Viva Elvis
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''Viva Elvis'' was the seventh resident of the
Cirque du Soleil Cirque du Soleil (, ; ) is a Canadian entertainment company and the largest contemporary circus producer in the world. Located in the inner-city area of Saint-Michel, Montreal, Saint-Michel, Montreal, it was founded in Baie-Saint-Paul on 16 Jun ...
show on the
Las Vegas Strip The Las Vegas Strip is a stretch of Las Vegas Boulevard in Clark County, Nevada, that is known for its concentration of resort hotels and casinos. The Strip, as it is known, is about long, and is immediately south of the Las Vegas city limits ...
. It resided at the Aria Resort & Casino and premiered on February 19, 2010. The show closed on August 31, 2012. Cirque du Soleil partnered with Elvis Presley Enterprises to produce this show, similar to how they partnered with
The Beatles The Beatles were an English Rock music, rock band formed in Liverpool in 1960. The core lineup of the band comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are widely regarded as the Cultural impact of the Beatle ...
' Apple Corps Ltd to produce the resident show ''
Love Love is a feeling of strong attraction and emotional attachment (psychology), attachment to a person, animal, or thing. It is expressed in many forms, encompassing a range of strong and positive emotional and mental states, from the most su ...
'' at the
Mirage A mirage is a naturally-occurring optical phenomenon in which light rays bend via refraction to produce a displaced image of distant objects or the sky. The word comes to English via the French ''(se) mirer'', from the Latin ''mirari'', mean ...
. CKX, Inc., the company that owns the rights to
Elvis Presley Elvis Aaron Presley (January 8, 1935 – August 16, 1977) was an American singer and actor. Referred to as the "King of Rock and Roll", he is regarded as Cultural impact of Elvis Presley, one of the most significant cultural figures of the ...
's name, likeness, and music publishing, signed an agreement to have Cirque du Soleil create the Elvis-themed residency show. The gala premiere was originally scheduled for January 2010 on what would have been Elvis' 75th birthday, but was postponed until February 19, 2010.Cirque's Viva Elvis postponed
/ref>
/ref> CKX and Cirque du Soleil eventually intended to develop additional touring shows and multimedia interactive "Elvis Experiences" throughout the world.


Closure

Due to low attendance records for ''Viva Elvis'', MGM Resorts asked Cirque du Soleil to replace the show. The show had its final performance on August 31, 2012. On March 7, 2012, Cirque du Soleil announced that following its second
Radio City Music Hall Radio City Music Hall (also known as Radio City) is an entertainment venue and Theater (structure), theater at 1260 Sixth Avenue (Manhattan), Avenue of the Americas, within Rockefeller Center, in the Midtown Manhattan neighborhood of New York C ...
engagement, the show '' Zarkana'' would be its replacement.


Set and technical information

The Elvis Theater was designed with a conventional
proscenium A proscenium (, ) is the virtual vertical plane of space in a theatre, usually surrounded on the top and sides by a physical proscenium arch (whether or not truly "arched") and on the bottom by the stage floor itself, which serves as the frame ...
layout reminiscent of an opera house. The stage had 16 platforms, divided into 12 sections which could rise ; the widest section was and was controlled by four large motors located below the stage. The show's opening scene contained a jukebox made of chrome and gloss black which is wide by high. It also incorporated a 50-foot-tall (15 m) video screen. Also seen during the opening, a 29-foot-long (8.8 m), blue suede shoe weighed and was made of steel and fiberglass. During " Got a Lot of Livin' to Do", seven trampolines were utilized. The entire structure took up the entire width of the stage, , and weighed . The set for the " Jailhouse Rock" scene was based on the technical requirements for a circus art called ''marche inversée''. It had ten tracks that allowed acrobats to walk upside down, attached by their feet, while dancers performed right side up on other levels; the whole structure weighed .


Acts

The acts for ''Viva Elvis'' were staged to the music of
Elvis Presley Elvis Aaron Presley (January 8, 1935 – August 16, 1977) was an American singer and actor. Referred to as the "King of Rock and Roll", he is regarded as Cultural impact of Elvis Presley, one of the most significant cultural figures of the ...
. * Opening * Blue Suede Shoes: Dance number with acrobatics * Don't Be Cruel: Dance number with German wheel * One Night With You: Aerial frame, performed on a metal-frame guitar * "
You'll Never Walk Alone "You'll Never Walk Alone" is a show tune from the 1945 Rodgers and Hammerstein musical '' Carousel''. In the second act of the musical, Nettie Fowler, the cousin of the protagonist Julie Jordan, sings "You'll Never Walk Alone" to comfort and e ...
": Interlude * Saved: Dance number * Got a Lot of Livin' to Do:
Trampoline A trampoline is a device consisting of a piece of taut, strong fabric stretched between a steel frame often using many coiled spring (device), springs. People bounce on trampolines for recreational and competitive purposes. The fabric that use ...
* Heartbreak Hotel: Interlude * Love Me Tender: Singing duet * Return to Sender: Dance number with horizontal/parallel bars *
Are You Lonesome Tonight? "Are You Lonesome Tonight?" (sometimes stylized as Are You Lonesome To-night?) is a song written by Roy Turk and Lou Handman in 1926. It was recorded several times in 1927, first by Charles Hart, but also with successful versions by Vaughn De ...
: Aerial pas de deux * Western Medley: Gun twirling and Lassos * Burning Love: Band interlude * Bossa Nova Baby: Balancing on chairs * King Creole: Dance number with
diabolo The diabolo ( ; commonly misspelled ''diablo'') is a juggling or circus skills, circus juggling prop, prop consisting of an axle () and two cone, cups (hourglass/egg timer shaped) or cylinder, discs derived from the Chinese yo-yo. This object i ...
* Jailhouse Rock: Dance number with acrobatics (''Viva Elvis'' centerpiece) * It's Now or Never: Chinese poles *
Can't Help Falling in Love "Can't Help Falling in Love" is a song written by Hugo Peretti, Luigi Creatore, and George David Weiss and published by Gladys Music, Inc. The melody is based on " Plaisir d'amour", a popular French love song composed in 1784 by Jean-Paul-Ã ...
: Interlude * Love Me/Don't: Duo cerceaux * Viva Las Vegas: Dance number * Suspicious Minds: Acrobatic dance duet * Rock Medley: Banquine * Hound Dog: Finale * Such A Night: Bonus Finale


Costumes

''Viva Elvis costume designer, Stefano Canulli, drew inspiration from the iconic Elvis fashion of the 1950s and 1960s and added Technicolor lines to highlight the human body. The wardrobe collection as a whole contained nearly 400 costumes and around 1,500 costume components. Part of this total came from more than 450 pairs of shoes and 150 custom wigs. Cirque du Soleil, for the first time, used flocking to create some of the accessories, thus giving them a velvet appearance. Some of the several wigs used for the show were created using urethane foam, which gave them the appearance of Japanese
manga are comics or graphic novels originating from Japan. Most manga conform to a style developed in Japan in the late 19th century, and the form has a long history in earlier Japanese art. The term is used in Japan to refer to both comics ...
.


Music

The music for ''Viva Elvis'' was created in partnership with Elvis Presley Enterprises. The soundtrack album, which was released on November 5, 2010, was released under Sony Legacy Recordings and was produced by Erich van Tourneau. List of music included in the show (In alphabetical order): * All Shook Up ''(Banquine)'' * Also Sprach Zarathustra ''(Opening)'' *
Are You Lonesome Tonight? "Are You Lonesome Tonight?" (sometimes stylized as Are You Lonesome To-night?) is a song written by Roy Turk and Lou Handman in 1926. It was recorded several times in 1927, first by Charles Hart, but also with successful versions by Vaughn De ...
''(Aerial pas de deux)'' * Baby Let's Play House ''(Gun twirling and Lassos, Trampoline)'' * Baby What You Want Me To Do ''(Gun twirling and Lassos)'' * Blue Moon ''(Aerial pas de deux)'' * Blue Moon Of Kentucky ''(Gun twirling and lassos)'' * Blue Suede Shoes ''(Dance Number with acrobatics, Banquine)'' * Bossa Nova Baby ''(Balancing on chairs)'' * Burning Love ''(Film montage and band interlude)'' *
Can't Help Falling in Love "Can't Help Falling in Love" is a song written by Hugo Peretti, Luigi Creatore, and George David Weiss and published by Gladys Music, Inc. The melody is based on " Plaisir d'amour", a popular French love song composed in 1784 by Jean-Paul-Ã ...
''(Interlude)'' *Didja Ever ''(Dance number with horizontal/parallel bars)'' *Don't ''(Duo cerceaux)'' *Don't Be Cruel ''(Dance number with German wheel)'' *Don't Cry Daddy *First In Line *Follow That Dream *Frankfort Special ''(Dance number with horizontal/parallel bars)'' *Good Rockin' Tonight ''(Trampoline)'' *Got A Lot O' Livin To Do ''(Trampoline)'' *Heartbreak Hotel ''(Intelude, Banquine)'' *Hound Dog ''(Finale)'' *I am Roustabout *I Don't Care If The Sun Don't Shine ''(Gun twirling and lassos)'' *I Got A Woman * It's Now or Never ''(Chinese poles)'' *Jailhouse Rock ''(Dance number with acrobatics)'' *
King Creole ''King Creole'' is a 1958 American Musical film, musical drama film directed by Michael Curtiz and based on the 1952 novel ''A Stone for Danny Fisher'' by Harold Robbins. Produced by Hal B. Wallis, the film stars Elvis Presley, Carolyn Jones, W ...
''(Diabolo)'' *Love Me ''(Duo cerceaux)'' *Love Me Tender ''(Singing duet)'' *My Baby Left Me *Mystery Train ''(Gun twirling and lassos)'' *One Night ''(Aerial frame)'' *Polk Salad Annie * Return to Sender'' (Dance number with horizontal/parallel bars)'' *Saved ''(Dance number)'' *Shake Rattle And Roll ''(Trampoline)'' *So High ''(Dance number)'' *Such A Night ''(Bonus Finale)'' *Surrender *Suspicious Minds ''(Acrobatic dance duet)'' *That's All Right ''(Banquine)'' *Tiger Man ''(Gun twirling and lassos)'' *Too Much ''(Dance number with German wheel)'' *Treat Me Nice *Trouble ''(Banquine)'' *Trying To Get To You ''(Gun twirling and lassos)'' *Viva Las Vegas ''(Dance number)'' *You'll Never Walk Alone ''(Interlude)''


References


External links


Official Cirque du Soleil site

Official site for Viva Elvis Album
{{Elvis Presley Cirque du Soleil resident shows Cultural depictions of Elvis Presley Production shows in the Las Vegas Valley Las Vegas shows