Cirque du Soleil has confirmed months of rumors and announced plans to unveil a Michael Jackson-based show in 2011 in Las Vegas. Shows, actually—there will be two of them.
The first, a touring arena show, will debut next fall and get “an extended run” in Las Vegas before the permanent Jackson show opens in late 2012.
Assuming none of the existing shows—KÀ, The Beatles Love, O, Mystère, Zumanity, Believe or Viva Elvis—don’t close between now and then, the incoming MJ spectacle will make the eighth resident Cirque show in Las Vegas.
Cirque is keeping tight-lipped about where the show will be housed, among other facts, but its promised “special lifestyle projects, including a nightclub.” Rumors say the show will be at Mandalay Bay.
The new show announcement comes less than a year after Jackson’s death on June 25, 2009.
Michael Jackson’s estate will receive royalties from the projects—but it will also share in half the costs of “creating, developing, building and producing” the shows, too.
The size and scope of the Cirque show will be unprecedented, including larger than life 3-D technology and most likely the largest budget for any Las Vegas show.
Vegas Backstage Access (VBA) 