As rose petals rained down and the applause grew to a deafening, almost inconceivable roar, cast and crew members of The Beatles Love joined hands and took a bow, concluding a historic 18-year run at The Mirage on July 7.
“Some people may feel it's a bit of a bittersweet moment tonight,” Cirque du Soleil CEO Stéphane Lefebvre said onstage on Sunday. “But those who’ve worked on creating this masterpiece over time, did it celebrating peace, joy, happiness and love. And tonight…that’s exactly what we’re going to do.”
One of Cirque Du Soleil’s most popular musical productions—and the only licensed Beatles production in the world—Love went out in a blaze of confetti and circus-bred glory, leading a procession of jubilance that’s been seen by more than 11 million people in its lifetime. It’s crazy to think that Love is now older than the band itself.
There will never be another Strip production quite like it. From the bubble-blowing fever dream of “Strawberry Fields Forever” to the aquatic spectacle of “Octopus’s Garden,” Love gave its all to honor the Fab Four, illustrating their evolution from Beatlemania boy band to peace activists and enlightened luminaries. We’ll miss watching that trajectory play out, especially on Love’s custom-built, 360-degree stage that made every vantage point feel like an entirely different show.
As re-releases of the Beatles’ best albums go, Love’s one-of-a-kind soundtrack, produced and mixed by Giles and George Martin (the latter loving referred to as “the fifth Beatle”), also remained one of the best ways to listen to the band. Sitting in that theater, listening to George Harrison’s stripped down demo vocals in “While My Guitar Gently Weeps” and the isolated, twinkling Lowrey organ in “Lucy in the Sky With Diamonds” brought about chills.
There was something so evocative about these tunes, especially when bolstered by more than 6,000 speakers and in a shared space of thousands. We were all bearing witness to a legacy left behind by Liverpool’s biggest legends. We’d joined them in the room somehow. That’s how Love invited you in. And a love like that never truly dies.
