The Last Days of Love: Thoughts on the show that changed Cirque du Soleil

This week marks the end of an 18-year tradition, as the groundbreaking Cirque du Soleil production Lovecelebrates the catalogue of The Beatlesends this Saturday at the Mirage in Las Vegas.

The show, which premiered on June 2, 2006, was Cirque’s first show to use existing intellectual property. For the publishers, this was a dream opportunity to work with the internationally renowned Montreal circus company. Since then, they have developed touring productions such as Michael Jackson: The Immortal World Tour, Toruk – The First Flight (taken from the User image Universe), And Songblazersa country music jukebox show that premiered yesterday in Nashville (more details on Songblazers You will find here).

They also had two other residencies in Las Vegas, one on the music and legacy of Elvis Presley (Long live Elvis) and the other about Michael Jackson (ONE), who still enjoys shows at Mandalay Bay. There is also the jukebox show Crazy Applethe newest Cirque show in Vegas, featuring legendary New York music – from Alicia Keys to Lady Gaga, who is just finishing her own Vegas residency. Jazz and piano this Saturday.

ONE – which debuted in Vegas after a two-year world tour of The immortal world touris a theatre production, while Love sits all around and really immerses you in the music of the Beatles – which is undoubtedly one of the reasons for the film’s success and longevity. The moment I often refer to is “Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds”, with “Lucy” floating above in a sky of “diamonds”. It’s something of a core memory for me at this point and the kind of magic that has brought me back for no less than four screenings since the premiere.

Love was an instant success and has undergone a number of changes in its nearly 20-year run – the most important updates came in 2017, when Giles Martin (son of the late, great George Martin) prepared an updated mix for new speakers at the Mirage Hall, altering the setlist slightly (I’m still not sure how I feel about “I am the Walrus” being taken out, but I digress…). New projection mapping technology was also used to enhance the performance.

2017 was actually the last time I saw the show, and you can read my full review of the launch of that era of production HERE.

So has a lot changed for you and are you planning anything special in the last week?

When I saw the show last night, not much had changed since 2017, despite only eight shows remaining. There wasn’t much to report about the show’s impending end, either. However, several performers seemed moved, wiping tears from their eyes as they took their final bows. And they weren’t the only ones – I was too. After all, this was my last chance to see the show, having first seen it 16 years ago and considered it to be one of the best performances I’d ever seen; an acrobatic spectacle and technical marvel, accompanied by one of the best soundtracks of all time.

I was obviously not the only one who wanted to see this incredible production again. In the last few weeks Olivia Harrison (wife of George), Celine Dion And Ringo Starr himself was among the guests who attended LoveAnd it’s not that the show is unpopular – even after 18 years of performances, the venue was almost full last night, and the only reason for the closure is the Mirage’s transformation into the new Hard Rock Hotel.

To join me and be one of the last guests to see the show at the Mirage before it closes on Saturday, July 6, get your tickets HERE. The production will be performed nightly at 7:00pm and 9:30pm.

There are 5 other Cirque shows that are also open on the Las Vegas Strip, including the mentioned Michael Jackson ONE at Mandalay Bay and Crazy Apple in New York New York, which just celebrated its second birthday and had its 1000th performance last night. The other productions are the water spectacle Ö at Bellagio, Mystery at Treasure Island (which opened in 1993 and is the longest running Cirque show on the Strip) and KA at the MGM Grand. Tickets and performance times for all of these shows can be found HERE.

The author attended Cirque du Soleil on July 2 and stayed at Circa in Downtown Las Vegas. Photos provided by Cirque du Soleil.