File photos
The best way to watch Cirque du Soleil’s “Michael Jackson: The ‘Immortal’ World Tour” is to indulge in its excesses and tolerate its weaknesses.
In a nutshell, the two-hour show, including a 20-minute intermission, is a dazzling, disjointed, rapid-fire feast of physical feats and visual effects propelled by a cast of many dozens and enflamed by the beloved music of the King of Pop.
Some of the skits and exhibitions, like the dance tributes to various Jackson videos, made sense. Others, like the inexplicable cello solo, made little sense. Some of the visuals, like some of the video appearances by Jackson, were appropriately sentimental. Others, like the large, dancing sequined glove and the dancing/DJ-ing Bubbles the chimpanzee, bordered on comical camp.
The show’s one thread, aside from Jackson’s specter, was the mime who opened the show with a skit that went on too long. He reappeared within the show and brought it to a close. Between his hello and goodbye, his fellow cast members — a legion of dancers, aerialists, acrobats, gymnasts and musicians — discharged a fusillade of physical feats while the arena rang with live and recorded music from Jackson and the Jackson 5.
There was plenty of flash and fire, hundreds of elaborate costumes, a stream of video images and more than two dozen songs, some of them folded into medleys. That set list focused on some of Jackson’s lesser-known songs at the expense of some of his blockbuster hits; for example, “Thriller” and “Beat It” got as much, or less, play time than songs like “They Don’t Care About Us” and “Earth Song.”
“Immortal” is directed by Jamie King, most famous for his work with Madonna, including her recent Super Bowl halftime spectacle.
His emphasis on pace is understandable, especially given the size of the venues on this tour. Arena shows require a presentation that is more dynamic than subtle, especially for those watching from the upper-level sections.
But some of the routines he and his choreographer, Travis Payne, developed could have used some refinements. Some of the aerial and gymnastic routines were just that, routine: aerialists swinging like pendulums, gymnasts doing high-flying somersaults. Anyone who has seen the aerialists with Quixotic Fusion knows what kind of breathtaking feats are possible, and, frankly, some of the “Immortal” routines didn’t meet Quixotic standards.
There were some impressive moments: the exhibition on the rings while Bubbles pretended to DJ; and the gymnasts who tumbled over, under and around one another during “Scream.”
Otherwise, most of the choreography was entertaining but predictable. It’s tough to impress when the moves you’re re-creating were made legendary by a dancer of Jackson’s talent and stature.
The show ended with some pageantry: fireworks, flashpots and a flag-waving skit that felt a bit like the closing ceremony at the Olympics, rendered in one-eighth scale.
It also ended with two of Jackson’s more uplifting numbers: “Black or White” and “Man in the Mirror,” songs about hope, unity and change.
I’m not sure the show “Immortal” is going to change anyone’s life or even impression of Michael Jackson. But given the mood inside the Sprint Center on Tuesday, I don’t think anyone was expecting anything more profound than a reminder of a sensational career that ended too soon and an opportunity to escape life in the world he left behind.
| Timothy Finn, The Kansas City Star
This show was horrible.
I felt ripped off!
All of us in the stands were waiting for Jacksons hits and awesome Circue Du Soleil entertainers.
Instead, we got mostly songs that were never top 10 hits, way too few Circue Du Soleil performers and WAY too many dancers!! The mime robot dancing was, simply put, awful. Did they think that everyone in the audience was going to be 6 years old!?!?!?
When they did play Jacksons hits they cut them off way too short.
What a nightmare.
We could not believe that they could screw up something that seemed so simple to pull off.
Let a band crank out the hits, let the Cirque Du Soleil performers do their thing and for petes sake, PLAY THE ENTIRE SONGS!!
The performers that were there were great, the dancers horrible.
The song selection was miserable.
The chimp and glove, give me a break!
I have seen just about every kind of show there is, rock, country, STOMP, etc and this was BY FAR the worst thing that I have ever seen in my life.
Director Jamie King should be embarrassed. And then promptly fired.
Posted by: FeltRippedOff | February 23, 2012 at 10:46 AM
between tim's review and comments from "feltripped...", this is a real shame. i wasn't inclined to go anyway, but seems waaaaay below normal Cirque standards. too bad. perhaps they've watered down their brand with so many shows and concepts.
Posted by: fiddler | February 23, 2012 at 11:12 AM
FeltRipped does a good job of cutting through TF's tact and stating the unvarnished truth. We bought tickets mostly for a chance to see Cirque, and b/c our young daughter likes MJ music. As FeltRipped stated, there was wasn't enough of either of those aspects. It seemed the opening mime bit would never end, and the actual show would never start. And when it did, it always felt like we hadn't quite arrived, like something big was perhaps around the corner, Alas, no.
Also want to add we did sit in the "cheap" ($50+) seats, and it was the first time at the Sprint Center when I felt they were indeed inferior seats. For other concerts and BB games they have been fine. This show, seemed to suffer from that much remove, though I'm not really sure I wanted to be closer to either the mime or the chimp.
I would still like to see a cirque show, though will be very selective and probably won't go to the Sprint (or similar venue) to see it.
Posted by: Dismayed | February 23, 2012 at 01:26 PM
If you want to see a fantastic Cirque show, go to Vegas and see "Love"!
Posted by: Pam | February 23, 2012 at 08:38 PM
We saw the Michael Jackson show Feb. 24 in Indianapolis. FeltRipped got it exactly right. It was the WORST we have ever seen, and we see a lot. I felt sorry for his fans who were so excited to be there, because the mood soon changed to disappointment. We actually walked out at intermission, and we were NOT in the cheap seats. We simply couldn't take it anymore.
Posted by: V Ruiz | February 25, 2012 at 07:36 PM