Cirque Du Soleil to Debut Temporary Las Vegas Exhibit

Posted on: January 31, 2025, 05:40h. 

Last updated on: January 31, 2025, 05:40h.

There are no contortionists or acrobats in the next Las Vegas show from Cirque du Soleil — just lot of sitting still in an exhibit hall.

The bungee-ing red bird has been an icon of Cirque since Treasure Island’s “Mystere” became its first permanent Las Vegas show in 1993.

“Stories from Backstage: Cirque du Soleil in Las Vegas,” produced in collaboration with the city’s Neon Museum, will highlight the Canadian entertainment company’s three decades of history in Las Vegas.

Running with no admission charge from Feb. 10 through May 1 at Las Vegas City Hall downtown, the exhibit will include iconic costumes, 3D-printed fabrics, measurement sheets, makeup designs and more from the five current Cirque du Soleil Las Vegas shows: “Mystère,” ”O,”  “Mad Apple,” “KÀ” and “Michael Jackson ONE.”

The Moonhead headpiece from the Bellagio’s “O” show. (Image: richasi.com)

Notable artifacts will include:

  • The bungee-ing red bird costume from “Mystère”
  • The Moonhead headpiece from “O”
  • Acrobatic shoes used in the “Wheel of Death” act from “Mad Apple”
  • Makeup designs for “Michael Jackson ONE”

Displays will document how athletes transform into artists, performers embody characters, and cutting-edge technology shapes costume evolution, according to a Cirque press release.

“Preserving the meaningful history and honoring our legacy has always been part of our mission,” said Mike Newquist, Cirque’s president of resident and affiliate shows divisions, in the release.

Unfortunately, no stage relics from Cirque’s recently closed “The Beatles Love” (at the recently closed Mirage) will be displayed. That doesn’t mean they haven’t been preserved, however. More likely, it’s because Cirque co-owns those relics with Paul McCartney, Ringo Starr and the estates of John Lennon and George Harrison, who all have an equal say in how their show is publicly represented.

“Stories from Backstage: Cirque du Soleil in Las Vegas” will premiere inside Grand Gallery at City Hall, 495 S. Main St.

That’s the same space that hosted “The Spectacle of the Showgirl” from August to October of last year.