Cirque du Soleil and Michael
Jackson are both legendary and icons, each remarkable, each fantastic, so
imagine the power and personality and punch of uniting them in one
extraordinary entertainment experience. WOW!!! On Wednesday, May 2 and
Thursday, May 3 at 8 p.m.
Hartford’s XL Center will explode with “Michael Jackson: The Immortal
World Tour.”
The official “King of Pop,”
the superstar of performers, the greatest entertainer of all time, a larger
than life personality, Michael Jackson began life in a small three-room house
in Gary, Indiana. His father Joe’s
strict discipline had a profound effect on Michael, contributing to his success
as well as bordering on child abuse.
At a young age, he began performing with his brothers as part of The
Jackson 5.
A singer-songwriter,
musician, composer, dancer, choreographer, record producer, actor, businessman
and philanthropist, Jackson knew no equal. Through his Heal the World Foundation, he personally donated
over $300,000,000 to charity and holds the Guiness World Record for having
supported more charities than any other pop star, and more than any other
celebrity except for Oprah Winfrey.
As the most awarded recording
artist in the history of pop music, he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall
of Fame not once, but twice and is the only dancer from the world of rock ‘n’
roll to be entered into the Dance Hall of Fame.
Be prepared to be astounded
by this $57,000,000 tribute to Michael Jackson’s artistry and talent, written
and directed by Jamie King, who captured “his energy, spirit and essence” in
the show, with sixty-five performers from all over the world. With a Giving Tree at the center of the
stage, this creative image is the source of all the fairy tales and fantasy,
magic and mystery, all the imaginative artistry for which he was blessed and
for which Cirque du Soleil is world famous. The show will paint this superstar power with a brush of
many colors as it creates a panoramic portrait of the man and his magnificent
music and extraordinary dance.
The Giving Tree is modeled
after a real tree on Jackson’s Neverland Ranch in California, a tree he often
sat in to write songs because he found it so inspirational. Cirque du Soleil is clearly the
superlative and exceptional company that can do justice to Michael Jackson with
its mastery of monumental theatrical magic.
While the vast majority of
the performers in the show are from exotic locations world wide, at least one
is home grown. Nineteen
year old Desiree Bassett is
from Ashford, Connecticut and she may be black and blue from pinching herself
to make sure she’s wide awake and not caught in a dream. For Desiree Bassett is the lead
guitarist on the Cirque du Soleil Michael Jackson The Immortal World Tour.
This talented young lady
strums a mean guitar and has been doing so since age 3, starting on a half size
Lotus guitar, encouraged by her father.
Both her parents had recognized her abilities when at age 2 they heard
her singing herself to sleep with Reba McEntire songs.
By age 8, she was competing
in local contests and a year later could be found at the University of
Connecticut music program taking both singing and guitar lessons, where it was discovered
she had perfect pitch and could play by ear.
Her father, a guitarist
himself, admits that by age 4 and 1/2 Desiree was correcting his playing
mistakes. When she strummed a
complicated Joe Satriani tune that he had invested ten years in learning,
without success, he knew she was a child prodigy. Being called Guitar Queen and considered the “Best Girl
Guitarist in the World,” is it any wonder that Desiree Bassett now finds
herself playing in a band that has five original members of Michael Jackson’s
musical entourage? She calls the
experience “indescribable and I’m learning so much that will influence my own
music when I tour with my own band and make my own videos and recordings. They are all so supportive with good
advice and help so I’ll go in the right direction.”
The magic began last March
when her dad, now her agent, got a call from the musical director of the Cirque
du Soleil band. As Desiree tells
it, she was in her room listening to a Michael Jackson tune “The Way You Make
Me Feel” and her dad, who admits he had never heard of Cirque du Soleil, had no
idea of how the call would change her life.
The musical director had seen
her on YouTube and recognized the unique talents she possessed. Her background in hard rock, rock ‘n’
roll, blues, metal, jazz, classical and pop made her eminently qualified for
the opportunity. As the youngest
member of the show, she calls it “one huge family.”
Desiree has no trouble
deferring college as she travels all over Canada and the United States and can’t
wait for Europe and Asia. The
whole experience has made her “awestruck.
It’s all good. There is no
down side. I’m excited that my
whole family, school teachers and friends will be coming to Hartford to see the
show.”
The Jackson family has been
supportive and involved in the production, coming to see it for its October 2,
2011 opening in Montreal and several times since. They know Michael was a huge fan of Cirque du Soleil and
would have been proud to have this tribute mounted.
For tickets ($50-175 and up),
call 1-800-745-3000 or online at www.xlcenter.com
or www.cirquedusoleil.com.
Performances are Wednesday, May 2 and Thursday, May 3 at 8 p.m. at the XL
Center, 1 Civic Center Plaza (formerly Hartford Civic Center), Hartford.
Come see a celebration of a
man/boy who said of himself “I’ll always be Peter Pan in my heart…and…music has
been my outlet, my gift to all of the lovers in this world. Through it, my music, I know I will
live forever.” The Immortal Tour
is making Michael Jackson’s wish come true. A white sequined glove is optional.
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