Robun Leach Reflects On 'Viva Elvis'

[Brian Quinn]

Please go to the following URL:

http://www.vegasdeluxe.com/blogs/luxe-life/2012/aug/29/even-closing-viva-elvis-produces-some-amazing-stuf/

Brian

[vivaelvis]

Please go to the following URL:

http://www.vegasdeluxe.com/blogs/luxe-life/2012/aug/29/even-closing-viva-elvis-produces-some-amazing-stuf/

Brian

I told you guys back months ago when it was announced that Viva Elvis would be ending at the end of August that it was the new owners idea to do so. Not the lack of ticket sales. In fact, the reports have been that many if not most of the shows were drawing in sellouts to respectable crowds and making a decent profit to the company. But Priscilla and Jack Soden both have not been pleased by the way Cirque Du Soleil presented Elvis and had repeatedly asked for changes, to include more Elvis and less cartoon characters. But Cirque ignored those requests which led to a fallout between the two who are now ending their business relationship with CDS and Core (formerly CKX). EPE/Core were pumping millions of their own money into the revamping of the show without cooperation from CDS. I blame Sillerman for this screwup. He's the one who did the negotiations to start with and is held responsible for its failure. Yes Ken, I said Sillerman.;)

In my opinion, I believe that Core's new owners, Apollo, were approached by EPE/Core in an effort to end the show to save from having bigger financial losses down the road. Remember, the more money that EPE/Core put out the less they made back which affected what developments would get done around Graceland.

Also, the $6 billion dollar City Center, where Viva Elvis is/was held, is said to be a financial disaster itself and isn't bringing in the dollars that they expected. Vegas is still recovering from the recession and the Aria resort is half filled annually that rates have been dropped. Get this, one of the multi-million dollar luxury hotel towers was never completed because of lack of funding that it's now planned for demolition. Talk about flushing money down the toilet.

[KPM]

IMO I agree with this statement by the writer of the article:
The early performance indicated that the mesh of Elvis and Cirque in Las Vegas, which appeared an ideal entertainment triumvirate, would not be so easy to manage.Those in the Elvis Presley camp (Priscilla Presley and officials from production partner Elvis Presley Enterprises) yearned for more of Elvis’ life story in the production -- “We need more Elvis,” they would say, pressing that Elvis’ warm personality and humor was lost in all the acrobatics and far-flung dance scenes......


The basic problem with this production was the fight on stage between Elvis his talent/personality-and the acrobats and their gymnastics.
Unlike the other Circus shows (like the Beatles show)-there was conflict of interest on stage-not a peaceful blending of two formats of entertainment that worked in harmony.In short...it was never constructed properly, never mixed...... and perhaps that is because Elvis draws supreme attention when his image is involved.
People who are conflicted with what to watch have an ill at ease feeling-they come away dissatisfied so they show just did not do as well as it could have.
If ticket sales had nothing to do with the closing-then why would they all be worried about bigger losses down the road???
Apollo is calling the shots, if they wanted it open it would not have closed....not sure Apollo could have figured out the proper melding of Elvis and circus acrobats so it closed.