All you need is 'The Beatles LOVE' at the Mirage
12:58 PM CDT on Thursday, September 18, 2008
LAS VEGAS – The Beatles LOVE at the Mirage is electrifyingly emotional. The show is an acrobatic ballet set to a 90-minute re-imagining of touchstone Beatles songs blended seamlessly and rising to an emotional crescendo.
Combining theatrics, multimedia projections, acrobatics and the music of what many consider the greatest band in the history of rock 'n' roll, LOVE transcends its parts to become a satisfying whole.
The show is a roller coaster of visual images spanning the Beatles' lives and career, presented on the stage of a theater surprisingly intimate despite seating 2,000.
The scenes surround viewers from all angles. "Something" is a sky ballet of lovers on trapeze. "Mr. Kite" is a vaudevillian psychedelic freak show of stunts and stilt-walking. "Help" is a dizzying rush of in-line-ramp skating. "Yesterday" is a beautiful pas de deux played out among flying fragments of memory. "Lucy in the Sky With Diamonds" is an aerial delight again on the trapeze. "Come Together" integrates modern interpretive dance with coordinated spotlights in a mix of timing and lighting. The finale, "All You Need Is Love," brings tears to your eyes.
The soundtrack was produced by original Beatles producer George Martin, working with his son, Giles Martin, from the original master tapes. It's a phenomenal accomplishment on its own.
Initially devised by George Harrison and Cirque du Soleil, LOVE involved the participation and approval of Paul McCartney, Ringo Starr, Yoko Ono and Olivia Harrison.
As a multidimensional melding of Beatles music, memory and Cirque du Soleil, LOVE is a triumph. Costuming, staging and lighting are extraordinary. Footage of the band, projected at the emotional high point, resonates on levels best felt and not described. The show is an explosion of imagery, pageantry and iconography that takes us all back to a time, not so long ago, when we were fab.
Joel Berliner is a freelance writer in California.
•Performances are at 7 and 10 p.m. Thursday through Monday at the Mirage. Dark: Tuesday and Wednesday, Oct. 9 and Dec. 4-15. Tickets: $99 to $150.
•Contact: 1-800-963-9634; www.cirquedusoleil.com or www.mirage.com (click on Entertainment/Events).
More Cirque shows
The Beatles LOVE is one of six Cirque du Soleil productions in Las Vegas. Others are O at the Bellagio, Mystere at Treasure Island, Ka at MGM Grand, Zumanity at New York, New York, and Believe at Luxor.