you really think it would have been a problem?

 

I heard it was going to be loosely based on the Yellow Submarine movie

 

Cirque du Soleil has managed to consistently put on some of the best shows on the Strip. I honestly can't fathom why anyone would be disappointed in this news unless they are completely unfamiliar with their work.

 

Agreed.

Neither can I.

 

Though they were amazing, acrobats are not my thing and I was kind of bored at the two Cirque shows I've seen. At least I'd enjoy the music for this one.

 

In todays musical world...the Beatles are in the Golden Years...It's a money thing...I'm sure we'll see more...Godda eat.

 

I don't see anything wrong about it.. the Cirque Du Soleil puts the most amazing productions on earth whenever they do a Las Vegas show. Things can only get better with Beatles' music... IMHO

 

"I'm here all week....try the veal!"

 

The Beatles go to the circus....why not? Viva Las Vegas!

 

I got dragged kicking and screaming (well, almost) to a Cirque Du Soleil water show at the Bellagio in LV when I was there, and I thought I was going to HATE it a lot.

I was mezmorized! It was amazing! I see nothing wrong with this. Folks, it's just music, Beatles music is special to us, but to others it's just "songs"!

 

Well the trailer loooks interesting!


2006 start date....

I assume the Mirage has multichannel capabilities and therefore won't be playing the mono mixes

 

Well...George wanted it.

 

I see this as just another perfect chance to expose people to the greatest band of all time. Kids will go to this show and forever will they have the imagery of the show attached to the music, and it will have been their special little attachment to The Beatles. ANOTHER generation to ensure this &^%@*^%#(*&^@*)( GREAT BAND is never forgotten!

 

I've seen a few CS shows and liked them all. I saw one in Vegas and the sound was awesome! And, yes, they made use of discrete multichannel.

This one sounds very cool.

-BZync