The Beatles Love (The SOB Review)
The Beatles Love (The SOB Review) - Love Theatre, Mirage, Las Vegas, NV**** (out of ****)
Last night, on the eve of the 9/11 anniversary, I found myself seeking out some inner peace. In the excellent, mind-blowing The Beatles Love, I found that all you need is love.
Finding myself overcome with a sensory overload I haven't experienced since visiting Nepal eleven years ago, this wild ride transports to another time and place with the most frenetic pacing I've seen since the first 20 minutes or so of Baz Luhrmann's "Moulin Rouge!" extravaganza. But just like that exhilarating silver screen opening, this exquisite showcase for the catalogue of The Beatles ultimately settles down, finally enabling you to catch your breath, even if for a moment.
Classic tunes from The Beatles are brought to life in a most magical way, incorporating the themes and emotions behind each one, whether it's encapsulating the melancholy of "Eleanor Rigby" or the psychadelic sparkle of "Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds." Since I'm a Beatlesmaniac, I was entranced throughout the entire production, but renditions of "Rock And Roll Run," "Help" and "Revolution" certainly epitomize who these four lads from Liverpool were and what they came to represent.
By far the best Cirque du Soleil production I have yet to witness -- and I've now seen four of their five Vegas shows with the fifth coming tonight -- The Beatles Love even manages to blow my previous favorite O out of the water. Nobody does beautiful spectacle anywhere quite the way Cirque du Soleil does (Disney, why aren't you paying attention??).
Credit Guy Laliberté and Dominic Champagne for creating this truly magical mystery tour, along with Jean Rabasse (set design), Yves Aucoin (lighting design), Philippe Guilottet (costumer design), Jonathan Deans (sound design, including speakers within each seat) and Francis Laporte (a projection design that incorporated John, Paul, George and Ringo). It would serve Broadway choreographers to take a look or two at Dave St. Pierre's stunning work.
While "Viva Las Vegas" may have been Elvis' ode to Sin City, it's the Fab Four (and the creative team behind The Beatles Love) who are breathing exciting new life into Vegas. As the show closed with "All You Need Is Love," I found myself wishing for just a little more love. Perhaps I've finally found my reason for returning to Las Vegas.
This is Steve On Broadway (SOB).
Click here for tickets.
Related Stories:
Becoming SOL (September 10, 2007)
Critics: True Spectacle for the Senses and Beatles' Fans (July 1, 2006)
The Beatles LOVE by Cirque du Soleil Opens in Vegas Tonight (June 30, 2006)
Labels: Cirque du Soleil, Las Vegas, Musical, Special Theatrical Event, Spectacle, The Beatles, The Beatles Love, The SOB Review
posted by Steve On Broadway (SOB) @ Tuesday, September 11, 2007
4 Comments:
Wow, I just watched the trailer. I've never seen a Cirque du Soleil production, but it does look pretty mind-blowing! (And I've seen Moulin Rouge, so I kind of have a sense of what you mean by a frenetic pace!) I'm so glad you had such a great time. You deserve it after your last trip to Vegas! Now you just have to make a pilgrimage to Liverpool, if you haven't been already!
Esther - Funny you should mention making a pilgrimage to Liverpool. There was one entire sequence near the beginning of the show that nodded to a post-World War II Liverpool that was absolutely captivating, plus it had me thinking how I really need to get to the city where it all began.
I agree with everything Steve said. This was a gorgeous sensory experience, a living, breathing tribute to the Beatles that I hope will be in Las Vegas for years to come.
I bought the soundtrack shortly thereafter, just so I could transport myself back to the show. I listen to it constantly.
Thanks Anonymous. Glad you enjoyed as much as I did. Like you, the CD takes me back everytime I listen to it.
As much as I'm most definitely not a Vegas person, I would absolutely return simply to see this show. It's that amazing.
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