Elvis: That’s the way it’s gonna be

Herewith my — hopefully — last words on the subject of Cirque du Soleil‘s Viva Elvis, by way of Wizard of Vegas.com. As to the gaping fissure between national and local opinion-makers (myself included), I’ve given it a moderate amount of thought and am stumped for an answer.

My best conjecture is that when seven Cirque shows are simultaneously holding the boards on the Strip (to say nothing of son-of-Cirque creations like Le Reve), someone who is exposed to heavy doses of Cirque might have a more déja vu reaction to Viva Elvis. But something about that theory still feels inadequate. Having seen Zumanity once, and Ka and Mystere twice each, Viva Elvis seems like a minor, take-the-money-and-run job by comparison … but when you have seven concurrent shows with only one of them being an out-and-out dog and one getting an equivocal reception, Cirque owns an enviable batting average, no doubt about it.