On or around the July 4 weekend in Las Vegas, Cirque du Soleil will mark the holiday with the return of its long-running stage hit, “O” at Bellagio.
Cirque Senior Vice President Eric Grilly told the Las Vegas Review-Journal that “O” will be followed by Mystere at Treasure Island, then other shows, including Beatles Love at The Mirage, Michael Jackson One at Mandalay Bay and Ka at MGM Grand. Starting in July, a Cirque show is expected to open every month through the end of 2021. Cirque’s Blue Main Group is expected to also take a bow, and may even precede the other stage extravaganzas by opening at Luxor.
Theaters will likely maintain spaced seating. But Cirque CEO Daniel Lamarre has said Cirque could run its Strip shows at 50 percent capacity and still make money.
The six Cirque shows on the Strip all closed last March 14 due to Covid-19, and the company laid off 3,500 employees over 44 international shows, including some 1,370 artists, technicians and support staff in Las Vegas. In November, Cirque permanently closed Zumanity, which had run for 17 years at New York-New York. A couple weeks later, a new investment team formally took control of the company. The group’s $375 million investment has effectively kept Cirque afloat.
“I got a card from the cast and crew of Love the other day, thanking us, myself and the team for our efforts to return the performances,” Grilly said. “It’s contagious to see the love that these folks have, and the passion they have for their art and for their shows. I feel honored to be a part of it.”
