BackinMemphis

Photo: Meskerem Mitiku-Cotton; courtesy of Cashman Photo Lisa Marie Presley, husband Michael Lockwood and twins Harper and Finley attended the 7pm show of Viva ELVIS by Cirque du Soleil at ARIA Resort & Casino on Friday, May 18th. On the heels of her performance of her new hit single “You Ain’t Seen Nothing Yet” on American Idol, Lisa Marie was in Las Vegas to be a presenter at the 2012 Billboard Music Awards at MGM Grand Garden Arena. Lisa Marie looked slim and classy in a black dress and jacket while Michael sported a fur hat adorned with feathers. This is Lisa Marie and Michael’s second visit to the show and they both remarked how great the show is with all of the recent changes and additions. She shared her compliments with the cast when she went backstage to meet them. The twins’ favorite part of the show was the “jumping guys” – the show’s superhero acrobats. Source: NewsNow Entertainment

If your plans for Elvis Week 2012 in Memphis include a stop in Las Vegas to catch the final season of Viva ELVIS by Cirque du Soleil , you’re in luck! Viva ELVIS will run through August 31, 2012 so reserve your seats today before the final shows sell out. Viva ELVIS is a tribute to the life and music of Elvis Presley and combines nostalgia, modernity and raw emotion as the backdrop for the exhilaration and beauty of his music. The show highlights an American icon who transformed popular music and whose image embodied the freedom, excitement and turbulence of his era. Tickets for Viva ELVIS start at $65 and are subject to availability. Purchase your tickets today to see Viva ELVIS by Cirque du Soleil at the ARIA Resort and Casino . Also, check out our Viva ELVIS photo gallery and learn more about the events and special guests during Elvis Week 2012 !

What went wrong with Cirque du Soleil’s Viva Elvis show at the Aria? Just about everything, according to local gaming industry insiders who know a thing or two about the entertainment business. It’s difficult to imagine a multimillion-dollar Elvis show not doing very well in Las Vegas. His concerts were a travel destination in themselves during the 1970s when he was regularly filling the showroom at the Las Vegas Hilton. But that was then and here we are some 35 years after his death. All those years seemed to give Cirque’s big thinkers the feeling that the time was right for the company’s own interpretation of Presley’s music. "Elvis was a show without heart, a lot of talent but no heart," says Minnie Madden, a Las Vegas-based producer, director and critic who now writes and talks about the business where she has made her living for a number of years. "When you’re doing a show about someone as iconic as Elvis, people want to see the performer they loved,"...

Viva ELVIS has been running for almost two years at the Aria Resort in Las Vegas. But the Cirque du Soleil  has announced  that the show is going to undergo some alterations. Exactly what those changes are going to be, however, nobody seems to know yet. Not even Priscilla Presley. Nor Cirque du Soleil’s Gilles St. Croix, who was one of two artistic guides (the other was Cirque owner Guy Laliberté) involved with the creation of the show. I spoke with Presley and St. Croix recently during the opening night party of the Cirque du Soleil’s IRIS in Los Angeles. Neither one could (or would) say anything concrete about the changes, which seem to be still a matter of discussion. But Priscilla, whom I accidentally crossed paths with on the way into the party,  assured me that there was no conflict between her and the Cirque du Soleil on the rethink of the show. “We’re definitely both on the same page,” she said, adding that she didn’t want anyone to get the impression that the...