Love Las Vegas

We took a little road trip adventure to Vegas for Memorial Day weekend for three main reasons. The first and foremost: it was Cameron's birthday and he had been talking for years about wanting to see The Beatles LOVE by Cirque du Soleil. His birthday present was an extra special treat this year: he had no idea we were going until two days before, and thought I had only gotten him an electric griddle to make me breakfasts on! Breakfasts in Vegas, my dear.






We both loved the show. There was more dance and fewer gimmicks in the choreography than I had expected, which I appreciated, and the costumes, set, lighting, and multimedia were stunning. The show truly fills all dimensions of the space and makes it very participatory - performers are above, below, in front of, and behind you; props and people fly over your head; images are projected all around the theater (which is in-the-round, in a pretty hexagon); at one point, Cameron and I were underneath a giant, shear, flowy sheet (I think this was during Octopus' Garden?) that was extended over part of the audience to form a "sea," then snapped back and sucked into the pit at the center of the stage; and at the end of the show (during "All You Need Is Love") the whole audience was sprayed with marroon crepe paper, which I happily draped around my neck and kept on as an accessory the rest of the night (bottom photo).

And the music. Well, you know. It was something special to behold. When the female cast started screaming at the beginning of "I Want to Hold Your Hand," I got goosebumps. My very favorites (probably just a reflection of my favorite Beatles songs, no? Beautiful performances also) were Blackbird, Here Comes the Sun, Hey Jude, and All You Need Is Love. Because really.

There's nowhere you can be that isn't where you're meant to be. It's easy - all you need is love. Love is all you need.

(Stage photos copyright Cirque du Soleil, all other photos by moi.)