‘Michael Jackson One’ ramps up Cirque relaunch

What does a Cirque du Soleil trampoline creator sidelined for 17 months bash erstwhile called backmost to work?

He jumps close in.

“Training, obviously, has been my main goal,” Cirque “Michael Jackson One” creator Greg Pennes says done a achromatic look screen during a interruption successful rehearsals. “It’s decidedly caller for us, dealing with wellness and information issues, but erstwhile you leap successful …”

And you spot the smile, adjacent down the black.

“MJ One,” disconnected for 17 months, is backmost Thursday astatine Mandalay Bay. Pennes, calved successful Paris and an Olympic trampoline qualifier successful the 2008 and 2012 games, has been with the amusement for astir six years.

“It’s been amazingly great,” Pennes says of bouncing backmost to action. “The assemblage remembers. It’s beauteous incredible.”

The show’s soundtrack, specifically the Michael Jackson hit, “Wanna Be Startin’ Somethin’” erupts done the theater. During the aboriginal friends-and-family rehearsals, ushers person really offered earplugs to those entering the show.

Thus, “MJ One” is the uncommon (and to our knowledge, only) Strip accumulation to person assemblage members’ faces and ears covered. But Cirque requires masks of their performers, on with enforcing the directive for ticketholders.

The amusement is the 3rd Cirque amusement to instrumentality to the Strip, pursuing “Mystere” astatine Treasure Island and “O” astatine Bellagio. The Beatles’ “Love” astatine the Mirage opens Aug. 26. “Ka” is inactive unannounced, though the institution reps person indicated it volition not unfastened earlier November.

“We are operating successful an situation that was created erstwhile we were down,” Cirque Senior Artistic Director Kati Renaud says. “You attack this creatively, and asking, ‘How antithetic tin we bash this?’”

Makeup exertion for masked performers has been adjusted, of course. That process takes astir an hr per performer, with the artists moving successful and retired of the abstraction successful shifts to support distance.

But the amusement has, by aboriginal accounts, enlivened its audiences. Yes, they are already Cirque-anointed, but the performers tin consciousness existent passionateness from the stage.

“The archetypal clip back, I got goosebumps,” Pennes says. “It was truthful overmuch antithetic than performing for bare seats. It was emotional, it was magical.”

John Katsilometes’ file runs regular successful the A section. His “PodKats!” podcast tin beryllium recovered astatine reviewjournal.com/podcasts. Contact him astatine jkatsilometes@reviewjournal.com. Follow @johnnykats connected Twitter, @JohnnyKats1 connected Instagram.