Robin Leach calls Cirque's "Michael Jackson One" the best Cirque show in Vegas

Robin Leach, an entertainment reviewer for multiple Vegas newspapers, published a "review" of Cirque Du Soleil's newest show after the first public preview. Note there are major spoilers in the write-up.

Michael Jackson One - Mandalay Bay

While I'm happy it seems to be a hit, it's odd that a review would be published while the show is in previews. There is usually an unwritten rule that the press refrain from commenting on a show until the official opening (which is in late June).

I assume that is why Robin Leach made it clear that he purchased his own ticket to the show (as opposed to being a media guest of Cirque) and also why he gave the review in bullet-point format. I guess it's more okay to give an early good review and help it create early buzz vs. giving it an early bad review and helping to sink the show. Maybe he's trying to get back on Cirque's good side after the whole Criss Angel ordeal.

I can't wait to see this show! It must be a lot better than the MJ Immortal Tour that called Mandalay Bay home for a couple weeks back in Winter 2011.

 

The only caveat is he also gave the Michael Jackson Immortal tour a good review (although it's from him seeing it in Motreal, not Vegas). Nothing as glowing as the review he gave One, but a decent review for a show that received luke-warm reviews everywhere it travels.

Michael Jackson Immortal

 

Robin Leach is a known shill, not a reputable critic. His column is public relations fluff and nothing more.

He said within the article that the new Light nightclub would be Cirque's "first foray into nightlife". Odd, Revolution Lounge at Mirage has been around for........five years or so?

 

shill or not its still a hell of a review- it makes long for september.

 

While he's not the best arts/entertainment reviewer ever, it is rare to give such a stellar review of a show, so I think it's still worth something. And it's the only documented "review" we have so far, short of some glowing comments on twitter.

I do think he overstepped his boundaries by writing the review so early. That's not going to get him any brownie points with other reviewers and show producers may think twice before letting him in to future previews.

 

The reviews on Yelp are also excellent

Michael Jackson One - Yelp

Yes, it's just random people giving their opinion, but the early yelp reviews for previews of Viva Elvis and Criss Angel Believe were completely opposite what One has been receiving. And Zarkana got panned right from the beginning as well.

So it's probably safe to say that Cirque has a hit on their hands. Maybe this will be the show that brings them back after a long streak of less-than-stellar shows in Vegas and around the world.

 

I saw it on Monday. Really fantastic show. Not especially heavy on traditional Cirque acrobatics, but fantastic choreography, performances, and production. We were in 101! Row H, and were a mate a little too close. Anyways, I wanna see it again.

 

I saw it on Tues. I thought it was very good. It ends very strong. I think it needs a little tweaking here and there. But I still recommend the show. Its still in soft opening. I am sure it will be even better in the next couple of months.

Reminds of when I saw Love during the soft opening. It was very good, but the show was much better a year later; once it was slightly modified.

 

Thanks for mentioning that. That's what I disliked most about LOVE. The whole point of Cirque shows for me is acrobatics.

 

I have to say that the lauding reviews for the preview shows on Yelp convinced me to pick up a couple of nosebleed tickets to check this out. Looks like this will be a very big hit for a long time on the strip. Glad I got $75 tickets rather than $200 ones though...

 

Immortal was so bad, like, the worst I've ever seen. It's making me not want to buy tickets to this...

To those who have seen it, is it normal? Do they use his hit songs? That was what was disliked about Immortal, so many weird remixes and a lot of strange picks.

 

We made a special trip to Vegas to see Immortal with my girlfriend's mother who is an MJ freak. She had never seen a Cirque show before and loved it, but honestly it could've been the worst thing every produced and she would still have loved it due to the MJ factor. My gf and I have seen O, Love and Ka, and we were both quietly disappointed with Immortal.

You're right the music editing was terrible. A song would start, and just as you got into it they'd stop it and the slow-mo dancer guy would do his thing for the 87th time. That show just missed the mark big time.

I took my brother to Vegas for his first time 2 weeks ago and was nervous about picking MJ One because I figured it'd be more of the same. I couldn't have been more wrong. This show is everything Immortal should have been. In fact, other than both shows being MJ based, they are nothing alike. The show's music is similar to Love where the songs play out without all the choppiness and stopping. As other people have said, it's a little lighter on the "Cirque" stuff, but the props and costumes more than make up for it -they did things I still can't explain. It's just a really great show and I'm already dying to go back and see it again.

 

Robin Leach is as close to completely useless as a columnist can get (sometimes there are decent photos, but that's about it), and I put zero stock in his opinions on anything Vegas-related.

That being said, I've heard great things about the show.

 

I agree completely. Immortal was TERRIBLE. Nothing flowed and it all felt very forced (as if to quickly capitalize on the death). A show that is already sort of boring should not be presented in a huge arena seating 20,000 as that makes you feel even farther removed from the show and even more bored. And it's crazy that they built their whole show around this "Tree of Life" that had branches too large to be loaded into the arena. So they just had the stump of the tree as the focus. Weird.

MJ One sounds like a completely different show. Almost all his hits played start to finish and much more "theatrical". Plus you'll be much closer to the action.

On a side note, it looks like some tweaks were made to the Immortal tour that's on World Tour right now. Reception is still luke warm, but from what I've seen during commercials, they've changed some stuff. I'm sure it's still pretty bad though.

 

I just got back from Michael Jackson ONE and it truly is an amazing show. There is so much going on at all times and everything is impressive. Some parts were mind-blowing and I cannot figure out how much of it is done (not the acrobatics...that I know is just pure skill...but more the technology of the show).

Cirque put lots of work into this show and the product is something they have not accomplished in quite some time. There was real passion on display on stage, not just the same formula Cirque has been milking for a while now. They push the edge with this show and it is quite a sight to see.

If anyone gets headaches or seizures, this is NOT the show for you. The sound system is excellent and it is a pretty loud show. But the lighting is what will get you. There are so many times where lights shine right into the audience repeatedly and also some fireworks that are quite blinding.

I really don't have any bad things to say about this show except for the lighting. Yes, it's very impressive. But I wish they did not shine lights into the audience. The same effect can be had by starting the lights just above the very top row. The show is boldly in your face the whole time. It doesn't need lights shining straight into your dilated pupils.

 

Maybe if they get enough feedback from patrons, they will adjust those blinding lights during the "preview" phase.

 

I am dying to see this show. I really wanted to get tickets for our upcoming trip in 2 weeks, but the friend we are going with really can't swing the $100+ price. We will likely return to Vegas before the end of the year, just my husband and I, specifically to see this show.

Edited to add: Just bought tickets! We decided to treat our friend and pay for hers too. If we go back to Vegas this year it would likely be in Dec, and this show is dark Dec 5-20th, so this July trip is likely our only chance this year. Very psyched to see this.

 

I have seen most, if not all cirque shows. Is this basically cirque done to MJ music?

 

I would say it's the opposite: It's MJ done to Cirque.

Michael Jackson is the star and it is part MJ concert (recreating parts of his music videos), part celebration of his life, and part Cirque acrobatics. Unlike a show like Mystere or O, where the circus act is the focus, here the circus elements merely complement a show about Michael Jackson. It's a mix of the two worlds and they collaborate perfectly. Cirque took everything that was good about Michael Jackson and then made it more elaborate.

One of my criticisms of Viva Elvis was that the circus elements did not correlate with the Elvis music at all. It was as if they transplanted a few cirque acts onto a new stage and just played Elvis music in the background.

With MJ ONE, each act feels tailored/choreographed to the music and it all meshes together perfectly.

It's a show that is better seen than described, so I would take the chance and see it.

I have seen all the Cirque shows in town and this would be on my top two list to bring guests who come visit me.

This is how I rank the Vegas Cirque shows (best to worst)
01. MJ ONE = KA (depends on the type of show you're wanting to see)
03. O
04. Mystere
05. Zumanity
06. Love
07. Viva Elvis
08. MJ Immortal World Tour
09. Zarkana
10. Criss Angel Believe

 

I would rank the shows pretty close to yours. Havent seen MJ and hmm not sure i have seen Ka.

Zarkana was dissappointing for sure.

Thanks for your input.

Ill probably go. Not many shows i wanna see in vegas or that interest me.

Wish there were more new shows.