Cirque du Soleil Plans Two New Shows Spotlighting the Music of Michael Jackson

In the wake of its successful productions incorporating the music of Elvis Presley (Viva Elvis) and the Beatles (LOVE), Cirque du Soleil is planning a pair of new shows based on the music of Michael Jackson, according to The Wall Street Journal. Cirque and Jackson’s estate will team up for a touring production and later a stand-alone show in Las Vegas.

The Journal reports that the first production, a blend of Jackson-style choreography and Cirque acrobatics, will tour arenas around the world beginning in late 2011. The other show, opening in 2012, will run as a sit-down production at an as-yet unnamed Las Vegas casino owned by MGM Mirage. The Vegas show may include theme-park elements such as motion simulators and 3-D visuals and may be paired with a Jackson-theme restaurant.

"We want to immerse ourselves in the Michael Jackson world," Cirque du Soleil President and CEO Daniel Lamarre told the Journal.

Tickets are available on Broadway.com for Cirque’s current roster of Las Vegas shows, including Viva Elvis, LOVE, KA, O, Criss Angel Believe, Zumanity and Mystere, as well as the New York debut of Banana Shpeel, which begins performances at the Beacon Theatre on April 29.