MARTY LACKER ON
VIVA ELVIS
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As for the negative reviews of VIVA Elvis Cirque show, although I haven't seen
the whole show, I have seen a number of video clips as well as have read many
of the reviews from the Vegas papers and elsewhere and have read the
comments by people who have seen it.
I hate to say this but you know me, I tell it like it is. I knew it wouldn't be great for
two reasons, one is the Elvis input came from Priscilla and two of her ass kissers
and none of them are that creative, plus I knew she would slant it from her point
of view and also make sure it was partly about her too. Her minions agree with
whatever she says because they get thrown a bone by her every once in awhile
and they need it. One of them works for her and EPE, so they're not gonna' do
anything to make her mad at them. Naturally she had to include herself in that
show by including the wedding. If they wanted to show the real Elvis, as they
claim they were doing, they should have had a number of girls around him, not
just her. What about Linda Thompson,Anita Wood and another that he really
loved, Ann Margret.
Secondly, ELVIS IS NOT BROADWAY, he's not a musical theater stage show,
he proved that in his crummy musical travelogues they called his movies. He
called them that himself after awhile with a couple of exceptions in the early
years. Cirque's Beatles show is different in that the people the Beatles mainly
appealed to came ten years after Elvis and by then the music taste was
different.
Elvis was raw Rock N' Roll and R&B and that is so far from Broadway it's the
difference of night and day. The biggest reason his comeback special was so
successful was, in addition to the fact that he had not been seen on TV by the
masses in a number of years until then, the Black Leather Segment was the real
Elvis Presley,not those other staged segments that were just like his movie
scenes. If the entire Special had been like the Leather segment it would have
been even more highly acclaimed.
One famed reviewer in the Las Vegas Review Journal made mention that, "one
of the main aspects of Elvis' life, the men around him he trusted and bonded
with all of his career,The Memphis Mafia, is not even hinted at in the show".
Once again,Priscilla strikes out of pettiness, which I personally believe is a
reason none of the other women including Ann Margret, are not mentioned or
depicted. It's all about Priscilla, his ex-wife.
As someone who is experienced in the production of music and shows, having
produced and directed a number of them successfully, I am deeply disappointed
in this opportunity that presented itself in Vegas to depict and honor the memory
of one of the greatest entertainers of all times and one who meant a great deal
in my life, was done so shabbily. I realize that is my opinion but it also seems,
also by the reviewers, I am not alone in that opinion.
I do think though that if you can, you should see the show and form your own
opinion.