Login / RegisterCirque du Soleil's Michael Jackson THE IMMORTAL World Tour spans the absurd to the shallow
A Cirque du Soleil production. At Rogers Arena on Friday, November 4. No remaining performances
It can be hard to see, what with all the acrobats, aerialists, balloons, bats, bikinis, soldiers, statues, welders, whizzbangs, zombies, and wacko Jacko impersonators, but there’s a giant, star-shaped hole at the centre of Cirque du Soleil’s latest production. What’s missing is Michael Jackson himself.
It’s sad, and inevitable, but Michael Jackson: THE IMMORTAL World Tour is enormous, impressive, and utterly, devastatingly hollow. The problem was compounded on Friday night by the unexplained absence of the giant Giving Tree, the on-stage centrepiece which director Jamie King, interviewed in the Straight last week, called IMMORTAL’s “energy source”. (Confusingly, what’s left of the tree, which served as both a sturdy oak and a sprawling, tentacular alien life form when the show made its debut in Montreal, now resembles a scale model of a nuclear reactor’s cooling tower.)IMMORTAL tries to deliver a stadium-worthy rock spectacle, but there’s no emotional core to hold it together. Jackson’s outsized charisma might have done the trick—but he’s not there. Instead, there’s his voice, liberated by digital technology from his studio mastertapes, and his songs. There are dozens of dancers, all of whom seem to have learned his moves step for step. There are archival images from his iconic videos. But the only sparks are those ignited by pyrotechnicians.
It would be easy to lay the blame on the narrow shoulders of the hip-hop dancer and mime playing the Jackson role, but that would be unfair to Salah Benlemqawanssa. He’s a small, slight man who, off-stage, comes across as naturally humble, even shy—but he does have a gift for embodying emotion, and a supremely flexible body to do it with. The moment towards the end of the first set, when he rises from lying on his back to a standing position without the use of his arms, defies all of the known laws of physics.But Benlemqawanssa is not served well by King’s penchant for nonstop sensory bombardment. At times, he’s so swamped by squadrons of flashily clad dancers that, in his simple-but-spangly white jumpsuit, he seems a lonely ghost. And in general, the Franco-Moroccan artist’s performance is on too small a scale for an undertaking of this size. (Hint: bring binoculars.)
Miming that could have been impressive in a cabaret setting was lost at Rogers Arena—although it might have been effectively transmitted to the crowd were Benlemqawanssa given a more prominent place on the giant video screen that backdrops the stage. That, though, would take away from digital Jackson, whose beamed-in-from-beyond-the-grave presence looms way larger than any of the carbon-based cast members.
In terms of that cast, during “Scary Story-Is It Scary”, contortionist Baaska Enkhbaatar delivers further mind-boggling physical feats, but the rest could be automatons, so perfectly faceless is their work. Musical soloists Desireé Bassett on guitar and Tina Guo on electric cello fare better; both should be able to use their “Beat It” showcase to win a place in a real rock ’n’ roll stage spectacular. Former Jackson sideman Greg Phillinganes’s band is impeccable: big and splashy and perfectly integrated with the prerecorded singing—which is less of an accomplishment in this age of lip-synching than it used to be, but it’s still not easy.
It all adds up to the kind of awesomely absurd spectacle that’s long on wow but short on satisfaction, however. The defining moment for this viewer came near the end of the show, when an image of Jackson is projected onto the remnant trunk of the Giving Tree. With his arms spread wide, it looks like the King of Pop is being crucified—and then the lights come up on a catwalk above the stage, where Bubbles the Chimp and his turntables are rocking a “Mega Mix” of Jackson hits.
There’s something beautifully bizarre about Michael Jackson being born again as a chimpanzee DJ, but it’s probably not quite what the show’s creators had in mind.
I saw this show on opening night in Montreal and it was FANTASTIC!!! A true tribute to the Man and his Legacy.
But it's not a Michael jackson show, but a TRIBUTE and they are doing great!!
Thank god they do this for all his fans!!
And please, don't call him W J.. it's very rude.. He got a name when he was born and that is MICHAEL JACKSON.. we don't call you A**hole either!!!
Extremely disappointed with the show, felt like watching "So you think you can dance", or a concert rehearsal without the star.
So let me get this “straight” (pun intended). According to this article, Cirque Du Soleil’s posthumous tribute to Michael Jackson, MICHAEL JACKSON: THE IMMORTAL: A) misses the mark and lacks that “je ne sais quoi” because Michael isn’t in it (Excuse my colloquialism, but….HUH?! Wasn’t Michael’s passing the impetus of the show?) B) manages to overshadow Salah, the “dancer and mime playing the Jackson role,” by featuring screens of Michael Jackson and not Salah himself. (Again…. HUH?? Isn’t it Michael Jackson’s name in the title?) and C) is bizarre, chaotic and so replete with larger than life entertainment that it is hard to see the emotion behind the show. (Hmmm....really Alexander?? Must I blatantly pose the question, “doesn’t that encompass Michael’s life in a nutshell?)
Shouldn’t a keen artistic eye be adept in seeing the entire vision (the “big picture,” if you will) while also appreciating the nuances of irony and symbolism behind it? Shouldn’t a keen artistic eye realize that the art itself IS an expression of the creators’ emotional journey while also appreciating that art is intended to evoke the viewers’ emotions. In your statement, “it’s sad, and inevitable, but Michael Jackson: THE IMMORTAL World Tour is enormous, impressive, and utterly, devastatingly hollow,” the implication is that the show failed you; paradoxically however, those words capture the very intent of the entire production. THAT WAS MICHAEL JACKSON! His life was an over the top production, yet (to use your words) “at times, he’s so swamped by squadrons of flashily clad dancers that, in his simple-but-spangly white jumpsuit, he seems a lonely ghost.” Your criticism is ironically eloquent,…..yet seriously lacking intent.
Mr, Jackson surely was a great entertainer but like hundreds before him he left the stage for other great performers to do their stuff.
It is time to move on.
The video played on extremely large screens at the back of the stage played clips of MJ's music videos and pre-recorded video of the stage performance -- but it was totally out of synch. They borrowed a clip from the This is It video of the metal soldiers marching and their few metal soldiers (not the same costume design - looked much more like Robbie the Robot from Forbidden Planet) and they did not all march together.... different drummers and such.
I had only seen Cirque shows on TV, but have to say that this didn't make want to see any other Cirque shows. It was not their usual caliber of performance... and like others have said, the performers were more about holding globes than to Michael's music and dancing.
They had a large expensive program (only being sold BEFORE the show of course) and you read all about how potential show dancers were told they had to do their best Michael Jackson style dancing or they could just forget auditioning.... I don't know why because no one danced that way in the show.
The advertising and tv interviews (shown in Mandalay Bay/MGM hotels) is deceptive as well. They push Michael Jackson and look alikes in your face and very large lettering MICHAEL JACKSON, saying you'll feel like you spent the evening with him... no, you don't. I felt 3 things actually. 1. the huge gaping hole in the production where you don't see anything that resembles him nor dance routines with a group of Michael Jackson style and caliber of the dancers he always had with him on concerts and videos; 2. felt like I paid $135 to watch some bits and pieces of MJ's music videos; and 3. very disappointed and empty
if you really want to see it, don't bother buying the expensive tickets - the floor seats in Phoenix I saw were going for upwards of $1000!!! This is not worth that by any means.
I absolutely loved the Blue Man group show in Vegas, but I'd never pay that much for that, nor any show, especially when you want something as great as a real tribute to Michael should be. They say this is straight out of his head and will feel like he created it -- no. His performances are first class. This was steerage.