Cirque's Beatles show to debut in June

Cirque du Soleil is set to unveil its latest production inspired by and featuring the music of the Beatles this summer.

The new show, called Love, will begin previews at a new,custom-built theatre at The Mirage in Las Vegas on June 2, running for a month before its official premiere on July 1.

According to organizers, the production marks the first timethat Apple Corps., which guards the Beatles' musical heritage,has agreed to a major theatrical partnership.

The idea, first announced in 2004, grew out of conversations between Cirque founder Guy Lalibert andBeatle George Harrison in thelate 1990s.

Martin picks music from Abbey Road archives

Beatles producer George Martin helped shape the show, which drew its musical scorefrom the band's master tape archives at London's Abbey Road Studios.

"After spending more than 40 years of my life working with the Beatles and their wonderful music, I am thrilled to be working with it once again," Martin said in a statement.

On the Cirque website, Martin says that one of the biggest challenges that he and his son Giles (who worked with him on the project) facedwas song selection.

"We wanted to make sure there are enough good, solid hit songs in the show, but we don't want it to be a catalogue of 'best of's'. We also wanted to put in some interesting and not well-known Beatles music and use fragments of songs," Martin says.

According to organizers, the production will feature an international cast of 60 artists employed in "aerial performance, extreme sports and urban, freestyle dance."

Qubcois playwright Dominic Champagne wrote and directed Love. He previously directed the Cirque's touring production Varakai and also directed and co-wrote the company'sadults-only Zumanity show in Las Vegas.

Latest permanent Cirque production

Love replaces The Mirage's signature Siegfriedand Roy magic act, which ran for more than a decade but closed in October 2003 following a near-fatal accident involving Roy Horn and one of themagical act's white tigers.

Love will be the Cirque's fifth permanent production in Las Vegas, following KA, Zumanity, O and Mystere. La Nouba, another permanent show, runs at the Walt Disney World Resort in Orlando, Fla.

The internationally renowned circus troupe, which was honoured with Canada's National Arts Centre Performing Arts Award in 2000, also travels the world with touring shows.

Officials from the Montreal-based company broke ground in Tokyo Tuesday for a new site, which will be its first permanent venue in Asia.

The facility will be located at the Tokyo Disneyland complex and is expected to be completed in 2008.