Cirque du Soleil's 'Viva ELVIS' to open in December in Las Vegas

If Elvis Presley had lived in Montreal, would his famous catchphrase have been, "Merci ... merci, beaucoup"?

Earlier this year, Cirque du Soleil announced that it was planning to produce a new show in tribute to the king of rock 'n' roll, in collaboration with Elvis Presley Enterprises. Today, the Montreal-based Cirque said the show will be titled "Viva ELVIS" and that it will premiere in December at its permanent home at the Aria Resort & Casino, which is located in MGM Mirage’s CityCenter complex.

Choreographer Vincent Paterson is directing the show, marking his first Cirque collaboration. In a video interview on the company's website, Paterson describes the production as "an abstract biography of Elvis Presley" that will incorporate some "acting moments" spoken in English.

While he is most famous for his collaborations with Madonna and Michael Jackson, Paterson also has worked in the performing arts. In 2006, he staged a '50s style revival of Massenet's "Manon" for Los Angeles Opera.

Cirque performers traveled to Graceland to conduct research for the show, which will incorporate some well-known songs from the Presley catalog.

Check out the mini-documentary above, which features more on Paterson's work on "Viva ELVIS."

-- David Ng

Related stories

Cirque du Soleil's 'Kooza' extends through Dec. 20 in Santa Monica

Review: Cirque du Soleil's 'Kooza'

Cirque du Soleil's 'Kooza' extends through Dec. 20 in Santa Monica

The big blue and yellow circus tent that is occupying a sizable chunk of real estate adjacent to the Santa Monica Pier will be sticking around for a little while longer.

Cirque du Soleil said today that its traveling show "Kooza" is extending its run in Santa Monica through Dec. 20. The two-and-a-half hour show featuring clowns, acrobats and an impressive contraption called the Wheel of Death originally was scheduled to run through the end of November.

Cirque declined to disclose box-office figures and would say only that there has been "overwhelming demand" for the show.

The new block of tickets for the 29 additional performances is on sale. The seating capacity in the Cirque tent is 2,500, according to the show's promoters.

This afternoon, members from "Kooza" traveled to Burbank to tape a segment for NBC's "The Jay Leno Show" that is scheduled to air tonight.

If you end up missing the Santa Monica engagement, all is not lost. In January, "Kooza" will travel to the Orange County Great Park in Irvine, where it will run Jan. 8-31.

-- David Ng

Photo: A scene from Cirque du Soleil's "Kooza." Credit: Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times

Related stories

Review: Cirque du Soleil's 'Kooza'

Monster Mash: Paula Wagner eyes 'Saigon'; Guggenheim's birthday; is 'Shrek' a turkey?

 -- Stage to screen: Film producer Paula Wagner (pictured) is planning a film adaptation of the musical "Miss Saigon." (Variety)

-- Birthday bash: New York's Guggenheim Museum celebrates its 50th anniversary today by offering free admission to all. (Newsday)

-- Turkey tuner: Rumor has it that Broadway's "Shrek the Musical" is losing money and may close at the end of the year. (New York Post)

-- Downbeat: The New Jersey Symphony has named Jacques Lacombe as its new music director. (Newark Star-Ledger)

-- Box-office hit: Cirque du Soleil says it has sold 80,000 tickets for its debut Russia tour. (Agence France Presse)

-- Windfall: The Crocker Art Museum in Sacramento has received a gift of nearly 400 works of California abstract expressionist art. (Art Info)

-- My fellow Americans: A one-man stage play about the life of Ronald Reagan is in the works, with David Rambo set to write the script. (Variety)

-- Theater history: The Indiana high school stage where James Dean began his acting career is up for sale. (Associated Press)

-- And in the L.A. Times: The L.A. City Council will decide today whether to nominate the Century Plaza Hotel for status as a historic cultural monument. (Los Angeles Times)

-- David Ng

Photo: Producer Paula Wagner. Credit: Matt Sayles / Associated Press

Performance review: Cirque du Soleil's 'Kooza' at the Santa Monica Pier*

For fans of Cirque du Soleil -- and really, who isn't one at this point? -- it should come as no surprise that the new show, "Kooza," is a thrilling spectacle jampacked with white-knuckle acrobatic moments. Yes, and the ocean is deep and the sky is blue.

A touring production that is currently holding court in a big-top tent adjacent to the Santa Monica Pier, "Kooza" offers further proof -- as if more were needed -- that the global Cirque brand is in fine artistic shape. 

If there's anything surprising about the show, it's that it represents a return to simplicity for Cirque. Those who are familiar with the company's mega-productions in Las Vegas and elsewhere will no doubt feel the absence of high-tech waterworks and other stage effects. But in the case of "Kooza," less is more -- a lot more.

For one thing, the retro "Kooza" is intended to be a symbolic nod to the company's roots as a touring tent show. The Montreal-based Cirque, which celebrates its 25th anniversary this year, had its big U.S. debut in 1987 at the Los Angeles Festival, so this current production is a homecoming of sorts.

Cirque du Soleil performer seriously injured in Montreal

Here's another reminder that you should not try these stunts at home.

A 24-year-old performer with Cirque du Soleil suffered serious head injuries today while rehearsing in Montreal for a show, according to reports in the Canadian press. 

The male performer, identified only as a Russian citizen, fell off a trampoline during a training session at a Cirque facility in the St. Michel neighborhood. 

Emergency-services workers said the man was unconscious when they arrived on the scene at 10 a.m. They transported him to the emergency room at Sacré-Cœur hospital.

One report, quoting the Montreal medical services team, described the injuries as life-threatening. A Cirque du Soleil official wasn't available for comment.

While certainly not common, injuries occurring during Cirque performances have been well publicized in the past. In 2007, a 29-year-old performer fell to the stage during a performance of "Zumanity" in Las Vegas. In 2008, an acrobat fell 15 to 20 feet to the stage in a Portland performance of "Corteo." 

The Montreal-based Cirque du Soleil now is celebrating its 25th anniversary. The Canadian company's new touring production "Kooza" is running this week in Santa Monica through the end of November. (Check back with Culture Monster later today for our review of the show.)

-- David Ng

Photo: a scene from "Zumanity" by Cirque du Soleil. Credit: T. Rossa / Cirque du Soleil

Fall performance preview: A season of fancy footwork

This fall's rich L.A. dance and performance line-up offers something for just about everyone, from neophyte fans to avant-garde connoisseurs.

Plan your season wisely and you can sample from some of the world's most prestigious companies.

Want a challenge?

Check out the Southern California returns of Bill T. Jones and the British group DV8 Physical Theatre. For lighter, more family-friendly fare, there's Pilobolus and the always reliable Cirque du Soleil.

See the season’s most anticipated dance and performance events by clicking on the photo gallery.

-- David Ng

Photo: Pilobolus. Credit: John Kane

Catching up with 'Ring' master Achim Freyer

 

Asking German stage director Achim Freyer whether he worries about the frequent criticism of his avant-garde style is like asking Julia Child whether she ever worried about using too much butter.

Last time I chatted with Freyer -- director of Los Angeles Opera's ambitious production of Wagner's "Ring" cycle --  he acknowledged that controversy seems to follow him, as it did when his 2002 staging of Bach's B-Minor Mass for L.A. Opera drew boos from the audience and spate of angry letters to The Times; where there's smoke, there's Freyer.

"Not my problem!" the 75-year-old director said.

Now busy directing "Siegfried" -- the third opera in the four-opera cycle "The Ring of the Nibelung," opening Sept. 26 at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion -- Freyer responded with similar nonchalance to questions about the decidedly mixed critical and audience reaction to his realization of the first two operas, "Das Rhinegold" and "Die Walküre" earlier this year. "Götterdämmerung" will arrive at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion on April 23. Three performances of the four operas in sequence will be given between May 29 and June 26 as the centerpiece of the citywide Ring Festival L.A., from April until the following June.

Caught during a break from a recent rehearsal at the Dorothy Chandler, Freyer said he loved hearing the audience response to his first "Ring" efforts:  "I think when I have the end of the music and I have one moment of silence and then they spring up and cry -- beautiful!" he said, imitating the audience's pleased reaction to both operas during a half-German, half-English discourse with translating help from Christina Baitzel, special assistant to L.A. Opera General Director Plácido Domingo for the "Ring."

Monster Mash: L.A. approves Cirque du Soleil loan; Zaha Hadid's Pavilion arrives; more Jeremy Piven

-- Bending over backwards?: The L.A. City Council has approved a $30-million loan intended to bring Cirque du Soleil to Hollywood's Kodak Theatre.

-- Finally: Architect Zaha Hadid's Millennium Park Pavilion in Chicago has arrived after extended delays and setbacks.

-- It's jail: Broadway moguls Garth Drabinsky and Myron Gottlieb, who headed the company Livent, have been sentenced to prison in a Canadian court after being convicted of fraud and forgery in March.

-- Theatrical fun, part one: A new musical about the L.A. porn industry is being developed by the Civilians and Center Theatre Group.

-- Theatrical fun, part two: "The Piven Monologues," at New York's Public Theater in September, will explore Jeremy Piven's sudden departure last season from the Broadway revival of "Speed-the-Plow."

-- Hey, Mike Antonovich: The Bard Festival in New York has decided to balance out its focus this year on Wagner by adding works by Mendelssohn and Meyerbeer.

-- Optimism: After reporting worse-than-expected second-quarter earnings, Sotheby's CFO declares that the art market has bottomed out.

-- Big grant: The Woodruff Arts Center in Georgia has won a $12-million grant for its education programs from the Goizueta Foundation.

-- Going wireless: The Edinburgh Fringe Festival, along with other festivals tied to the city, has launched an iPhone application designed to help users navigate the various events.

-- Oops, they did it again: "Timberbrit," a new rock opera, features the songs of Justin Timberlake and Britney Spears performed at an ultra-slowed down tempo.

-- Rock on: American Idol's Constantine Maroulis has extended his contract with the Tony-nominated "Rock of Ages" through the summer of 2010.

-- Second chance: Claudia Shear's "Restoration," which recently premiered at the La Jolla Playhouse, has secured a spot on New York Theatre Workshop's upcoming season.

-- David Ng

Photo: A member of Cirque du Soleil performs in "Varekai." Credit: J.L. Cereijido / European Pressphoto Agency

Monster Mash: Dudamel ticket mystery; Cirque du Soleil drama; Hugh Jackman signs on to movie musical

--Getting to the bottom: What happened with the Dudamel ticket giveaway?

--Expensive entertainment: The L.A. City Council is expected to vote today on a $30-million loan aimed at bringing Cirque du Soleil to the Kodak Theatre in Hollywood.

--Modernist pioneer: Architect Charles Gwathmey, who was part of the famed New York Five, has died at age 71.

--Big top musical: Hugh Jackman, who will return to Broadway this season in "A Steady Rain," is also set to star in a movie musical about P.T. Barnum.

--Vocal response: A production of Wagner's "Parsifal," featuring swastika flags and marching Nazis, provokes boos from the audience at the Bayreuth festival. 

--Resignation: Elizabeth Smith, chief curator of Chicago's Museum of Contemporary Art, has announced she is leaving her position after 10 years in the post.

--Another resignation: Hope Alswang, director of the Rhode Island School of Design Museum, has announced she is leaving her post at the financially troubled arts institution.

--Fiscal fracas: Arts groups in Miami are protesting budget cuts that would see their funding slashed.

--Theatrical drama: The Harris Theater for Music and Dance in Chicago's Millennium Park is suing Hammond Beeby Rupert Ainge Architects over emergency repairs.

--Rock musical: The cast of Green Day's "American Idiot" has been announced by Berkeley Repertory Theatre, where the show will premiere in September.

--Star recovery: Promoters for "Fiddler on the Roof" at the Pantages say Topol has recovered from a cold and is expected to return for the remainder of the show's run.

-- David Ng

Photo: A lucky fan after snagging tickets to the free Dudamel concert at the Hollywood Bowl. Credit: Lawrence K. Ho / Los Angeles Times

Monster Mash: Stephen Schwartz tries opera; National Symphony tweets; new musical from 'Rocky Horror' creator

--Trying something new: "Pippin," "Wicked" composer Stephen Schwartz writes his first opera, to be performed in Santa Barbara.

--Digital music: National Symphony tweets Beethoven's "Pastoral" Symphony tonight at Wolf Trap.

--On to a full vote: City Council committee approves $30-million subsidy for Cirque du Soleil show at Hollywood & Highland. What do you think?

--Signs of hope: Why aren't there more black musicians in America's symphony orchestras?

--Premiering in Britain: New musical, "The Stripper," on tap from creator of "The Rocky Horror Show."

--Fresh coat of paint: Mexican government gives Diego Rivera murals full restoration treatment.

--Treasure trove: Palm Springs Museum receives major contemporary art gift from collectors Donna and Cargill MacMillan.

--Back in view: Britain's National Portrait Gallery purchases a 1812 Thomas Lawrence painting unseen by the public for 25 years.

--Museum on the Web: Louvre launches English-language version of its online collections database.

--Lawsuit weapon: Signed contract between Brandeis University and Rose Museum founder specifying use of art-sale proceeds is among documents in Rose Museum suit.

-- Lisa Fung

Photo: Stephen Schwartz. Credit: Geraldine Wilkins-Kasinga / Los Angeles Times