Cirque's Las Vegas graveyard: 'Beatles Love' joins 'Viva Elvis,' 'Zarkana' as shows that have closed

Opened: October 2019

Closed: March 8, 2020

Cirque attempted to reach beyond its proven formula of stitching together acrobatic acts by going with full-storytelling production. This was not a page-turner, or a turnstile-turner. Graphic novelist Robert Rodriguez’s story was indiscernible amid video mapping, electric motorcycle chases and martial-arts fights in the crowd.

“R.U.N” did have impressive gymnastic effects and tightly choreographed donnybrooks. But the Cirque audience had little appreciation, and scant patience, for this novel concept. “R.U.N” was supposed to read as, “Are you in?” Too many ticket-holders said, “Nah, I’m good.”

‘Zumanity’

Opened: Sept. 29, 2003

Final show: March 14, 2020; permanent closing announced Nov. 16, 2020.

Talk to longtime member of the Cirque community about opening party. I think it went on for 10 days. Not really. But two, at least, held on the roof of New York-New York’s parking garage.

Cirque went with high risk in this one, developing two characters that walked the crowd with a pair of 6-foot-long pythons. They once escaped their cage and were lost for four days. Panic reigned until the snakes were found in the ceiling, wrapped around hot-water pipes. On opening night, Joey Arias, his eyesight blurred by eye-coloring contacts, referred to a woman near the stage as a hooker. She was a suddenly insulted Paris Hilton, who stormed from the venue.

Maybe Hilton can return for a stunt-cast role in “Mad Apple,” which moved into the room where “Zumanity” was an orgy of fun.

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