Las Vegas Weekly

January 30, 2009 · 10:06 AM

Mystere looks forward to at least another five years at T.I.

By Robin Leach

Cirque du Soleil's Mystere at Treasure Island.

Photo: Tomasz Rossa

The monthlong celebration of 15 years of Mystere performances comes to an end tomorrow night, and I will join the cast and crew for their blowout. It’s been an extraordinary run, and, as we told you last week (click HERE), new Treasure Island owner Phil Ruffin says he wants to keep it running for many more years to come!

The show opened on Christmas Day in 1993, and in 1994 Time deemed it “a gorgeously surreal, thrilling theatrical pageant” and placed it in the No. 5 spot of the Top 10 theatrical attractions in the world. By March 1998, the show racked up its 2,000th performance and reached its 7,000 performance last Sept. 15.

Mystere’s original concept was built on Flower in the Desert with its horizon light a metaphor for the endless cycle of life from sunset to sunrise.

Photo: Tomasz Rossa

Cirque du Soleil's Mystere at Treasure Island.

The red clown nose worn for years by Mystere’s resident troublemaker Benny LeGrand was even launched into space as part of space mission STS-96 for a 10-day trip on board the Space Shuttle Discovery brought aboard by Canadian astronaut Julie Payette. By February 2001, 5 million spectators had seen the show!

Here are other fun facts from my file of showbiz trivia:

*Mystere was conceptualized over a two-year period at Cirque du Soleil headquarters in Montreal and in Las Vegas.

Photo: Jerry Metellus

Cirque du Soleil's Mystere at Treasure Island.

*All the images projected onto the screen during the show are of the original Mystere cast in Montreal while training before coming to Vegas.

*A piece of marble from an Italian mountain was carved into a sphere and presented to the cast and crew of Mystere on opening night by then director Franco Dragone. The sphere is said to represent the “very life and spirit of Mystere. If you look hard enough in the theater, you can find the symbol.

*More than 10 million people have seen Mystere, and each and every one has heard guitarist Bruce Rickerd, the only cast member who holds the distinction of performing in all of Mystere’s 7,000-plus shows!

*Francois Dupuis (Baby), a native of Canada, has been the original baby since the production opened. He has raised two children while living in Las Vegas. His daughter Noemie is one of the stage managers at KA at the MGM Grand.

Photo: Tomasz Rossa

Cirque du Soleil's Mystere at Treasure Island.

*In 1994-95, the album Mystere spent 18 weeks at the top of the Billboard charts in the world music category.

*More than 110 trampoline bounces and more than 65 teeterboard jumps are performed during a show.

During the 15 amazing years, a slew of stars have put Mystere on their must-see list. Here’s what some of them have written in the backstage guest book:

“I can only say thank you for the ultimate journey.” Love, Demi Moore

“With great thanks and joyous respect to you all for your gift to the world.” Love, Sharon Stone

“Thank you for binging so much joy & happiness to everyone!” Paula Abdul

“A great show!” Michael Douglas

“I loved the show; can’t wait to see it again.” Kenny Rogers

“You are beautiful, fabulous. You are magic.” Thank you, Stephanie Powers

“Mystere Magic!!!” Love, Robert Wagner

“Incredible!!!!” Thank you, Cindy Crawford

“Bravo + thank you!” Love, Helen Hunt

Photo: Tomasz Rossa

Cirque du Soleil's Mystere at Treasure Island.

Other celebrities include President Clinton and daughter Chelsea, Neil Patrick Harris, Bruce Willis, Tommy Lee, Pamela Anderson, Wayne Gretzky, Sammy Hagar, Steven Tyler, Joe Perry, Wynona Judd, Susan Sarandon, Natalie Portman, Tiger Woods, LeAnn Rimes, Valerie Bertinelli, Shania Twain, Christian Slater, Helena Bonham Carter, Kevin Costner, Axl Rose, Robin Williams, Carey Hart, Pink, Ashton Kutcher, Nicolas Cage, Ricky Martin, Rob Lowe, Janet Jackson, Michael Jackson, Britney Spears and Hilary Swank.

It was back in 1984 that Cirque du Soleil began life as Simple Street -- performance theater with fire-breathing founder Guy Laliberte doing the stilt walking! Today, after transforming traditional circus acts into high art, Cirque has become a billion-dollar mega-business as the top entertainment company on Earth. More than 80 million people have seen a Cirque production in 200 cities.

Photo: Gurzinski

Cirque du Soleil's Mystere at Treasure Island.

The 4,000-employee troupe dominates our Strip with O at the Bellagio, Zumanity at New York-New York, the $200 million KA at MGM Grand, Love at The Mirage and Believe with Criss Angel at the Luxor. Its next production will be based on Elvis Presley’s life and songbook at the new CityCenter planned for December, followed by a movie-themed show to be set in Hollywood next year and a Dubai resident show in 2011. In total, there are 18 Cirque shows running across the globe: 11 resident shows and seven touring shows. Quite an amazing achievement for the young entertainer juggling unemployment and working for street donations in a tiny town outside Quebec City!

Happy 15th anniversary to everybody at Mystere from all of us at Vegas DeLuxe!

— From Vegas Deluxe

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