Cirque show halted after on-stage incident
Cirque du Soleil’s “The Beatles Love” show was halted for about 30 minutes Friday night after an on-stage accident.
The incident occurred during the “Revolution” number in the 7 p.m. performance. A male artist reportedly suffered injuries to his left leg while performing on the trampolines in the act.
A Cirque representative confirmed the incident in the 7 p.m. performance in a statement Friday night:
“An artist who is part of the trampoline act ‘Revolution’ was injured. As a precautionary measure and in accordance with our emergency response protocols, we stopped the show to allow the emergency intervention team of the ‘Love’ team to safely bring the artist backstage where they were immediately taken in good care by the medical team.
“As always in the case of an accident, the artist will continue to be monitored by the ‘Love’ medical and coaching teams to determine when they can return to their activities.”
The identity of the artist is not confirmed. It is believed the performer suffered knee and ankle injuries, but there’s no confirmation of those details.
According to audience members speaking on the condition of anonymity, the show was paused about an hour and 15 minutes into the performance, then resumed. The artist reportedly was able to leave the stage with assistance from two members of the production team.
Witnesses say just minutes after the accident on stage, an unrelated incident unfolded in the theater’s upper level, as an audience member suffered what seemed to be a medical episode. One witness referred to it as looking like a seizure.
The audience was told over the PA system the pause was due to “technical difficulties” inside the theater.
The act is performed to the song “Revolution,” with four trampolines set onstage and a replica, psychedelic VW bus in the middle. Artists bounce from the tramps to the middle set piece.
This is the second incident this year in which a Cirque show has been stopped for injury. On June 29, Kyle Mitrione was seriously injured in “O” at Bellagio. Mitrione underwent emergency spine surgery and has been reportedly undergoing physical therapy in a center in Denver, working to regain the use of his legs.
Cirque is celebrating benchmarks in three of its Strip productions this year. “Michael Jackson One” marked its 10th year on July 1. “O” turned 25 on Oct. 15. “Mystere,” the first Cirque residency production in Las Vegas, celebrates its 30th on Tuesday, having opened Christmas Day, 1993.
John Katsilometes’ column runs daily in the A section. His “PodKats!” podcast can be found at reviewjournal.com/podcasts. Contact him at jkatsilometes@reviewjournal.com. Follow @johnnykats on X, @JohnnyKats1 on Instagram.