Viva Elvis

Cirque du Soleil

Elvis Theater, Aria Resort & Casino

The Wednesday Morning “Nobody-Asked-Me-to, But-Here-I-Go-Anyway” Review: Cirque du Soleil: Viva Elvis.

(or, Why I Will Never Be A Professional Concert Reviewer…)

What an incredible time we live in. To have the technology in this digital age to re-master and reinvent some of the best-known music in the universe, and then present it along with an inventive, breath-taking Cirque cast – well, you just have to shake your head at your good fortune.

Breath-taking.

Stunning.

Blow-your-mind…

Take any well-worn cliché, and you won’t come close to what “Viva Elvis” pulls off in this brand-new Cirque du Soleil production, sold out completely even for these preview performances. By the end of just the second song in the production, you’ve gotten more than your money’s worth – but as spectacular as the troupe is, the real star of this show is the remixed versions of Presley’s catalogue, and they had better get their ass in gear – there was no cast album available when we saw this show last night. The re-imagined versions of “Return To Sender”, and “Burning Love” alone have a good chance of hitting the pop charts again – they’re that good.

I won’t lie to you – we LOVED this show. Like “LOVE”, the Cirque production we saw last year celebrating The Beatles, “Viva Elvis” works elements of the artist’s entire career and even aspects of his life into something that literally explodes off of the stage. Hosted intermittently throughout by “Col. Tom Parker” (go figure…), the dancers, musicians, and acrobats take us from the beginning of Presley’s career, and lead us through his stint with the army, the movies, and eventually – Las Vegas. Giant guitars, giant blue suede shoes, and even a trio of giant Elvii – there’s nothing spared in this spectacle. With rare archival footage streaming at the same time, you just don’t know where to look at any given time.

But it’s the music – as it always has been, that steals the show. If you’re an Elvis fan, you have to hear what Cirque du Soleil has done, for this production. “Viva Elvis”, indeed…

Chow for now!!