VegasChatter

Tags: Weddings / Cirque du Soleil / Four Seasons / → All Tags

Love Cirque du Soleil So Much You Wanna Marry It? In Vegas, You Can (Kinda)

Ever dreamed of running off and joining the circus? No? Ok then, how about running off and getting married by the circus...in Vegas? Yes, that sounds MUCH better and that's exactly what you can do at The Four Seasons at Mandalay Bay.

This summer the hotel introduced an elaborate Cirque du Soleil wedding extravaganza where dancers "suspend above the tables on silk rope and delighted by menus of made of chocolate." So far we have yet to see any pictures of this Cirquey wedding reception but if you've seen an aerial dancer in a Cirque show, then you can imagine what awaits at this kind of wedding reception.

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Tags: LOVE / Cirque du Soleil / The Mirage / Shows / → All Tags

Sorry, We Have to Brag: We Saw 'LOVE' for Just $55

We took advantage of the Cirque du Soleil's summer promotion to get us a $55 ticket to LOVE at The Mirage last night. So what kind of seats did we get? Back row. Literally the last row in the house.

However, because this show is in the round there are no bad seats. We've also seen LOVE before so we didn't need to be up close. (That was in 2006 and we paid a whopping $125 for a ticket!)

We were also grateful for our seats because LOVE has a bit where they cover the audience in a sort of parachute blanket. We were so high up the blanket didn't reach us which was wonderful because the last time, that parachute made us claustrophobic.

Lastly, we liked our seats because it was near an exit/entrance for the acrobats who swoop in on ropes and other Cirque contraptions and we could see how they are fed into the theater. And we had a seat on the aisle with no one next to us. Score!

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Tags: Cashing Out / Deals / Cirque du Soleil / → All Tags

Cirque Du Soleil Goes on Sale for the Summer (Yes, It Includes 'LOVE')

One thing we absolutely hate doing is dropping a wad of money on a theater tickets only to find that Deal Hunter Sally sitting there next to us got them for half-price! So if you're heading to Vegas this summer and seeing a Cirque du Soleil show is tops on your list, check out their Summer of Cirque sale first.

Tickets to big-name shows are starting at just $50. And yes, it includes The Beatles LOVE at The Mirage and the new VIVA Elvis at Aria.

Naturally, we were skeptical of such cheap Cirque tickets but we actually booked a $55 LOVE ticket. It's Category 3 seating (not great) and for the later showing at 9:30pm but we've already seen LOVE and so we weren't keen on paying full price to see it again. In other words, SCORE.

Ticket availability varies from show to show but right now Viva Elvis is showing plenty of tickets, for both showings and on weekend days too, up until September 28th. If cheap Cirque tickets are what you've been looking for, we say book it!*

Here's what else is going on in Vegas:

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Tags: News / Shows / Openings / Cirque du Soleil / Michael Jackson / → All Tags

Cirque Announces a Michael Jackson Show, Hope It's More LOVE Than Viva Elvis

Wow, Cirque really are pushing themselves at the moment. If it’s not swallowing the bad Viva Elvis reviews or reworking Believe, it’s creating a brand new show, and this one is going to be huge – a Michael Jackson show, based in Vegas.

The show will start touring next year, then take up permanent residence in Vegas (at an MGM Mirage property, according to the Sun). Cirque and the Jackson estate will go 50/50 on the cost of putting it on.

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Tags: Snapshot / Viva Elvis / Shows / Cirque du Soleil / Aria / CityCenter / → All Tags

Best Thing About Viva Elvis? The VE Shop

Spend your money with these nice people, not at the Box Office

As you might have gathered yesterday, we weren’t the biggest fans of Viva Elvis. But one thing we forgot to put on the “what we liked” list yesterday, is the VE shop.

We checked it out back in January, and it was fantastic. Of course, it has every Elvis CD, t-shirt and bit of kitsch you could possibly want, like the Memphis-made cashew crunch Elvis used to eat at Graceland:

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Tags: Viva Elvis / Openings / Shows / Cirque du Soleil / Aria / VegasChatter Reviews / CityCenter / → All Tags

The Only Reason We'd See Viva Elvis Again Is If We Were Playing Cirque Bingo

Sorry, Elvis

So. Viva Elvis. If you were reading our tweets on Friday night, you’d have seen that we went to the officlal premiere (along with Gene Simmons, Priscilla Presley, Justin Long and oodles of other celebs – apart from Paul ‘The Flake’ McCartney who was a no show (probs for the best - scroll down). You’d also have seen that we really weren’t taken with it.

Before we carry on, it’s only fair to say that we don’t count ourselves as big Cirque fans. In fact, we haven’t seen any of the other Cirque shows in Vegas, though we have elsewhere. While we love the signature acrobatics, we aren’t mad on spurious plotlines (like in Varekai).

We have, though, seen enough of Cirque to know what to expect, we are big Elvis fans, and we know what we like in a show. And, yeah, we just didn’t like this – and from where we were sitting*, we weren’t the only ones. Let’s take it from the top - we’ll tell you what we liked, and then what we didn’t.

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Tags: Shows / Viva Elvis / Cirque du Soleil / Elvis / Aria / CityCenter / → All Tags

'Viva Elvis' Still Has Big Blue Suede Shoes to Fill

When VegasChatter caught a glimpse of Viva Elvis last month, we knew we couldn't make a solid judgment based on a preview of four songs. Yet five weeks later, after seeing the full show, we're afraid Viva Elvis is still not quite living up to its potential.

While we loved the costuming, sets and storyline, the production came up kinda short in the "Cirque" factor and felt more like a musical than an on-the-edge-of-your-seat, za za zsu (to quote "Sex and The City"), over-the-top show.

Sure, it was very entertaining, but were we blown away? Not really. Would we pay $100+ per ticket to see the show. Highly unlikely. We love the King and yes, this show does pay homage to his life and legacy, but this Cirque interpretation is a far cry from what they’ve done with The Beatles LOVE, "O" or even Zumanity.

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Tags: Elvis / Viva Elvis / Cirque du Soleil / CityCenter / Deals / Shows / → All Tags

'Viva Elvis' Tickets are $75 for The King's 75th Birthday

If you didn't know it, this Friday is practically a holiday in Las Vegas--it's Elvis' (would-be) 75th birthday! So in addition to the geeks and porn stars flooding the Strip, there will no doubt be Elvis' swaggering around town.

But what better way to celebrate The King than by seeing the new Cirque du Soleil show, Viva Elvis?

Via the Cirque Twitter, we found out that they are offering 75 tickets at $75 a piece on Friday, January 8th. The offer also comes with the new CD, "Elvis 75".

Regularly, tickets start at $87 each. But since the show is still in previews (the grand opening is not until next month), at least you aren't paying full price to see it. We were just "meh" on the sneak preview we saw but it's hard to judge from four songs.

Go here for the special coupon for the $75 tickets.

Tags: Criss Angel / Believe / Shows / Cirque du Soleil / Scandals / Richard Abowitz / → All Tags

Was There Gay Bashing Going on at Criss Angel's 'Believe'?

According to LA Times columnist, Richard Abowitz, there was. In a column for his new blog, Gold Plated Door, Abowitz reports that when an audience member used the word "faggot" during one of "Believe's" non-magic magic tricks, Criss Angel was unapologetic even when members of his dance troupe, already suffering from having to work in the Strip's worst show, complained that it was offensive.

Here's how it all went down, according to Abowitz:

Here is the trick in question from when I saw “Believe”: an audience member is asked by Angel to come up with any word. Angel claims that thanks to a special bond between himself and the audience member (homophobia?) he has scribbled that word in a sealed box on a whim. To prove this, Angel has the sealed box lowered, and the audience member’s spontaneously imagined word is then spooled out on paper in large hand written letters for the entire audience to read.

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Tags: Viva Elvis / Cirque du Soleil / Show Reviews / Shows / Aria / CityCenter / CityCenter Grand Opening / → All Tags

Viva Elvis Still Has a Whole Lotta Rehearsing To Do

It's not fair to judge a show based on a preview of only four numbers. It's just not. So the sneak peek that we received yesterday for the Viva Elvis show is probably not going to be the same as what theater-goers on February 19th, the show's grand opening gala, will see. But folks with tickets on Friday will probably see a version close to this. And we are a little worried about that.

But let's take it from the top. The Viva Elvis theater is spectacular. It's new, it's got incredibly high ceilings and the seats are red and plushy with cup-holders, almost like giant Laz-e-Boys. Elvis' TCB with lightning bolts logo (which is found all over Graceland) is found all over this theater from the door handles to the TCB belt buckles that the ushers wear. (TCB? Taking care of business.) The souvenir shop outside the theater has everything you could want of Elvis memorabilia.

The feeling is very much like the frenzy that fans feel at LOVE at The Mirage, the Cirque du Soleil show about The Beatles. Even in the media preview with just a smattering of folks in the audience, the anticipation was high.

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Tags: Viva Elvis / Cirque du Soleil / Aria / CityCenter / CityCenter Grand Opening / → All Tags

CityCenter Gets 'All Shook Up' with Viva Elvis Press Conference Today

The Viva Elvis wrap on the Harmon Hotel, opening date TBD.

And so it begins again. While the grand opening for the Aria Resort and Casino is not happening until tomorrow (there's a press conference in the morning and a fireworks extravaganza at night), Cirque du Soleil will be hosting a press conference this afternoon to show off their newest Vegas show, Viva Elvis.

Founder Guy Laliberté, CEO Robert FX Sillerman and Priscilla Presley will be on hand to comment on the creation of the show and the show's cast is expected to give a sneak peek performance.

After that, folks will head on over to the GOLD Lounge at Aria, a nightclub run by the Light Group that pays homage to the life and times of Elvis Presley. Yes, signature Elvis Presley cocktails will be served here.

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Tags: Viva Elvis / Tickets / Cirque du Soleil / CityCenter / Aria / Shows / → All Tags

Viva Elvis Tickets Are Now Available for Pre-Sale

Finally! The ticket floodgates have been opened for Viva Elvis, the new Cirque du Soleil show opening inside the Aria Resort and Casino at CityCenter on DECEMBER 18.

We got the word via our Cirque Club newsletter but tickets can be yours on the Viva Elvis website. And if your budget for fancy acrobatic performances will be downsized in 2010 we say go and see Viva Elvis while it's in the preview performances as tickets will be slightly cheaper. Here's the breakdown:

Preview performances from December 18th through January 28th:
· Category 1 USD $149.38
· Category 2 USD $128.75
· Category 3 USD $108.13
· Category 4 USD $86.68

Regular performances as of January 28th and forward:
· Category 1 USD $175.00
· Category 2 USD $150.00
· Category 3 USD $125.00
· Category 4 USD $99.00

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