THEATRE (MUSIC) REVIEW:
MICHAEL JACKSON: The Immortal World Tour
22 OCT/11

JOHN COULBOURN - QMI Agency
R: 3.5/5

Considering the maelstrom of publicity, both bad and good, that was the life of the late pop sensation Michael Jackson, it is ironic — oddly fitting, but ironic nonetheless — that in death, Jackson's memory is being honoured with, of all things, a circus.

Not just any circus, mind you. When it comes to paying tribute to the King of Pop, only the king of circuses will do. And in today's world, even though pretenders abound, few would argue that the crown of the circus world still sits securely on the brow of the Quebec-based international phenom, Cirque Du Soleil. So it is that Cirque last month launched its latest big-budget, big-everything stadium show titled Michael Jackson: The Immortal World Tour, which pulled into Toronto's Air Canada Centre on Friday for a weekend run that ends Sunday.

And while there may be more than a degree of irony in the fact that Jackson's life is being commemorated with a circus, the show itself turns out to be a largely irony-free zone. Director Jamie King and his cast and crew focus all of Cirque's considerable genius on how best to conjure the myth, the man and his music — without inadvertently opening any portals into the much-publicized darker side of a man finally and tragically consumed by fame. But despite their best efforts, it remains an affair both haunted — in this case, by design, with a (speaking of irony) white-faced mime evoking Jackson's spirit throughout the show — and haunting, as the news from Dr. Conrad Murray's trial for involuntary manslaughter in the death of Jackson features prominently in the nightly news.

It is also, even by Cirque standards, a bit of an extravaganza. It mixes the very latest in stage technology with a few breathtaking feats of physical skill and precision — not to mention more than enough moonwalking and crotch grabbing to put both NASA and a passel of andrologists out of business. There is also, as is to be expected, a lot of music — all of it Jackson's, from his earliest days with the Jackson Five right through to the too-early end of his career. Sometimes it is served up under the musical direction of Greg Philliganes, featuring a strong musical ensemble. At others, it is delivered by Jackson himself, appearing posthumously on giant video screens woven into a modified thrust stage that allows Immortal to combine elements of both thrust and proscenium staging in such a way that it becomes impossible to focus attention on any one element of the show.
 
Woven into the fabric of musical memories that includes everything from I'll Be There to Billie Jean, Thriller and Beat It are a series of often jaw-dropping effects and circus routines. Not all of it is new, but impressive nonetheless.

But while the never-ending parade of giant puppets, robots, living statues, ghouls and ghost-like animal heads certainly add up to something visually engaging, some of the circus routines feel more imposed than integrated into Immortal's warp and weave. While the synchronized tumblers featured near the end of the show certainly seem a logical extension of the kind of coordinated movement Jackson espoused, the pole routine performed by the diminutive and supple Anna Melnikova simply doesn't fly, from a contextual point of view, even while it soars.

Finally, however, Immortal's creators simply over-reach themselves, not content to simply celebrate the talents of a very talented man. As their show assumes more and more of a messianic fervour, using images of Gandhi and Mother Theresa, it feels less and less like a tribute, and more and more like a revival meeting. That's a kind of Immortal that's tough to swallow.