We reported earlier in the year that Cirque du Soleil and CKX Enterprises announced a partnership to develop an Elvis-themed production. We now have an official announcement:
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Known for its extravagant theatrical performances combining live music, dance and acrobatics, the Quebec-based circus troupe has teamed with CKX, and its subsidiary, Elvis Presley Enterprises, to create the show.
The show will have a permanent home at MGM Mirage’s CityCenter hotel-casino when it opens, scheduled for November 2009.
The announcement of the show’s location was timed for Elvis Week, when Elvis fans from around the world flock to Memphis, Tennessee, for the anniversary of his death on August 16, 1977.
“I am pleased that during this time, when we remember Elvis Presley and celebrate his life, we are able to announce his return to Las Vegas, a place where he truly rose to iconic status,” CKX chief executive Robert FX Sillerman said in a statement.
Presley, whose singles include Viva Las Vegas, performed at the Hilton hotel-casino in Las Vegas 837 times from 1969 to 1976.
“And you can’t really think about Las Vegas without considering Cirque du Soleil,” Sillerman said.
“Elvis has a unique relationship with his adoring fans in Vegas and a large part of our mission is to recreate the excitement and the spirit of joy he generated here,” said Guy Laliberte, founder of Cirque du Soleil.
The July opening of the Beatles-themed show, Love, was attended by surviving band members Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr and the widows of John Lennon and George Harrison, Yoko Ono and Olivia Harrison.
CKX, which shares the rights to the name, image and likeness of Elvis Presley with his daughter, Lisa Marie Presley, owns the American Idol TV show among other entertainment ventures.
{ Source: Associated Press / Orlando Sentinel }
