When it comes to guiding the career of Elvis Presley, Robert Sillerman is about to make Col. Parker look like an amateur. Mr. Sillerman’s company, SKX, owns EPE, through which he has made a brilliant move — a joint venture with Cirque du Soleil to develop something called ELVIS PRESLEY PROJECTS.
First, just in case you are not familiar with Cirque du Soleil, let me fill you in. It is one of the most amazing entertainment spectaculars in Las Vegas, a city filled with dozens of them. Cirque du Soleil has distinction because there are four different, permanent shows going on at some of the biggest hotel/casinos on the strip: Mystère at Treasure Island (since 1994), O at the Bellagio (water circus), KA at MGM Grand, and Zumanity at New York, New York.
Show number five will be LOVE, celebrating the musical legacy of the Beatles. It starts June 2 at the Mirage Hotel. This is going to be great, at least if the show is like what’s on the two video clips at the Cirque du Soleil website.
Do you think Mr. Sillerman figured that if they could do it with the Beatles, they could do it with Elvis, too? Good call. I love it. This is the most exciting news. Reading deeply into the press release, you learn that each ELVIS PRESLEY PROJECT will contain three elements;
- Permanent shows at fixed locations. Las Vegas is apparently out of the running in the near future, so you have to wonder where the first one will be. My guess would be Toronto (easily reached by millions of Americans) or Tokyo (a hotbed of Elvis interest).
- Touring shows. Cirque du Soleil currently has six touring companies, all doing shows with their own themes. They travel all over North America, Europe, and Asia.
- Elvis Experiences – multimedia interactive entertainment that incorporates the likeness and music of Elvis Presley.
This is the one that has me psyched. ELVIS EXPERIENCES. Bring it on. How much are tickets? I have no idea what this multimedia interactive experience will be, but with the geniuses at Cirque du Soleil creating it, I know it will be great. Here’s what Mr. Sillerman says: “Cirque du Soleil remains one of the most stunning and exciting experiences on the planet and brings the creative genius needed to produce shows and multimedia events that capture the true Elvis Presley.”
It is possible to get a sense of how different and wonderful the permanent (and touring) Elvis shows could be. Just click on the Cirque du Soleil / Beatles website: www.cirquedusoleil.com/CirqueDuSoleil/en/showstickets/love/intro/intro.htm. When it opens, watch the “Sneak Preview.” When you finish that, click on the “About The Show” link and then click on “Costumes” for another video. Finally, there are thirteen still photos you will want to check out.
It may be a bit harder to build a show around Elvis than the Beatles. They had such strange, wonderful, complex songs during the last few years of their career. You will see on the video clips how songs like “Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds” and “Octopus’s Garden” are perfect for Cirque du Soleil adaptation. It may be more difficult with “Don’t Be Cruel” or “Hound Dog,” but you know they’ll come up with something very cool for “All Shook Up” and “Viva Las Vegas.”
Thank you, Mr Sillerman.
© 2006 Philip R Arnold www.elvisblog.net
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