Sinister
Jan 10th, 2005, 10:23 AM
Fri Jan 7, 6:35 AM ET Entertainment - Reuters
By Paul Majendie
LONDON (Reuters) - The Beatles are off to join the circus in Las Vegas, and it all started with George Harrison's passion for Formula One motor racing.
After a three-year courtship with Cirque du Soleil, the world's most famous band have agreed for the first time to collaborate on a stage show with the world's biggest circus.
Surviving Beatles Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr have signed up along with the widows of John Lennon and George Harrison.
Producer George Martin, known as the Fifth Beatle, will be musical director for the show being staged in a custom-built $100 million theater at the Mirage casino on the Las Vegas strip.
The collaboration began because George Harrison and Guy Laliberte, the French-Canadian stilt-walker who founded Cirque du Soleil in 1984, loved watching fast cars.
Cirque du Soleil president Daniel Lamarre described the courtship that flowered in Montreal, headquarters of the multi-million dollar circus empire that has troupes performing around the globe.
"Every year, Guy used to organize a party for friends from all over the world in Montreal for the Canadian Grand Prix," he told Reuters.
"George came along and a bunch of (Cirque) artists and musicians convinced him to come and see some of our shows.
"George introduced us to the other members of the band and we started courting them. Two events then made it happen."
They met in London with George, Ringo, Paul and Lennon's widow Yoko Ono. "We wanted to see if two creative forces could work together. That went very, very well."
Ringo, Paul and George went without warning to see 'O', a cirque show playing in Las Vegas. Afterwards they went backstage and talked to the artists.
The chemistry worked.
"This is the first time the Beatles have agreed to have their music represented in a theatrical performance," said Lamarre, speaking by telephone from Montreal.
POIGNANT FIRST NIGHT
For millions, The Beatles offered the soundtrack to their lives. For Cirque du Soleil, half the problem has been picking the right songs to fit their circus format, a mixture of daredevil stunts and high-tech wizardry.
"The only voices in the show will be theirs," Lamarre said. "In every song there is an angle for us. We have way too much material, we are spoiled."
First night will be poignant.
"George and his wife Olivia were the starting point of this project and we are so touched she has decided to pursue it after his death," Lamarre said.
McCartney approves and Yoko Ono, fiercely protective of Lennon's legacy, is equally upbeat, saying: "The Beatles and Cirque. I think it's a great combination -- The Beatles' agile mind and Cirque's agile body."
But Ringo just wants a good night out: "How excited can I get? The Beatles, Cirque du Soleil and an incredible venue in Las Vegas."
http://news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/nm/20050107/music_nm/arts_beatles_dc_3
By Paul Majendie
LONDON (Reuters) - The Beatles are off to join the circus in Las Vegas, and it all started with George Harrison's passion for Formula One motor racing.
After a three-year courtship with Cirque du Soleil, the world's most famous band have agreed for the first time to collaborate on a stage show with the world's biggest circus.
Surviving Beatles Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr have signed up along with the widows of John Lennon and George Harrison.
Producer George Martin, known as the Fifth Beatle, will be musical director for the show being staged in a custom-built $100 million theater at the Mirage casino on the Las Vegas strip.
The collaboration began because George Harrison and Guy Laliberte, the French-Canadian stilt-walker who founded Cirque du Soleil in 1984, loved watching fast cars.
Cirque du Soleil president Daniel Lamarre described the courtship that flowered in Montreal, headquarters of the multi-million dollar circus empire that has troupes performing around the globe.
"Every year, Guy used to organize a party for friends from all over the world in Montreal for the Canadian Grand Prix," he told Reuters.
"George came along and a bunch of (Cirque) artists and musicians convinced him to come and see some of our shows.
"George introduced us to the other members of the band and we started courting them. Two events then made it happen."
They met in London with George, Ringo, Paul and Lennon's widow Yoko Ono. "We wanted to see if two creative forces could work together. That went very, very well."
Ringo, Paul and George went without warning to see 'O', a cirque show playing in Las Vegas. Afterwards they went backstage and talked to the artists.
The chemistry worked.
"This is the first time the Beatles have agreed to have their music represented in a theatrical performance," said Lamarre, speaking by telephone from Montreal.
POIGNANT FIRST NIGHT
For millions, The Beatles offered the soundtrack to their lives. For Cirque du Soleil, half the problem has been picking the right songs to fit their circus format, a mixture of daredevil stunts and high-tech wizardry.
"The only voices in the show will be theirs," Lamarre said. "In every song there is an angle for us. We have way too much material, we are spoiled."
First night will be poignant.
"George and his wife Olivia were the starting point of this project and we are so touched she has decided to pursue it after his death," Lamarre said.
McCartney approves and Yoko Ono, fiercely protective of Lennon's legacy, is equally upbeat, saying: "The Beatles and Cirque. I think it's a great combination -- The Beatles' agile mind and Cirque's agile body."
But Ringo just wants a good night out: "How excited can I get? The Beatles, Cirque du Soleil and an incredible venue in Las Vegas."
http://news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/nm/20050107/music_nm/arts_beatles_dc_3