Las Vegas Weekly

March 20, 2010 · 6 AM

Of Cirque and sitcoms

By Rick Lax

Cirque du Soleil gives a sneak preview of Viva Elvis at CityCenter's Aria Resort & Casino on Dec. 15, 2009.

Photo: Brian Jones/Las Vegas News Bureau

Has anybody noticed that Cirque du Soleil is moving in the opposite direction of the Strip as a whole?

Here’s what I mean: The Strip is getting less and less schticky; Cirque’s getting more and more. The last three major casinos to open (Encore, M and CityCenter) have no discernible themes; the last three Cirque shows to open (LOVE, Believe and Viva Elvis) do. That’s the opposite of what happened in the ’90s.

I saw Viva Elvis last week, and I liked it. It’s everything a 100-million-dollar Broadway production of Bye Bye Birdie should be. Cirque modernized Elvis’s music without screwing up its sentiment. It’s a fun, flashy spectacle.

But it’s no Mystere. And it’s no Ka. (Then again, what is?) It’s familiar.

Now, familiarity isn’t necessarily a bad thing. People like familiar, which explains the success of Two and a Half Men.

But since when does Cirque do familiar? Well, since 2006, I guess. Have they gone overboard with familiarity? When Cirque premieres its Two and a Half Men show, that’ll be the giveaway.

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