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I Got a Feeling in My Body • It's Now or Never
Doin' The Best I Can • Return to Sender • All Shook Up
Easy Come, Easy Go • Alright, Okay, You Win...

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I Got a Feeling in My Body

A few short months later – August 21, 2006 – an official announcement was made between Cirque du Soleil, CKX and MGM/Mirage regarding the partnership, including an interesting bit about the new Elvis production taking up residence at the center-piece of the hotelier’s infamous CityCenter mixed-use project: Aria. The announcement of the show’s location was timed for Elvis Week, when Elvis fans from around the world flock to Memphis, Tennessee, for the anniversary of his death on August 16, 1977.

Cirque du Soleil's creative team is inspired by this new extravaganza. The creative combination of live musicians and singers, projections, dance and the latest in multimedia sound and lighting technology are stimulating and aim at offering an emotional bond with the audience. The show will bring Elvis back to Las Vegas for millions of his existing fans and create a buzz that will enable the persona of Elvis to reach untold numbers of new fans.

Robert F.X. Sillerman, Chairman and CEO of CKX, Inc., commented, "I am pleased that during this time, when we remember Elvis Presley and celebrate his life, we are able to announce his return to Las Vegas, a place where he truly rose to iconic status. And with the remarkable creative talent of Cirque du Soleil, fans who saw Elvis perform, as well as those who never had a chance to see him, will be able to experience Elvis in an entirely new and exciting way. This will be the first step in establishing a twenty-first century presence in Vegas for the King."

Guy Laliberte himself said, "This new creative challenge is exactly what we strive at accomplishing in the development of our new productions. Cirque du Soleil is thrilled to be involved in CityCenter and we are particularly honored to be entrusted with this assignment. We are working closely with our partners to ensure the public will have an unforgettable encounter with the King of Rock and Roll. Elvis had a unique relationship with his adoring fans in Vegas and a large part of our mission is to recreate the excitement and the spirit of joy he generated here."

All became quiet on the Elvis front for more than two years following the press announcement. Many had begun to wonder whether or not any of the “Elvis Projects” would ever come to fruition, especially as costs associated with the construction of the massive CityCenter project skyrocketed and construction lagged. Others wondered whose idea the Elvis project was to begin with and how it came about. Daniel Lamarre, President and COO of Cirque du Soleil, fielded that question in a statement to the company’s employees:

Actually, the story behind the Elvis project is quite simple. Following the huge success of LOVE, we were approached by the owners of the rights to the Presley estate. Elvis Presley is an undisputed icon of contemporary music history, so we decided to immerse ourselves in his universe and develop different projects. There are several possibilities on the table, including a permanent show, a tour, interactive experiences and other ideas involving television and film. I won’t deny that we were a bit skeptical initially, which led us to conduct a study to find out how people perceived the idea of associating our brand with that of Elvis. It turns out that people think it’s an excellent idea! I anticipate that this show will be as successful as LOVE.

Truth be told, although Cirque du Soleil was approached by CKX following the success with The Beatles LOVE at The Mirage, and the company did evaluate their operations, understanding they already had six shows in Las Vegas at the time, it was Guy Laliberte who said "If we don't do it, they will get someone else. We have a good partner in MGM, and if Bobby Baldwin says he wants the show, then we will do it." And the rest is history.

It's Now or Never

On December 15, 2009, Cirque du Soleil unveiled VIVA ELVIS to the world. The gigantic task of bringing Elvis back to life is in the hands of American writer and director Vincent Paterson, who previously staged elaborate touring shows for Madonna and Michael Jackson. In a press release, Vincent revealed that he began the project nearly four years ago. Back then, he was brought on to launch a touring Elvis show and the Las Vegas residency show. Time and challenges changed the best-laid plans, and the touring show was placed on hold, while the green light was given to the Las Vegas production. "My first six months were dedicated to putting a tour together," said Vincent. "Then we scratched that as we got into the Vegas timeline. There were two shows: a touring show and this one. We just let the touring show go away, so with the Vegas deadlines in sight, we just said do the Vegas show. The touring show was about Elvis in Vegas, and it would have gone on tour before we launched the full show here."

"On a creative level, it was extremely stimulating to draw our inspiration from this musical icon," said Guy Laliberté, Founder of Cirque du Soleil. “Viva ELVIS showcases the raw energy and pure talent of Elvis and highlights the exhilaration and beauty of his music on a grand scale."

“It makes perfect sense that Elvis should live on in Las Vegas, where his iconic status was cemented," said Robert F.X. Sillerman, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of CKX, Inc. “When we teamed with Cirque du Soleil, we knew that any show they created would match Elvis' larger-than-life presence. So we were pleased to open the vaults at Graceland and make available to Cirque du Soleil historic archival materials, recordings and concert footage that would help them create a show that will carry Elvis’ legacy into the future."

"An evolutionary destination designed to transform Las Vegas at its core, CityCenter is larger than life, just like Elvis himself," said Bill McBeath, President and COO of ARIA Resort & Casino. “We want to bring the element of fun to ARIA, the centerpiece of CityCenter. Viva ELVIS will bring the King of Rock ’n’ Roll back to Las Vegas for millions of his fans and create a buzz that will enable his persona to attract untold numbers of new followers.”

“Elvis has always been in the forefront of new, contemporary entertainment and technology,” said Priscilla Presley. “I believe Viva ELVIS continues this and reaches out and expands his legacy in a new, creative and exciting way.”

“The show’s acrobatic elements, set designs and other artistic components are part of an overall creative vision designed to showcase the timeless music of Elvis, his unique voice and unequaled talent as a performer,” said Gilles Ste-Croix, Senior Vice-president of Creative Content and New Project Development at Cirque du Soleil.

“The unique strength and power of Elvis was in his voice,” said Vincent Paterson, the show’s Writer and Director. “I was greatly inspired by the originality and complexity of this musical legend. What I tried to paint, in all humility, is the show he might have created today.”

Gilles Ste-Croix and Mongeau, the show's executive producer, describe the production not as a musical bio-drama, but as a "retro-contemporized" tribute that unfolds like a live concert. Although the production did reference certain key episodes of Presley's life and career, such as his service in the U.S. Army and his acting career, "it's not a historic show," Mongeau stressed. "It's a show about a man, his emotion, what he brought," Mongeau continued. "And it's not a show about Elvis, it's a show with Elvis."

"Everything we did, we [thought] if Elvis lived today . . . then how would he do it, in the context of Las Vegas today?" said Ste-Croix. "How would he want his arrangements, how would he want his music done, how would he want his theater to be for his fans, and how would he want it all staged and presented? That was the direction of the creators." Ste-Croix would go on to add: "This is a concert, not a traditional Cirque show. We have other shows in Vegas if you want the circus. This show’s acrobatic elements, set designs and other artistic components are part of an overall creative vision designed to showcase the timeless music of Elvis, his unique voice and unequaled talent as a performer.”

In keeping with that concept, none of the show's 75 artists -- including 26 dancers, 26 acrobats, four featured female singers and a live band -- actually will portray or otherwise represent Presley on stage. The king will be glimpsed in vintage film clips, graphic imagery and scenic and abstract props, such as a gigantic pompadour. But as far as impersonations, the Cirque creative team is leaving those to the legions of side-burned, rhinestone-studded guys who pop up in beery nightclub acts around town.

"It would not be fair for Elvis" to portray him, Mongeau said, "because Elvis is greater than what we could imagine."

In exploring Presley's musical legacy, "Viva Elvis" highlighted the singer's recorded voice on many of his signature tunes. But those unmistakable purrs and growls will be set to punchy new musical arrangements in a mode that Ste-Croix characterized as "Black Eyed Peas meet Elvis." It is Elvis the dynamic stage performer, and particularly the Las Vegas performer, that Cirque's show seeks to evoke and invoke. "Really, overall that's all he wanted," Ste-Croix said. "He was a great performer and he wanted to entertain the crowd. And that's what he did at the Hilton, that's what he did in the movies and that's what he did all his life."

Doin' The Best I Can

The show began preview performances as planned (on December 18, 2009), but the euphoria surrounding Cirque du Soleil’s suaré into the life and times of Elvis Presley quickly began to fall upon hard times. A combination of construction delays and last-minute revisions had delayed VIVA ELVIS planned gala premiere on January 8, 2010 (what would have been Elvis’ 75th birthday) to February 19, 2010. Many began to wonder whether lightening could strike twice with a “musical revue” type show (as The Beatles LOVE was proving to be a runaway success just down the Strip), or whether Cirque du Soleil had bitten off more than it could chew.

“The show is not complete, and it’s not what we wish,” Ste-Croix told Mike Weatherford of the Las Vegas Review-Journal. Ste-Croix, Cirque’s senior vice-president of creative content, said CityCenter CEO Bobby Baldwin wanted previews for Aria's grand opening and for the holiday season, sooner than Cirque would have liked given their creation schedule. Lagging ticket sales and half-filled shows had a number of tongues at MGM/Mirage and Cirque du Soleil wagging too: changes had to be instituted and soon! Indeed I was not very kind in my review of the show, which you can read here. The show’s executive producer, Stephane Mongeau, later confirmed that the show was undergoing a major reshuffling, among them the recent departure of the main Elvis actor, Leo Days, a top Elvis tribute artist.

"To approach Elvis as a theme of a show, you have to realize he was a very generous man," Ste-Croix mused. "He was a man that gave -- as a man, as a father, as a friend, and as an entertainer. He gave to his fans. It was very important for us to be just in what we presented about Elvis." But, he admitted, the journey's been hard because they traveled down a road that dead ended and they had to change direction completely. How much? "We played around with the idea that we could even have Elvis in the representation with an actor speaking to the crowd," Ste-Croix admitted. "But it didn't work. [People come to Vegas] to see a spectacular about Elvis, so we let [the impersonators] go."

The show would basically play as-is during the previews before creators tore into it again Jan. 3rd. After January 3rd, the show would go back into rehearsals, with new scenic elements and choreography among the changes planned in time for the official premiere on February 19th.

"Viva" already has evolved significantly, toning down a premise that was more like a Broadway musical. Even so, Ste-Croix says the new show takes on "a concert atmosphere at times." Vincent Paterson, credited as writer and director, first shaped a more biographical revue with four characters -- including a young and older Presley and his mother, Gladys -- providing different perspectives on the action. "We made the decision to narrow this to one character," Mongeau said. The narration has been consolidated into the character of "Colonel" Tom Parker (Junior Case), the manager who steered Presley from state fairs to megastardom, then into a questionable second chapter of B-movie musicals.

"We are using Colonel Parker as the narrative through line to the show and also as a witness to Elvis' life," said Armand Thomas, director of creation for the production, noting how Parker managed the singer's career from 1956 until his death in 1977. "He is the raconteur, the privileged witness to Elvis life. We have created monologues in which the Colonel dips back in his memories in time and shares anecdotes that really enlighten us to who Elvis really was."

The white-suited, cigar-chomping character of Colonel Parker takes part in some of the show's most spectacular special effects. In one scene, he's lowered on a filmstrip eight stories from the top of the stage to the floor. In another scene, he flies across the stage while images of Elvis are playing. In a newer scene, recently added at this point, the actor drives a three-wheeled car similar to the one the real Elvis gave to the real Colonel Parker.

"We made some adjustments," Mongeau said. "It's a normal creative process. ... we believe now that we are on the right track and have all the solutions."

But preview audiences reminded the directors why Elvis hits are seldom covered. He was the show, and the songs lose traction without him. "I think what people attach to is his voice," says Kit Chatham, the percussionist. "If that (voice) wasn't there, it wouldn't have the same meaning, the same influence." Since ticketed previews began in December, the dancing and acrobatics have been souped up, "and Elvis has been put more into the songs, which is great," Chatham says.

Tinkering kept the cast and crew still working past midnight in post-show rehearsals, as they edged toward premiere. "Burning Love" has gone through three treatments. "Are You Lonesome Tonight?" was out of the show for a time, before creators came to their senses. (It now accompanies a flying duet.) At one point, "Suspicious Minds" was a duet between Elvis and one of the singers. "We ran it a few times and it didn't feel right," Ste-Croix says. The song was "so big an Elvis piece, we could not go there. We kept Elvis' voice with the backing vocals of the girls."

"I'm sure hard-core fans will find something in this show, but they have to keep their mind open and experience something new," van Tourneau says, noting the original recordings still wait for them at home.

Return to Sender

In the first incarnation of the show, VIVA ELVIS told a familiar story in an almost flat monotone. By the beginning of 2011, however, the show had been given new blood with a controlled but frantic fever pitch worked in for good measure. “The narrative has been cut down and the Col. Tom Parker character relocated,” said Robin Leach, correspondent for the Las Vegas Weekly. “The dancing seems faster and more electrically charged. Now it's all showmanship throughout and makes the blue suede shoe even larger than it was with the dancers sprawled all over it. Now after more than a year of studio engineering, it's the new soundtrack that propels the show along at a much faster pace and energy.”

But the jubilation surrounding this round of changes didn’t last long either, and by the end of summer, it was reported that MGM was working with Cirque du Soleil to modify VIVA ELVIS, which it acknowledged for the first time was losing money and drawing sparse crowds. On August 10, 2010 the rumors regarding those additional changes were made official by Renee-Claude Menard, senior director of public relations for Cirque, through the following announcement:

"Cirque du Soleil and MGM Resorts International have always had an active and open relationship about their projects. As for all Cirque du Soleil productions, we constantly review all aspects of our shows including the creative positioning and the business results. These discussions have been on-going for Viva Elvis and we have decided to modify the show to make it less of a biographical representation of Elvis and more of an acrobatic Cirque du Soleil spectacular production. As a result of the recent tragedies in Japan, Cirque du Soleil has had to make a difficult decision to close its permanent show ZED by the end of this year.

But in making that difficult decision an opportunity presented itself to enhance Viva Elvis. ZED features some of the most impressive acrobatic acts ever presented on stage and we truly wish to continue bringing these performances to our audience. In the last weeks, we have reviewed the possibilities and have decided to fully integrate these beautiful acts in Viva Elvis and to present them to the millions of people who visit Las Vegas annually.

Cirque du Soleil is a creative-driven organization and wants to ensure that this integration is done well and fully respects its artistic objectives. To do this, the partners have agreed that Viva Elvis will take extended dark dates beginning in January 2012. This integration is expected to be completed by the end of the first quarter. We will also take this time to review all marketing strategies to reposition Viva Elvis.

I would like to specify that we expect to have the same total amount of artists on stage and the financial investment both in the creative integration and new marketing initiatives are still under complete evaluation."

All Shook Up

From the moment Cirque du Soleil announced that VIVA ELVIS would get a makeover to “make it less of a biographical representation of Elvis Presley and more of an acrobatic Cirque du Soleil spectacular production,” speculation ran rampant regarding just how drastic those changes might be. All we knew was that the cast and crew were summoned to a meeting just before the announcement was made. They were told that Cirque would be pouring more than $10 million into the makeover, that MGM Resorts International wanted results within two years, and it was even possible that the show’s name could change.

Explaining in more detail by phone, Cirque du Soleil’s senior publicist, Renee-Claude Menard said "we would have made changes anyway," even without the misfortune of "Zed." Cirque and MGM Resorts officials already had agreed “we knew we wanted to make it more acrobatic. ... What ZED brought to the table was an opportunity.”

Cirque and Aria already had "common agreement" that "the biographical expression of Elvis was not necessarily appealing to our demographic and the type of demographic we'd like to have, so let's look at it a different way. Make it a Cirque du Soleil spectacular featuring Elvis as a singer," Menard said. As such, the character of Elvis' manager, Tom Parker, as narrator would likely be eliminated, though "I think we have to wait until the changes are all done," Menard said.

VIVA ELVIS had planned an extended dark period at the beginning of January 2012 where the Banquine number and the Aerial Straps duo from ZED would be integrated. Until then the show would remain “as is”.

Easy Come, Easy Go

With VIVA ELVIS seemingly on the right path again it came as somewhat of a shock that a mere three months later, and without the new changes going into effect, MGM Resorts International called for Cirque to replace VIVA ELVIS outright, but that’s exactly what happened on November 24, 2011 – Thanksgiving Day:

MGM Resorts has asked Cirque du Soleil to replace its show "Viva Elvis" at the Aria by the end of 2012, citing poor ticket sales. The move is the first time that the Canadian company, which has come to dominate the big-production showrooms on the Strip, has been asked to shut a show since arriving here in 1993 with its first permanent show, "Mystere" at Treasure Island.

"As attendance levels have not been meeting expectations, we have asked our partners at Cirque du Soleil to replace the show," a company statement said. "We will work closely with Cirque as we explore future entertainment options."

An internal Cirque du Soleil memo was sent to the cast of "Viva Elvis" on Wednesday afternoon announcing MGM's intentions. "Viva Elvis" has played 900 performances at the Aria resort at CityCenter, to nearly 1 million people.

"Viva Elvis" is the newest of the seven Cirque du Soleil shows along the Strip - its 1,840-seat, acoustically refined showroom costing an estimated $100 million.

The show was previously scheduled to go dark for a 90-day retooling in January and reopen in early spring. A top Cirque official told the Sun Wednesday evening: "The extended dark period for a full revamp of the show will now not take place. It will just be the regular dark period from Feb. 4-11, but we will make previously planned artistic adjustments ... We will also be integrating the Banquine act from our 'Zed' show for sure."

Cirque du Soleil had the following to say to its employees regarding the unanticipated announcement:

While the artistic merit of Viva ELVIS is exceptional and has touched close to one million guests with nearly 900 shows since opening in December 2009, we have been notified by our partners at CityCenter of their likely intention to ask Cirque to replace the show at the end of 2012.

All of us at Cirque du Soleil are saddened that we may have to bring Viva ELVIS to the end of its journey. However, we respect the decision of our partner as ticket sales have not met expectations. We will now take the appropriate time to focus on redeploying as many of the show's employees as possible, when the time comes, and evaluating next steps for exploring the many possibilities for creative content.

We are excited that throughout 2012, we will continue to celebrate the life and legacy of one of the world's greatest music icons. We are grateful to have the opportunity to share this exciting production with hundreds of thousands of guests from around the world during the months ahead.

I know we will all continue our work on this production with the same professional drive and enthusiasm for which Cirque du Soleil is known. Like you, I am proud of our work on this show and understand that this is simply a business decision.

But Viva Elvis’s lack of success is relative. Since the show began in December 2009 it has reportedly been seen by more than one million people in over 900 performances. However, with Cirque’s dominance in Las Vegas being what it is, Aria had hoped for a packed house every show. Aria's theatre had been only 60-percent full on average though, compare that to 99-per-cent occupancy for “O” and LOVE, shows running thirteen years and five years respectively. Even the nineteen-year-old production of Mystère still fills 82-percent or more at Treasure Island’s theater, according to Renée-Claude Menard.

Alright, Okay, You Win...

You know, much like Elvis’ own personal story, the journey of VIVA ELVIS is one filled with ups and downs, misadventures and comebacks, and winners and losers, perhaps just too many swings to survive. And like Elvis himself, I feel VIVA ELVIS is being taken from us too soon. With the recent additions of Banquine and Aerial Straps from ZED, the removal of the Wedding Cake and the tightening of other routines, new visuals and banners, and the dismissal of the Colonel Parker narration, this third edition of VIVA ELVIS has shaped up to be a fantastic show indeed.

Alas, that’s neither here nor there.

Cirque du Soleil has already announced the show’s replacement - ZARKANA, which will begin preview performances on October 25th and a gala premiere on November 8, 2012. And they’ve said they will attempt to re-locate as many artists as it can, which all but hammers in the final nail for this show’s chances of reappearing elsewhere in the future.

But you never know.