The truth is, as soon as I read on the internet that Michael Jackson the Immortal World Tour by Cirque du Soleil was going to open its European season at the O2 arena, where Michael was meant to perform in his This Is It residency shows, I wanted to be there to see it.
Even though it’s a long way from Australia to London, there was no risk that the trip would be a disappointment. I had seen Immortal three times in Las Vegas in December 2011, and couldn’t wait to see it again. Besides, according to an interview I read with Jamie King, they had tweaked the show a bit since Vegas, so there would be some surprises. I bought a ticket for the first performance before I organized my flights! (It’s called having priorities… without the Cirque ticket, the plane ticket was pointless!)
Jamie King was right, and I was right, there were some surprises, and there was certainly no risk of my being disappointed if I used up my annual leave to make the journey to London to see it. I loved every performance I attended at the O2 (four in all).
Opening night, Friday 12th Oct 2012, was a terrific buzz, but Saturday night 13th Oct was even better. Or perhaps it was just that I was sitting in a portion of the crowd that spontaneously stood up and clapped and stomped and danced throughout approximately the last four, five or six songs of the show! Of course I stood with them.
It was the closest I came to feeling – if only for a moment – that I was experiencing a fraction of the rapture that would have greeted MJ from the moment he stepped out of Lightman onto the stage of the O2, if what was intended to happen did happen. And beyond the O2, the world, including (I’ve been told) my own country, Australia… if God had not called his Earth Angel home for a higher purpose.
I think on each night I saw Immortal at the O2, most of the audience was standing by the time we got to the fireworks finale.
There were some things missing from the Vegas performances of the show, and some things added. But the magic was certainly still present in a BIG way, and the show climaxed with an even bigger BANG than I remembered.
My favorite scene is still when Michael’s revolving image, his arms held out, his white shirt blowing about him, his hair tumbling down his back, is projected on a curtain stretching from ceiling to stage. It makes me catch my breath and fight back tears every time I see it. For me it signifies Michael’s ultimate sacrifice to his fans in performance of his art… himself.
I know some Cirque purists do not feel Immortal is a typical Cirque show, and they’d be right. I love Cirque too, but from the outset we were promised something different with Immortal… it was to be a Michel Jackson show, as done by Cirque, so it’s MJ’s music, it’s a live band, it’s fabulous dancers, acrobats, aerialists, contortionists and comedic characters taking us through the gates of Neverland to discover the magic of Michael!
I could stay there forever!
Kerry Hennigan
October 20, 2012
Originally published as a Facebook Note: https://www.facebook.com/notes/kerry-hennigan/seeing-immortal-at-the-o2-where-michael-was-meant-to-play/429085417149647
Read Part 1 of this 2012 Michaeling journey: https://kerryhennigan.wordpress.com/2020/12/31/michaeling-around-the-world-2012-part-1-hong-kong-and-macau/
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