Ticket time for Jackson tribute

Michael Jackson is "Immortal," so 14 months isn't that long in the scheme of things to wait for Cirque du Soleil's touring tribute to the late pop icon.

Tickets priced from $50 to $250 go on sale Saturday for the arena tour -- now officially known as "Michael Jackson The Immortal World Tour" -- that pulls up at Mandalay Bay Events Center for nine arena shows Dec. 3-11, 2011, after visiting nine Canadian and four U.S. cities next fall.

Las Vegas originally was expected to host the U.S. debut of Cirque's two-fold Jackson tribute: the arena tour, followed a year later by a permanent installation at a still-unnamed venue on the Strip.

The arena tour will be written and directed by Jamie King, who has staged tours for most of the A-list pop stars, from Celine Dion -- in her post-Las Vegas world tour -- to Madonna and Britney Spears. King was a dancer on Jackson's two-year "Dangerous" tour in the early '90s.

King also helmed the best-forgotten "Storm," a big-budget dud at Mandalay Bay in 2001-02.

"Our environment is Neverland," King says of "Immortal" taking its theme from Jackson's California ranch. "Michael lived in this kind of fantastical world for many, many years... It was his fantasy place."

The show is based on the concept of "walking into an arena that we think is a typical rock show environment, and once that box cracks, this world of Neverland will be created right before our eyes.

"And once we're in that world, any kind of fantasy, any kind of journey .. or magic or fairytale that he loved can be exposed to us."

King agrees that in some ways, it will be easier to do a Michael Jackson show without the star than it was for "Viva Elvis" to work without Elvis, who performed in a less visual concert age. "I do have lots more to pull from and play with in terms of creating environment," he says.

"Michael had so much visual information always around him, whether it be creatures or monsters... He made these mini-movies. He was the leader in the video arena and started the idea of the music video in a big way."

But King said it would be too literal to build the show around video imagery of Jackson performing, as other tributes to Elvis Presley and Frank Sinatra have done.

Still, "Michael Jackson will absolutely be represented in every aspect of the show," he says. "Michael is our narrator in this show. He takes us on the journey we go on, with his lyrical content and with his voice."

The tour launches in Montreal on Oct. 2. Detroit will be the first U.S. city to see it on Oct. 15.

The tour lands at Mandalay Bay at the end of its first leg, during a month when Las Vegas is typically light on tourism beyond the National Finals Rodeo. However, the "Immortal" schedule leaves room on the back end for additional shows to be added.

"We'll put the first ones on sale and see how it goes," Cirque spokesman Lou D'Angeli said Wednesday.

The touring arena show will be followed by a permanent installation in a more standard-sized theater, one that promises theatrical effects that wouldn't be possible to take on the road.

The second show's path to the smaller Mandalay Bay Theatre was somewhat cleared last week when Disney Theatrical Group announced it will close "The Lion King" at Mandalay Bay on Dec. 30, 2011.

Disney and Cirque work independently under the umbrella of MGM Resorts, and "The Lion King" announcement was not accompanied by confirmation that the Jackson Cirque would replace it. But sources say MGM Resorts and/or Cirque had to pay Disney several million to pull "The Lion King" a year early. ("The Lion King" has always been characterized as an open-ended run. A three-year contract was never spelled out in any news release.) ...

Those who celebrate the old Vegas also can cheer the 89th birthday of Don Hill today. The saxophonist, who helped invent rock 'n' roll with lounge legends The Treniers, will bring his horn to a 6 p.m. gathering in his honor at the Italian American club, 2333 E. Sahara Ave., one of the few authentic places left for such an event.

Hill's belated birthday party (it really was Tuesday, but they didn't want to celebrate on election night) is the first in a series of "Throwback Thursdays" organized by Jeanne Brei. ...

Magician Steve Wyrick is buying back his "tools of the trade" in a move approved by his bankruptcy court trustee. Wyrick agreed to pay $150,000 for props that were listed in his original filing last May at an estimated value of $35,636, along with household furnishings listed at $10,330.

Wyrick's law firm declined comment. But the trustee in charge of the bankruptcy, Yvette Weinstein, states in the filing "the sale and settlement is in the best interest of the creditors and the estate," suggesting the move gives Wyrick a chance to get back to work and address his debts.

The larger bankruptcy case continues with a hearing set for Dec. 1. Wyrick listed assets of about $93,000 against liabilities of $54 million after the failure of his theater at the Miracle Mile Shops at Planet Hollywood. ...

You can see two "America's Got Talent" magicians for the price of one today and Friday. Nathan Burton, a first-season alumnus of the NBC talent show, is hosting this season's shock-haired Murray (SawChuck) for a 15-minute guest spot this week. Las Vegas is now home to enough past contestants to host its own spin-off, authorized or not. If the latter, maybe, "The U.S. Has Skills"?

Contact reporter Mike Weatherford at mweatherford@ reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0288.