Las Vegas Weekly

December 15, 2009 · 12:01 AM

Photo Gallery: Cirque du Soleil prepares for Viva Elvis previews

By Robin Leach

Cirque du Soleil's Viva Elvis. The costumes were designed by Stefano Canulli.

Photo: Julie Aucoin/Cirque du Soleil

Updated at 7:08 a.m.

When tickets go on sale today for the new spectacular Viva Elvis at CityCenter’s Aria, Cirque du Soleil will be rolling a lucky seven. That’s the total of shows the French-Canadian company will be presenting on the Strip, and that means a staggering seat sale of 120,000 tickets each week -- with Viva Elvis, at $99 to $175, as the most expensive of them all.

The first preview performance starts this Friday just in time for a “Blue Christmas” -- and not in a “Heartbreak Hotel” but in the 1,800-seat, custom-built Elvis theater with twice-nightly shows. Previews with tickets discounted 25 percent will continue through Jan. 28 as the producers tweak, tinker and tighten the finished show ready for the Jan. 29 premiere. The gala celebrity red carpet opening is set for Feb. 19.

Jerry Nadal, Cirque’s resident head honcho in Las Vegas, said: “I couldn’t think of a better place to do a show about Elvis Presley than Las Vegas because of the associations he had here. We’re bringing back an iconic figure, looking at his life and his contributions to the entertainment scene on a grand scale.”

Here’s a sneak peek at the show thanks to Cirque photographer Julie Aucoin and the costumes created by Stefano Canulli. We posted the photo gallery at 12:01 a.m., which ran a few hours later on our colleague site the Las Vegas Sun.

It’s extraordinary how Cirque du Soleil has grown since humble beginnings back in 1984 when co-founder Guy Laliberte was an unemployed fire-blowing stilt-walker. Today, he’ll be center stage at the Aria with Priscilla Presley, who was married to Elvis and has given full approval to the show; Robert F.X. Sillerman, owner of Elvis Presley Enterprises; Elvis director and writer Vincent Patterson; and Gilles Ste-Croix, Cirque’s senior VP of creative content and new project development. Cirque du Soleil partnered with CKX Inc. and its subsidiary Elvis Presley Enterprises to create Viva Elvis.

Elvis Aaron Presley also came from humble beginnings, born in a two-room house in Tupelo, Miss. Cirque will mark Elvis’ birthday on Jan. 8 in a special manner, which we’ll learn more about today.

Guy, who recently returned from a space journey on a Russian capsule that cost him $30 million, now presides over the company with 4,000 employees of 40 nationalities who speak 25 languages. Celebrating its 25th anniversary this year, Cirque has entertained more than 100 million people -- 15 million in 2009 alone.

Viva Elvis director Vincent previously produced stage and video productions for Madonna and Michael Jackson. He is Cirque’s first American director and promises more music and dance in his show than the nearby Beatles’ Love in The Mirage.

Vincent says he’s created his production in the image of The King of Rock and Roll” -- powerful, sexy, whimsical, truly unique and larger than life. The show highlights the American icon who transformed popular music and whose image embodies the freedom, excitement and turbulence of the era.” Don’t go expecting to see an actor playing the biography of the Elvis life story. You will hear a live band playing against old Elvis recorded tracks but given contemporary arrangements.

Most of the Viva Elvis cast wasn’t born when Elvis played Las Vegas before his death in 1977, so Vincent took them all to Graceland to soak up the Elvis legacy and memories. Strip Cirque du Soleil cast members welcomed the Viva Elvis cast to Las Vegas on Aug. 8.

Today, I’ll interview the principals involved with Viva Elvis, and our contributing photographer Tom Donoghue will be shooting the cast in costume and selected segments from the show. We’ll have that full photo report here tomorrow, so be sure to check back right here at Vegas DeLuxe.

Robin Leach has been a journalist for more than 50 years and has spent the past decade giving readers the inside scoop on Las Vegas, the world’s premier platinum playground.

Follow Robin Leach on Twitter HERE.

Follow Vegas DeLuxe on Twitter HERE.

Follow VDLX Editor Don Chareunsy on Twitter HERE.

Share This