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The Legend Lives On - Official Cirque du Soleil 'Immortal World Tour' Discussion

[h=3]Cirque goes big with Jackson tour[/h]By MAXIME DEMERS QMI AGENCY

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MONTREAL -- With Michael Jackson: The Immortal World Tour set to premiere Sunday at the Bell Centre, before touring across Canada this fall, the Cirque du Soleil is coming out of its comfort zone.
This is its first show conceived specifically for arenas.
"Le Cirque likes to take risks, and that is even more true this time around," Cirque du Soleil president and CEO Daniel Lamarre said in an interview earlier this week.
"Immortal is really taking us elsewhere. It's an interpretation of a rock show by Cirque du Soleil. In seeing the show this week, we decided, Guy (Laliberte) and I, that this would start a new type of show."
Arena shows comprise a big market already occupied by global music stars such as Madonna, the Rolling Stones, Paul McCartney and others, whose tour profits are enormous.
"There is big potential there," Lamarre said. "For us, our big challenge is to offer this type of show, but without having the star (Michael Jackson) there. We had to deal with those obstacles.
"We don't take anything for granted here. We are going into it with a lot of humility. This is a very risk undertaking for us, because we are hitting a new market and a way of touring that is very different to what we have done until now. But if we don't want to become stagnant, it's important to do it this way."
Dedicated to the creative universe of the late King of Pop, Michael Jackson: The Immortal World Tour will tour Canada and then the U.S. for a year before moving on to Europe and Asia.
"We hope to tour for four years," Lamarre said. "People may not be aware of it, but there will be many foreign promoters from Asia, Japan, South America and Europe that will be in Montreal on Sunday night to see what the Circus is doing in the context of a rock show. The reaction in Montreal will surely have an influence on the show's longevity."
In North America, the promoters were fairly easy to convince, Lamarre admitted.
"We had a card up our sleeve in Michael Jackson," he said. "Michael Jackson is still extremely contemporary. And all of this is done following (the planned) concert (This Is It) that would have had huge success in London. He sold thousands of seats in 24 hours for his shows in London. And we experienced something similar when we sold tickets in North America. We sold more than $40 million in tickets in 24 hours. This is unheard of."


Though familiar with moving from city to city with the equipment for its show under the tent, the Cirque du Soleil had to adapt to new logistics for the arena tour. A promoter at the Bell Centre told Lamarre that the previous biggest production ever staged at that arena required 26 trucks to move in all the equipment. "We have 38," Lamarre said.



---Canadian dates---
Montreal: Sunday
Ottawa: Oct. 7-8
Hamilton: Oct. 12-13
London: Oct. 18-19
Toronto: Oct. 21-23
Winnipeg: Oct. 26-27
Saskatoon: Oct. 29-30
Edmonton: Nov. 1-2
Vancouver: Nov. 4-6

http://www.lfpress.com/entertainment/stage/2011/09/30/18766786.html
 
Cirque hosts world premiere of Michael Jackson’s ‘Immortal’ in Montreal

By <cite style="border-width: 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; font-size: 28px; font-style: normal; font-weight: bold; vertical-align: baseline; outline-width: 0px; background-color: transparent;">Robin Leach</cite>
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The new Michael JacksonImmortal spectacular may wind up being the largest touring rock show ever. Rumors are that it will take 47 double-stretched trucks to move the 180,000 pounds of stage equipment and a 200-strong cast and crew around North America for the next two years -- and then around the world for the next two years.
We&#8217;ll know all the mind-blowing logistics for certain Sunday night in Montreal when Cirque du Soleil throws the world premiere and gala party for the $100 million production. I&#8217;ll be there for the festivities, and we&#8217;ll have a full report Monday. Fans from all over the world have already started arriving in the Canadian city and received a tour of last-minute rehearsals this week.
I previously interviewed director and choreographer Jamie King, who is at the helm of Immortaland worked with Michael on the Thriller, Bad and History tours.
As a comparison, the newest Britney Spears tour checked in at 125,000 pounds with 40 semis, so you have a good idea of the monster-sized Immortal road show that lands at Mandalay Bay on Dec. 3 for two performances a night through Dec. 27.Immortal precedes the second Michael Jackson show that will become Cirque&#8217;s eighth residency production on The Strip when it moves into the reconverted Lion King Theater at Mandalay Bay in early 2013.
I&#8217;m told that we can expect &#8220;a riveting fusion of visuals, dance, music and fantasy to take audiences right inside Michael&#8217;s creative world and turn his signature moves upside down.&#8221; Jamie added: &#8220;The show captures the essence, soul and inspiration of The King of Pop celebrating a legacy that continues to transcend generations.&#8221;
To kick off the tour stop here in December, the shows will be combined with the first-ever estate-authorized Michael Jackson Fan Fest. The experience promises up-close looks at memorabilia, items from Neverland Ranch, photo opportunities in a re-created set, videos, plus a behind-the-scenes look at the creation ofImmortal, which I&#8217;ll report here Monday and Tuesday.
Members of the Immortal creative team will fly here to take part in Q&As with fans. Attendees get the chance to compete against one another in contests centered on Ubisoft&#8217;s newly released video game &#8220;The Michael Jackson Experience.&#8221; This larger-than-life interactive and immersive salute to Michael will open for four hours before each Mandalay Bay show.
We&#8217;ll have all the secrets of Immortal and the residency show here at Vegas DeLuxe on Monday and Tuesday, so be sure to check back.

http://www.lasvegassun.com/news/2011/sep/30/cirque-hosts-world-premiere-michael-jacksons-immor/
 
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[h=1]Cirque du Soleil premieres Jackson show[/h]

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Cirque du Soleil performers rehearse for Sunday’s world premiere at the Bell Centre of its new show, Michael Jackson: The Immortal World Tour, which unexpectedly coincides with the trial of the doctor charged in connection with Jackson’s death.

MONTREAL - The timing is, to say the least, bizarre.
The Cirque du Soleil’s Michael Jackson: The Immortal World Tour show is making its debut at the Bell Centre on Sunday within days of the kickoff of the trial of the doctor charged with involuntary manslaughter in Jackson’s death.
Meanwhile, the late singer’s brother Jermaine is launching a book titled You Are Not Alone, Michael: Through a Brother’s Eyes.
Publicity like this you cannot buy. And, for that matter, who would want to?
Jermaine may have timed his book to coincide with the trial and/or the show. But when the Cirque du Soleil booked the Bell Centre a year ago, CEO Daniel Lamarre says, no one had any idea when the trial would take place.
Lamarre was the only Cirque person available to talk to the press this week about the MJ show. The pressure is on. Press exposure is being limited before opening because “everyone is working like crazy,” he said, and it was imperative they stay focused on their task. (Earlier, another Cirque representative had told the Gazette that artists weren’t available for interviews because the Jackson Estate had requested that the show be kept under wraps until opening.)
Lamarre, who like this writer, spent last weekend in Los Angeles because of yet another Cirque opening (Iris at the Kodak Theatre), said the back-to-back timing of the two shows was accidental. Each one had its own momentum, and in the case of Iris, a construction schedule interrupted by the Academy Awards, which take place in the same building. “In an ideal world, we would have done that differently,” he said.
The Iris opening was less stressful on its creators, however, because the show had had a couple of months of previews. When I talked to director Philippe Decouflé two days before the opening, he wasn’t nervous at all. Everything was already rolling smoothly. In contrast, the MJ show – which has been in rehearsal since May and has a budget of around $60 million – is going to have its first public airing on Sunday.
This is a completely different situation. “Promoters are coming from around the world on Sunday to see the show,” Lamarre said. “So we’d better be ready. We’re certainly not treating it as a preview. We’re treating it as a worldwide premiere.”
Why no previews? “Here, we’re in a different world,” he explained. “It’s not a theatre show. It’s not a big top show. In the rock ’n’ roll world, it’s different. This show is more like a rock concert than anything else.”
What about circus acts? “There are circus acts because we’re Cirque du Soleil. But we’re treating it like you would a rock concert, without a rock star. So I’d call it a translation, a translation by Cirque du Soleil of a rock concert. You will have a lot of dance, a lot of video. You will have acrobatic acts. But you will have most and foremost, all of the hits of Michael Jackson.”
Fans of the late singer will, no doubt, be ecstatic about that.
“One thing that inspired us all along,” Lamarre continued, “is that we have a lot of people in the show who have worked with Michael Jackson, starting with director Jamie King. He is kind of the hot guy in the world of rock concerts. He has been working with Madonna, Britney Spears and Rihanna. But what people forget is that Jamie was once a dancer with Michael Jackson. So he knows Michael very well. He knows his universe. That’s why we selected him. Because we wanted to make sure that we would respect the artistic taste of Michael Jackson.”
Another close Jackson associate, keyboardist Greg Phillinganes, is the musical director of the show. “Greg was the conductor on most of Michael Jackson’s touring shows,” Lamarre said. “And he knows his musical universe perfectly.”
Other marks of authenticity include several performers who had been signed to do Michael Jackson’s This Is It (the show he never gave). Plus, “We have been able to get some video that Michael was supposed to use in that London Show.”
At least two of the Jackson brothers, Tito and Jackie, are expected to attend Sunday night’s opening at the Bell Centre. Other members of the family may show but haven’t confirmed. Although they are all keeping close watch on the trial of Conrad Murray in Los Angeles, courts are usually closed on weekends.
Lamarre doesn’t foresee the trial having any effect on the show’s tour of almost 60 cities, as most of the tickets are already sold. (About 23,000 for the first two shows at the Bell Centre.) “At the end of the day, the show will do the talking,” he said. “If people love the show, it will sell a ton of tickets.”
Undoubtedly. It would be pretty tough to go wrong with a Michael Jackson tribute show. Especially when you’ve got 10 top-notch choreographers (including Debra Brown, Travis Payne and Jamal Sims) working the dance numbers. “We have about two hours of the music of Michael Jackson,” Lamarre explained. “So it’s very important that each scene is different.”
There are 76 performers in the MJ show (four more than in Iris), a live orchestra, plenty of Jackson video footage, but no clowns or singers. The only voice featured will be that of the King of Pop himself.
What about the look? “There are three vans of costumes,” Lamarre said. The set is by Mark Fisher, who has ruled the rock world for decades, did the Cirque’s Ka in Vegas, and designed U2’s last tour.
It takes 38 trucks to ship the entire show.
Keeping in mind that this is but the first of two Michael Jackson shows that the Cirque is producing. The second one will be installed permanently in the Mandalay Bay resort in Las Vegas in 2013.
“That one will be more of a theatre show, like Viva Elvis or Love,” Lamarre explained.
Will it be directed by the same person (Jamie King)? “That’s something we’re exploring right now,” he replied.


&#8203;http://www.montrealgazette.com/entertainment/Cirque+Soleil+premieres+Jackson+show/5484285/story.html
 


OnirMJ, like I explained last week. They were sold out..but a week ago they released additional tickets.

I expect them to sellout again before tomorrow

Annita;3499154 said:
It`s sold out. You can´t buy ticket`s for the premiere.
https://wroom.centrebell.ca/eventShopperMJ.html?lang=en&preFill=1&wr=jac11onedrop
Click to expand...

You can still buy REGULAR tickets, the ones that are completely sold out are those "One drop" gala before the show.

Regular tickets are available...they only have fix in the front

http://www.evenko.ca/fr/show/event/4757
 
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OnirMJ said:
It is not "just the millionth mj compilation of songs we already have". It is a remix album with songs from the show!

MJNA can confirm The Estate, @Cirque & Epic Records will be releasing a remix album featuring the music from The Immortal World Tour! The soundtrack album from The Immortal World Tour is slated to be released Nov. 21. The project is being overlooked by L.A. Reid.

http://twitter.com/#!/MJNA

I don't think they will be releasing a cirque dvd.
Click to expand...
oh! thanks.. i really hope they do do a dvd tho! i dont want to ever forget anything i see
 
"We hope to tour for four years," Lamarre said. "People may not be aware of it, but there will be many foreign promoters from Asia, Japan, South America and Europe that will be in Montreal on Sunday night to see what the Circus is doing in the context of a rock show. The reaction in Montreal will surely have an influence on the show's longevity."
In North America, the promoters were fairly easy to convince, Lamarre admitted.
"We had a card up our sleeve in Michael Jackson," he said. "Michael Jackson is still extremely contemporary. And all of this is done following (the planned) concert (This Is It) that would have had huge success in London. He sold thousands of seats in 24 hours for his shows in London. And we experienced something similar when we sold tickets in North America. We sold more than $40 million in tickets in 24 hours. This is unheard of."
Click to expand...

That is very important. I will be seeing the show tomorrow night, and i expect a show like I've never seen before.

I hope they get an amazing reaction...


Also, $40 million in 24 hours is a huge feat. Look at the movies, only the big blockbusters do that in one day, and usually they have a huge publicity machine behind them. The Cirque hasn't advertised the shows much...I think they want to be restful because of the trial. But great word of mouth will help...until November.
 
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Michael Jackson: The Immortal World Tour is an upcoming theatrical production by Cirque du Soleil …
The arena show—which is very similar to a rock concert—begins its tourOctober 2, 2011. After touring North America for about two years, it will continue on to Europe and the rest of the world. …
​
Gianinni interviews acrobats on the MJ Immortal World Tour about their experience and what MJ means to them as acrobats. …
​
<iframe src="http://player.vimeo.com/video/28703485?title=0&byline=0&portrait=0" width="400" height="225" frameborder="0" webkitallowfullscreen="" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>Acrobats on the MJ Immortal World Tour from Gianinni Semedo Moreira on Vimeo.




A second Michael Jackson (resident) show opens early 2013 at the Mandalay Bay Resort in Las Vegas.

http://gymnasticscoaching.com/new/2011/10/michael-jackson-immortal-world-tour-begins/
 
^^ there is no point of releasing a DVD --until the tour is done!
 
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Fresh off the heels of an NHL hockey game last night, Montréal’s Bell Centre is now buzzing with crew members loading in the stage. WORLD PREMIERE is in just 2 days!
 
bluesky;3499339 said:
315788_277498788941657_163439450347592_985866_1528594552_n.jpg


Fresh off the heels of an NHL hockey game last night, Montréal&#8217;s Bell Centre is now buzzing with crew members loading in the stage. WORLD PREMIERE is in just 2 days!
Click to expand...

OMG, I'm so excited! It looks exactly like the Rexall Centre in Edmonton, where I'll be going exactly one month from today! :wild: :wild:
 
everyone who goes from here must write a review! THATS AN ORDER! lol
 
Arklove said:
OMG, I'm so excited! It looks exactly like the Rexall Centre in Edmonton, where I'll be going exactly one month from today! :wild: :wild:
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I hate you D:<



















































... Kidding. I just wish I could go :(
 
He sold thousands of seats in 24 hours for his shows in London. And
we experienced something similar when we sold tickets in North America.
We sold more than $40 million in tickets in 24 hours. This is unheard
of."
Click to expand...

Well, will you look at that....wonder how much money in ticket sales GLE has made so far? nothing close to this I bet.

Go Cirque!
 
Well according to Prince's Twitter account, he's in Montreal, so he will be at the IMMORTAL World Tour premiere, I would imagine.
 
Having a hard time getting tickets for the shows at Madison Square Garden, guess I should have bought them sooner.
 
i'm sooooooooooooo ****** excited for you guys!!!! jealous? oh yes, but still i hope u guys absolutely love it. how many hrs left? please update us as soon as u get home people and i hope u have tonnes of fun!!!!
 
Hi guys,

Just got back from the General Rehearsal at the Bell Centre.

IT WAS AMAZING!!!

I know someone who has a connection to the Cirque, and they (out of the blue) gave me two tickets on Michaelmas Day (September 29th) ! I see it as a miracle. :)

This show is going to blow your minds!

I got there in time to see Travis Payne (I think) leading a group of people of all ages dancing to They Don't Really Care About Us outside in the rain. The rain did not succeed in dampening the crowd's enthusiasm, and there were tons of people milling around. It was hard to find a spot to be able to see, as there were at least three rows of people n front of me. Shoulda got there earlier. lol

I'm gonna post this now, and add more in another post. Mods, feel free to merge them afterwards.
 
To be honest, I hadn't read this thread because i never expected to be going, so I wasn't aware that Jackie and Tito were supposed to be there. I didn't see them, but they may have been there.

Let me just start by saying that I loved the show!

So much Michael in the show. Just... Michael. All Michael.
 
This posted on michaeljackson.com

[h=3]Message For Michael Jackson Fans[/h]Michael Jackson Fans: If you are attending the premiere of Michael Jackson The Immortal World Tour in Montreal on Sunday, October 2nd and would like to appear on camera to share your reaction to the show and the music, please email your contact info and a photo to mtlfansubmission@gmail.com[/EMAIL] for more info.
 
Our seats were pretty high up. The first thing one sees when entering the show is a big pic of Michael.

We watched as the building gradually filled up with people. By 8 pm, it was practically full.

The show got underway on time.

SPOILER ALERT>

If you don't want to hear about the show, look away now. lol

So the lights dimmed, and DJ Bubbles comes out. He dances, and he does a bunch of stuff while MJ music plays, such as leading a few members of the audience on stage, who dance to MJ's music. He also throws bananas into the crowd. lol He was great.

Then, some MJ-dressed dancers come out (looking like the Jackson brothers) and they dance and do some awesome routines including hanging in suspension in front of a screen, where they 'spray paint' cool grafitti on the scenes of buildings etc. on screen.
 
bluesky, it was more of a show than a rehearsal. It was the 'final rehearsal,' where staff, company employees, friends etc. get to come watch.
 
Dang, I'm already starting to forget stuff. Oh well, I'm sure others will come share info.

After about 25 mins, it was announced that it was now intermission. Which confused us, as the show had really just started. There might have been a glitch, they may have been saving some material for the premiere tomorrow... Who knows. Anyway, i spent that time chatting with my friend.

When the show resumed, there was a huge BANG, and there was MJ, plastered all over the screens!

By the way, the sound is very loud! I see what they mean, that this is a rock concert.
 
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I'm just going to jump around with my thoughts here. lol

The music was fantastic. Some snippets of MJ songs interwoven with MJ speaking. I loved that. And then for full routines, they would use entire songs.

Although our view of the screens was partially obscured, there was footage that I had never seen before of MJ from This Is It.

The show features mind blowing pyrotechnics, and the use of light, especially in costumes, was unbelievable. There was at one point, a huge pair of MJ shoes and socks, and dancers came out of them. Lots of MJ dressed dancers, with lights all over there costumes, so they looked like light MJs.

We heard:
Man in the Mirror
Smooth Criminal
Threatened
Thriller
Billie Jean
Beat It
Remember the Time
Blame it on the Boogie
Rock with You
Don't stop till you get enough
Shake your Body
Earth Song
Ben
ABC...

And many more, covering MJ's whole life.

The only major song we didn't get that I can think of was Heal The World

I feel they did a great job presenting MJ's message.

One thing I found strange was the shape of the stage, and the centre tree. They both looked to me like a character.. I won't say who, as you probably won't know who I'm talking about. But it was ccol, because MJs were dancing all over them! lol
 
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WOW So glad you got to see the show tonight, I was at the Quebec final rehearsal and I was at Travisù,s flashmob tonight, it was incredible!
Very happy you've been able to experience it already!
 
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