Mike Weatherford of the Las Vegas Review Journal stepped into the Aria theater recently to preview Cirque du Soleil’s VIVA ELVIS and here’s a little of what he has to about the production…
- The voice is familiar. The music? Not always.
You won’t hear much meddling with the lean rockabilly sound of “Mystery Train.” But “Jailhouse Rock” sidesteps into hip-hop and “Got A Lot O’ Livin’ to Do!” ventures into Zeppelin-esque guitar rock. The creators of “Viva Elvis” do not deny taking inspiration from a popular remix of “A Little Less Conversation,” which caught on via a Nike ad after the original resurfaced in the “Ocean’s Eleven” remake.
Since “Viva” is also biographical, the creative team decided a few songs could take an outside perspective, voiced by the four live female singers. Being freed from having to match time or key signatures of the records opened the door to dramatic reinterpretation: “King Creole” goes reggae; “One Night With You” gets a wispy Norah Jones feel, with Presley coming in as a ghostly backing vocal.
But preview audiences reminded the directors why Elvis hits are seldom covered. He was the show, and the songs lose traction without him.
Read more of the article here.
{ SOURCE: Las Vegas Review-Journal }
