Cirque Du Soleil: Love

MUS 375- Research Paper 1

Cirque du Soleil: LOVE

        The Cirque du Soleil show, LOVE, revolves around the Beatles and their timeless music. The performances are based around popular Beatles songs and performed by telling a story in a way. The performance is held in Las Vegas, Nevada at the Mirage hotel and casino. My personal experience with this particular show has been one of the most memorable experiences in Las Vegas so far. The way the show is performed is in an artistic way, the stage is centered in the middle of the auditorium and the audience sits around the performers in a circular arrangement. The performers are very interactive with the audience as well before the show starts. The environment of the Cirque du Soleil show is very peaceful and happy. The performers casually walk around the audience before the show giving everyone the well-known “peace” sign. Before the show even starts every audience member is happy and relaxed just by the performers that they have interacted with.

        The idea for this Cirque du Soleil show came from the Apple Corps Ltd and is directed by George Martin who was the producer for the Beatles. The creators for the show consulted with the remaining members of the Beatles, Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr. Not only were the remaining members of the band involved but so were the widows, Olivia Harrison and Yoko Ono representing their loved ones. These four individuals were able to help create the show as well as watching preview performances before the grand opening to make any last minute suggestions. The opening day of the first performance of the show was on June 30, 2006 which was considered one biggest reunions of the band since the decision was made to depart. In memory of the members that were not able to contribute to the production of the show a plaque in the Mirage Hotel was placed specifically in memory of George Harrison and John Lennon.

        The songs throughout the show were remixed and altered in a way to fit the story line, all of the remixes were done by George Martin and his son Giles Martin (GoFatherhood, 2010). The show begins with the song Because with a pre-war England background. The next song played is Get Back followed by Glass Onion. While Glass Onion is being played a scene of London being destructed by the war. The creators show the audience the glory days of London before the war and the tragedy that struck after the bombings. The Beatles were affected by WWII and the tragedy that struck London afterwards, the performers act this out to the audience by having buildings fall and being lowered underneath the stage as the next song How I won the War plays. The next few songs that play next are performed to show the early years of the band and how the Beatles were able to develop their sound, these songs were Eleanor Rigby and I Am The Walrus. While the innocence of the band is shown in this particular scene so is the personal childhood of John Lennon, who’ mother passed away when he was younger (GoFatherhood, 2010). The first act of the show explains and gives background information to the audience of how the Beatles became who they are. The storyline is a little hard to follow since it is shown in a very artistic way but is interesting how the songs were used to demonstrate the history of the Beatles.

        The second act of the show is full of excitement and the thrill of Beatlemania. The two songs that play during this particular act are Drive my car and I wanna Hold Your Hand, which these songs made their debut during the beginning of Beatlemania. A colorful VW bug with peace signs and flowers drawn all over the car is driven out by the performers while the songs play. The show then changes from a fun colorful VW bug to a psychedelic atmosphere filled with paisley patterns, which exemplifies the time period the Beatles were influenced by other celebrities and were also introduced to marijuana. The performers are covering every part of the stage and interacting with members of the audience. Finally, the audience gets to meet Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club during this particular act. One of my favorite parts during this act was the interactive portion with the performers spreading out a large cloth material over the audience forming a beautiful covering over everyone’s heads with the lights and music. Once this act is coming to an end the sheet is let go by the performers and the audience into the bottom of the stage. The song Help is then played signifying how the Beatles had this extravagant lifestyle but nothing lasts forever, specifically focusing during the time period the Beatles were struggling with the release of the movie Help! as well as the release of a new album. The next song to play in the show is Blackbird, this portion of the show was also my favorite. The song and the lyrics shown perfectly with the performers, showing a black bird learning to fly. I believe that this was shown to signify how the Beatles did struggle with a portion of their career but still were able to find their love and passion to rise above dark times. A positive aspect redirects the show, Strawberry Fields Forever and Nowhere Man are played with Sgt. Pepper and his band making appearances throughout the act. The idea behind these two songs shows the ending of the Beatles but more of how John Lennon wanted to begin his own journey as a musician (GoFatherhood, 2010). The concept of “ends are beginnings of new phases” is the presented through the songs Here Comes The Sun and Come Together.  The last few songs of the show are directed to the “break-up” of the band and the historical time of the Cold War. Although in the last few acts of the show it was shown how the band did not have potential of staying together. The last few songs played and Back in the USSR, While My Guitar Gently Weeps and A Day In The Life (LOVE, 2015). The mood is then lightened by the songs Hey Jude and All You Need is Love. The ending of this performance is meant to remind the audience that although the Beatles did not continue together that there should not be sadness. The lyrics of Hey Jude highlight this as well as All You Need Is Love.