CIRQUE’S DANIEL LAMARRE TALKS ELVIS, JACKSON, 3D MOVIE AND ‘MYSTERE’
The new Michael Jackson Cirque show set to open May 13, 2013, at Mandalay Bay is “on schedule and on target.” He confirmed that construction on the newly designed theater there is underway, and the reconfiguration will give them 200 additional seats for each performance. (“The Lion King” seated 1,600, so it will be 1,800 for M.J.’s show.)
“It will definitely be far more of a theatrical experience than our Michael Jackson touring rock concert show, which has become the No. 1 box office show in the world every week of this New Year,” he added.
MICHAEL JACKSON UPDATES
Meantime, the newest Cirque show to open in Las Vegas will be the Michael Jackson permanent spectacular at Mandalay Bay. “We are in full construction mode now,“ Daniel said. “The theater is being renovated, and the equipment is being redesigned. It is all set for Mandalay Bay -- there’s no chance of the show going anywhere else in Vegas. We are on target and on schedule for the May 13 opening next year.
“The big difference between the touring show and the new permanent show is that this one will be much more theatrical. The month residency of the touring show in Mandalay Bay helped us tweak it. It’s even better now than when you saw it here. It has been No. 1 on the Pollstar box office rankings since the New Year began. It will remain in North America until the fall.
“We then go to Europe for six months. We’d marked London for six dates, but they sold out immediately just to Cirque club members. We’re looking to add at least three more shows there. It’s a stampede in Asia with the promoters there, so we’re now putting that part of the plan into place.
“A show of this kind would normally run two years, and now we’re looking at three, maybe four years. Many cities here in North America were sold out, so we would like the show to come back for repeat dates -- but not on this side of the country because we don’t want to cannibalize the new Mandalay show.”