2011–14 tour by Cirque du Soleil
Michael Jackson: The Immortal World Tour was the first of two theatrical productions by Cirque du Soleil to combine the music of Michael Jackson with Cirque du Soleil's signature acrobatic performance style. The show was written and directed by Jamie King[1] and produced in partnership with the Estate of Michael Jackson.[2] The arena show—which is very similar to a rock concert—began its tour on October 2, 2011, in Montreal. After touring North America for one year, Immortal continued through Europe, Asia, Australia, New Zealand and the Middle East before returning to North America in February 2014 for a total of 501 shows from 141 cities. It is the most financially successful Cirque production and highest grossing tribute show in history. [3]
By December 2011, just two months after it was launched, the show had sold over $100 million in tickets from US and Canada dates and became the top touring act in America, according to Forbes.[4] The tour wrapped in mid-2014 after amassing $371 million in revenue with ticket sales of 3.7 million from 27 countries[5] ranking the tour as the eighth highest-grossing tour of all time.[6]
Public reception
The show attracted numerous celebrities such as Brad Pitt, Angelina Jolie,[7] Jay-Z, Beyoncé Knowles, Rihanna, Eva Longoria, Courteney Cox, Josh Groban,[8] Jennifer Lopez,[9] Tyra Banks, Naomi Campbell,[citation needed] the cast of Glee,[10] Andrew Garfield, Emma Stone and Cee-lo Green.[11]
Background and development
On November 2, 2010, Cirque du Soleil and Jackson's estate announced the development of The Immortal World Tour through Michael Jackson's official website. In a press release, the company stated, "A riveting fusion of visuals, dance, music and fantasy that immerses audiences in Michael's creative world and literally turns his signature moves upside down, Michael Jackson: The Immortal World Tour unfolds Michael Jackson's artistry before the eyes of the audience. Aimed at lifelong fans as well as those experiencing Michael's creative genius for the first time, the show captures the essence, soul and inspiration of the King of Pop, celebrating a legacy that continues to transcend generations".[12]
Director Jamie King, who had previously spearheaded tours by Britney Spears (The Circus Tour), Madonna (Sticky & Sweet Tour), Celine Dion (Taking Chances World Tour) and Rihanna (Last Girl on Earth), stated that he wanted to include Jackson's "giving tree" as the focus of the tour.[13]
As noted during an interview with Daniel Lamare, within 24 hours of opening ticket sales for the show, Cirque du Soleil sold 200,000 tickets.[14]
Following the commercial and critical success of the show, a second Cirque du Soleil production based on Jackson's music titled Michael Jackson: One was developed for a permanent residency show at the Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino in Las Vegas. This second show opened in May 2013 to critical acclaim and commercial success.
Acts
The acts of The Immortal World Tour were staged to the music of Michael Jackson.[15] Cirque gathered a creative team of 10 high-profile choreographers, some of whom worked with Michael, to design the acts.[16]
Costumes
Zaldy Goco, The Immortal's costume designer, said the following in regard to his inspiration for the collection of 252 costumes: "My approach has been to draw upon and respect Michael's iconic style while creating something new and fresh. I placed subtle references throughout the costumes in the show."[17] The color palette chosen for the show is rich, lively, and ornate such as through the usage of gold and crystals. The design team explored such technologies as 3D printing and LED lighting for the many different colored pieces.
Highlights of the costumes range from 3D printing techniques to pyrotechnics being built into the designs.[17]
- Gangster characters wield 3D-printed surreal guns that shoot pyrotechnics when the triggers are pulled. The shoulder pads are also 3D-printed.
- The straps duo costumes are covered in Swarovski crystals, and were inspired by Jackson's corseted wrist in the Black and White video.
- The bat costumes are created using ultra lightweight paper used for shipping parcels.
- The soldiers' costumes are primarily made of mytex on a polyester frame with padding.
- All the costumes in the Human Nature act are equipped with more than 275 LED lights.
- The costumes for the welders were inspired by the red, zipper-clad jacket in Beat It.
Music
On October 3, 2011, Sony Music Entertainment announced that more than 40 of Jackson's original recordings were redesigned and reimagined by the Justin Timberlake and Rihanna producer Kevin Antunes throughout a year-period work in the studio with original multi-track master recordings.[18] Hence it's expected that Immortal will continue a similar mixing production to the soundtracks to previous Cirque du Soleil shows: 2006's Love, with the remixed music of The Beatles (to the show of the same name), and 2010's Elvis Presley-themed remix soundtrack Viva Elvis (to the show of the same name).
Released by Epic Records in conjunction with estate of Michael Jackson,[19] Immortal features an alternative version of The Jackson 5 song "ABC",[20] as well as a series of mashups and remixes such as a choir-assisted rendition of "They Don't Care About Us".[21] Although more than 60 songs were used for the stage show, the album release made available is a 20-track album or a deluxe 27-track album only. More than 2 million copies of the Immortal album have been sold worldwide.
Setlist
The following songs were performed in the tour:[22]
*Also includes: "Goin' Back to Indiana" / "Rockin' Robin" / "I Got the Feelin'"
Shows
Cancelled shows
Personnel
Main
- Writer and director — Jamie King[1]
- Creation director — Chantal Tremblay
- Associate Show Director - Carla Kama
- Musical designer — Kevin Antunes
- Music — Michael Jackson
- Remixer — Kevin Antunes
- Set designer — Mark Fisher
- Props and scenic designer — Michael Curry
- Costume designer — Zaldy Goco
- Acrobatic performance designer — Germain Guillemot
- Rigging and acrobatic equipment designer — Scott Osgood
- Projection designer — Olivier Goulet
- Lighting designer — Martin Labrecque
- Sound designer — François Desjardins
Band
Performers
- Main dancers —Loukas LEECO Kosmidis, Pom Arnold, Jonathan Bayani, Michael Cameron, Tina Cannon, Khalid Freeman, Jawkeen Howard, Ruthy Inchaustegui, Jeff "JBoogie" Kelly, Shondra Leigh, Cameron Mckinlay, Fernando Miro, Leo Moctezuma, Gianinni Semedo Moreira, Melena Rounis, Tammy To, Levan Torchinava, Irakli Gelozia, Davi Lorenzo, Yavuz Topuz, Tomohiko Tsujimoto, Joseph Wiggan & Josette Wiggan, Kendrick Jones & Danielle Hobbs, Jean Sok, and Les Twins
- Mimes — Mansour Abdessadok and Jonathan Bayani
- Pole dancers — Anna Melnikova, Felix Cane, Talia Marino, Giulia Piolanti
- Aerial silks artist — Giulia Piolanti
- Straps Artist – Igor Zaripov
- Contortionist — Baaska Enkhbaatar
- Fanatics — Tomohiko Tsujimoto, Leo Moctezuma, Levan Torchinava, Khalid Freeman, Kendrick Jones, Cameron McKinlay
- Acrobats — Vincent Deplanche, Christian Détraz, Stéphane Détraz, Harvey Donnelly, Darren Trull, Kodai Noro, Daisuke Suzuki, Yuta Takahashi, Mitsuhiro Tamura, Tatsuya Tanimoto, Narihito Tonosaki, Loic Weissbrodt, Terrance Harrison, Joshua Rasile, Igor Zaripov
References
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- ^ "World Premiere Tonight in Montreal!". Cirque du Soleil Press Release. Cirque du Soleil. 2011-10-02. Archived from the original on 2012-01-24. Retrieved 2012-01-17.
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- ^ "Why Michael Jackson Is The Top Touring Act In America, Again". Forbes. 12 December 2011. Retrieved 7 January 2014.
- ^ "Michael Jackson Immortal Tour Wraps With $371 million and 3.7 million ticket sold worldwide". Cirque/Michael Jackson Estate. Michael Jackson Facebook. October 1, 2014. Retrieved October 8, 2014.
- ^ "Michael Jackson Immortal Tour Wraps With Eighth-Best Gross of All Time". Billboard. Retrieved 2015-05-03.
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- ^ a b "Michael Jackson: The Immortal World Tour – Costumes" (PDF). Cirque du Soleil Press Kit. Archived from the original (PDF) on September 5, 2012. Retrieved Oct 11, 2011.
- ^ "IMMORTAL, the highly anticipated musical tapestry for Cirque du Soleil's Michael Jackson THE IMMORTAL World Tour". Sony Music Entertainment. Retrieved 4 October 2011.[permanent dead link]
- ^ Clarke, Suzan (2011-10-03). "New Michael Jackson Album, 'Immortal', to Be Released". ABC News. abc.go.com. Retrieved 2011-10-06.
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{{cite magazine}}
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{{cite magazine}}
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- ^ North American box score:
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- ^ "Cirque du Soleil cancels two Oregon performances of 'Michael Jackson: The Immortal World Tour'". oregonlive.com. Archived from the original on 6 January 2012. Retrieved 18 April 2018.
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External links
- Official site
- Michael Jackson official site