The Beatles LOVE
A Cirque du Soleil Production (credits found here)
Where: The Mirage Hotel and Casino, Las Vegas, NV
When: Thursday, March 13, 9:30pm
Aaaah...Las Vegas. The land of debauchery, cigarettes, and intoxicated people who look like they could vomit on you at any second. It's also the land of Cirque du Soleil -- that French Canadian troupe of artistic theatrical dancers and acrobats -- thanks to their whopping eight shows that call the Vegas Strip their home. It seemed necessary to take in a Cirque show while on my first trip to Vegas and The Beatles LOVE was the choice. Unfortunately, the production proved to be a little disappointing and a fairly big step down from the previous Cirque production I had seen -- La Nouba in Orlando, Florida.
The Beatles LOVE relies heavily on the nostalgia factor to succeed which may be why the fifty to sixty year-olds in the audience were eating it up, clapping at the most inane things. However, as someone that appreciates The Beatles, but who wasn't around to get wrapped up in the mania surrounding them, I found myself longing for something more.
There were some beautiful moments -- one set to the song "Something" involving a high flying quartet of beautiful ladies and one landlocked guy was absolutely gorgeous in its simplicity -- that showcased the skills of many of the dancers in the show, but there was very little of the Cirque acrobatics that I had come to expect. Set in the round, the show often featured scenes of chaotic mayhem that proved a bit too "noisy" in terms of visual stimulation. Any of the typical Cirque-like maneuvering in these scenes was all but lost because of the intense amount of "stuff" going on around the stage. That said, most of the time the "extreme" events going on weren't all that "extreme" in the first place, the worst being an extended scene involving some roller skaters who did next to nothing except jump over a small hill, but yet still tried to rally the crowd into clapping for them (which the possibly intoxicated crowd obliged).
The Beatles LOVE wasn't an awful show. The scenes that were quieter and involved dance were much more successful than the scenes that attempted any circus-type or highly acrobatic stunts. It just wasn't quite what I thought it would be, I guess. Perhaps that's my fault for going in with different expectations, but I'd certainly recommend trying out another Cirque du Soleil show should you be heading to Las Vegas anytime soon.
There were some beautiful moments -- one set to the song "Something" involving a high flying quartet of beautiful ladies and one landlocked guy was absolutely gorgeous in its simplicity -- that showcased the skills of many of the dancers in the show, but there was very little of the Cirque acrobatics that I had come to expect. Set in the round, the show often featured scenes of chaotic mayhem that proved a bit too "noisy" in terms of visual stimulation. Any of the typical Cirque-like maneuvering in these scenes was all but lost because of the intense amount of "stuff" going on around the stage. That said, most of the time the "extreme" events going on weren't all that "extreme" in the first place, the worst being an extended scene involving some roller skaters who did next to nothing except jump over a small hill, but yet still tried to rally the crowd into clapping for them (which the possibly intoxicated crowd obliged).
The Beatles LOVE wasn't an awful show. The scenes that were quieter and involved dance were much more successful than the scenes that attempted any circus-type or highly acrobatic stunts. It just wasn't quite what I thought it would be, I guess. Perhaps that's my fault for going in with different expectations, but I'd certainly recommend trying out another Cirque du Soleil show should you be heading to Las Vegas anytime soon.
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