The Beatles LOVE show closing

Cirque du Soleil’s production “The Beatles LOVE” combined the re-produced and re-imagined music of The Beatles with an interpretive circus-based artistic and athletic stage performance. The show was performed at The Mirage in Las Vegas and premiered on June 30, 2006.

On April 9, 2024, Cirque du Soleil announced that the show would end with a final performance scheduled for July 7, 2024, which was also Ringo Starr’s 84th birthday.

From Final bow for The Beatles LOVE by Cirque du Soleil set for July 7, 2024 | Cirque du Soleil, April 9, 2024:

LAS VEGAS (April 9, 2024) – Cirque du Soleil and Apple Corps Ltd. announce today that The Beatles™ LOVE™ , the groundbreaking production celebrating the music and legacy of The Beatles through the artistry of Cirque du Soleil, will conclude its historic Las Vegas run at The Mirage on July 7, 2024 as the resort begins its transformation into the Hard Rock Las Vegas. Tickets to performances through June 29 are on sale now at cirquedusoleil.com/beatles-love. Tickets for the final week of performances in July will be available in the coming weeks.

Celebrating its 18th anniversary this year, The Beatles LOVE is a vibrant and thrilling production, driven by its GRAMMY®-winning soundtrack and breathtaking aerial artistry, colorful visuals and high-energy choreography on a 360-degree stage.

“The Beatles LOVE has been seen by more than 11.5 million guests since opening in 2006,” said Cirque du Soleil Entertainment Group CEO Stéphane Lefebvre. “It’s been an honor for all of us at Cirque du Soleil to collaborate with The Beatles and Apple Corps Ltd. on what can only be described as a masterpiece. We are grateful to the creators, cast, crew and all involved in bringing this show to life and we know The Beatles LOVE will live on long after the final bow.”

Created as the result of a friendship between Cirque du Soleil founder Guy Laliberté and George Harrison, The Beatles LOVE is a cultural icon on the Las Vegas Strip, having entertained Beatles fans across multiple generations and more than 500 musicians and celebrities. The collaboration combining the legendary music of The Beatles and the artistry of Cirque du Soleil, a first for both creative entities, has brought together Paul McCartney, Ringo Starr, Yoko Ono Lennon and Olivia Harrison several times to celebrate the show’s gala premiere and milestone anniversaries.

The Beatles LOVE soundtrack, produced and mixed by the Beatles’ original producer George Martin and his son Giles Martin, is Cirque du Soleil’s first and only GRAMMY®-winning soundtrack. George and Giles Martin worked with the entire archive of Beatles recordings to create the soundscape for LOVE, utilizing 130 songs to create the 26-track soundtrack.

As impressive as The Beatles LOVE becoming a live entertainment and rock music phenomenon is the story of the production itself. Since opening, the multi-talented cast has represented 44 nationalities from around the globe, and currently includes 11 original company members from the show’s inception. This diverse group of artists wears 11,600 costume pieces, 250 pairs of shoes, and 225 wigs each night. Creating the universe of The Beatles involves 750,000 lumens in projections and more than 500 props and scenic pieces. LOVE’s guests are welcomed into the theatre lobby by 20,000 colorful LED lights. Over the course of its 18-year run, LOVE’s audiences have been showered with 13.5 tons of confetti during the show’s thrilling finale.

The Beatles LOVE performs Tuesday – Saturday at 7 and 9:30 p.m. inside its world-class theater at The Mirage Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas, also home to the official Beatles shop, the only licensed Beatles retail store in the world.

‘Love’ was here for 18 years, and I think this show could have lasted for at least as long as ‘Mystere,’ because it is classic. Everybody is in a state of shock because we thought that this show would last for much longer.

Daniel Lamarre, Cirque du Soleil Executive Vice Chairman – From The Beatles’ ‘Love’ closing ‘a shock’ to Cirque family | Kats | Entertainment | Entertainment Columns (reviewjournal.com), July 7, 2024

My favorite part of the show would have to be Being for the Benefit of Mr. Kite! because it has changed. We have gone through many formulations of that act and each time, there’s just so much going on and you’re like that’s a really cool element and then, you twisted it and you’re like that’s cooler than before. We have super fans that come back 30 to 40 times and every time they come back, they see something new and they’re like oh. I never noticed that before. It’s really fun if it’s your first time, your second time, or your 50th time to maybe see something different.

Erica Anderson – Props technician – From The Beatles LOVE cast and crew prepare for final bow (ktnv.com)

[…] On this night of goodbyes, the $100-million custom-built 2,013-seat “Love” theater was packed with friends and family of the cast and crew and at least one well-respected name in The Beatles’ universe – Giles Martin.

Martin, the son of the late Beatles producer and honorary fifth member George, is the architect behind the most magical aspect of “Love” – its 2008 Grammy-winning soundtrack stocked with unique reconstructions of Beatles songs.

Cirque du Soleil CEO Stéphane Lefebvre spoke briefly before the final performance lifted off with the chilling isolated harmonies of The Beatles’ singing “Because.” He praised Martin’s musical acumen and the show for all of the “peace and joy and happiness and love” it has brought the 12 million people Lefebvre said have seen “Love” in nearly two decades.

While it was mostly a standard performance of the 90-minute show, the audience loudly whooped and cheered at the start of each segment, providing a vibe more akin to a concert than a Cirque production.

The cast appeared to perform with extra vigor and emotion – the roller skating leaps during “Help” seemed a little bit higher, the ever-elegant Dr. Robert (Jimmie Cervera) and original Father McKenzie (Eugen Brim, who left the production in 2016 and returned in February) shimmied and shouted with extra oomph – and a few unscripted hugs were witnessed among the hippie kids during the trampoline-heavy “Revolution.”

In the only fourth-wall breaker, the Sugar Plum Fairy – aka Lady Madonna’s baby daddy – who usually speaks in tribal language before a stomping splash dance in yellow Wellingtons, said to the crowd, “I am feeling a lot of love tonight!” before asking them to clap the rhythm of “Lady Madonna.”

When the usual finale of “All You Need Is Love” arrived and red confetti showered from the rafters, the cast took its typical walk around the stage brandishing peace signs and singing along with the optimistic anthem. But this time, tears among them were visible. […]

From Cirque du Soleil The Beatles Love final show Las Vegas (usatoday.com), July 8, 2024

[…] Officials from Cirque and Apple Corps, The Beatles’ parent company, have stated there will be no reboot of “Love,” either in residency or on tour. There is no future partnership between Cirque and The Beatles being considered.

Apple Corps could conceivably stage another licensed Beatles show somewhere — England, maybe? — but it would not be with Cirque artists.

And despite the packed invite-only audience and energy in the room, “Love” was not doing great numbers in its final months, topping out at about 60 percent capacity until its closing was announced. The show would likely have required an extensive overhaul if it were to reopen with the Hard Rock in three years.

The production’s custom-designed, in-the-round theater design further complicated a new “Love” concept.

Best to let it be, as a wise man once said. And though Cirque du Soleil brass turned up for the show’s closing, the surviving Beatles said goodbye long before Sunday’s finale.

Paul McCartney’s last visit to the theater was a random pop-in on Sept. 30, when he was in town to see U2 play the Sphere. The last time he saw a performance was in April 2017.

McCartney sent a congratulatory video to the cast and crew that played Saturday during a closing Zoom meeting.

Ringo Starr caught the show May 30, during his series at The Venetian Theatre.

Starr, whose favorite phrase is “peace and love,” celebrated his 84th birthday on the very day “Love” bowed out. Starr celebrated with his family and fellow rockers at a party in Beverly Hills. […]

From The Beatles’ ‘Love’ closing ‘a shock’ to Cirque family | Kats | Entertainment | Entertainment Columns (reviewjournal.com), July 7, 2024