Beatles and Cirque du Soleil 'come together'
IF you've ever wanted to dive into the Octopus's Garden or meet Sgt. Pepper, the creators of "Love," a the new Beatles-themed Cirque du Soleil performance, are offering a little help from their friends.
The theatrical interpretation of some 130 songs and song fragments which debuts at The Mirage hotel-casino in Las Vagas next month takes audiences through a dreamlike journey that tracks the Fab Four's career.
Show concept creator Dominic Champagne called the show "a rock 'n' roll poem" that doesn't feature images of the Beatles but attempts through dance and imagery to interpret the lyrics of their songs.
"We dreamed, how would we treat 'Eleanor Rigby'? How would we treat 'Sgt. Pepper'? How would we go into 'Lucy in the Sky With Diamonds'?" Champagne asked.
"How would we please Beatles fans by doing a show with the Beatles, without the Beatles? And we decided to proceed by evocation."
In "Lucy," a female acrobat dangles from a looped trapeze while tiny firefly-like lights flash in midair.
"Lady Madonna" features a group tap-dancing and shuffling in yellow rain boots, while "Octopus's Garden" figuratively submerges the audience underwater with human-size jellyfish and squid dangling above the stage.
Concept creator Guy Laliberte, who began the project through a personal friendship with George Harrison, said many of the show visuals, just like the Beatles' lyrics, are open to interpretation.
"We're just there to propose many doors of a journey to people, and it's up to the public to decide what they want to live as an experience," he said.
Original Beatles producer Sir George Martin and his son, Giles Martin, pored through hours of original and unheard tracks that had been archived at Abbey Road Studios.
Many of the show's song treatments are subtle musical remixes that only a dedicated Beatles fan might discern.
"It is a puzzle and people can try and figure it out. They won't," George Martin said.
|
