LAS VEGAS (KTNV) — "You Are Not Alone" if you've seen Michael Jackson ONE at Mandalay Bay.
Since Cirque du Soleil first raised the curtain 11 years ago, there have been more than 4,500 performances put on for more than five million guests.
After celebrating the show's tenth anniversary last year, the creative team started looking at ways to elevate the show to the next level.
"Once we were able to celebrate the success of the tenth anniversary and see people like the show and were loving it as much as we were, there was early conversation about this is a great opportunity where we can imagine, enhance, add to, and expand the show," said story creator and director Jamie King. "Once those conversations started, I pulled out my list of notes that I've been collecting for 10 years and looked at how we can expand and take the energy of Michael Jackson ONE out into the audience, over the people, and that began our journey."
The original team came back together to figure out the best plan of action based on three key factors: budget, timing, and how do we make it happen.
"During a normal creation process, with custom-built theaters, it's very easy to integrate the vision and the technical aspect of the shows at that time. Going into a room that has been set up in such a way, it's then taking that vision and finding the compromise, if you will, to some extent, to bring that vision to life but also respect the limitations of the reality of the building and what's there," said David Dovell, Senior Director of Production Services. "That being said, we don't say no. Cirque du Soleil is not in the business of saying no. We spoke with creative and that gave us a great place to start from."
One of the big things that show creators wanted to implement was additional technology, including new LED panels called tilt screens, which can be lowered from the ceiling.
"We are looking at 12 LED panels. They are three by two and a half meters and weigh rougly 380 pounds," Dovell explained. "You had to add in 19 winches and motor control cabinets into an existing room."
Another addition was implementing 64 drones into the show, an idea that was proposed by the Michael Jackson estate.
"They came to me and asked about drones. I said I love drones and they said run with it Jamie. We were trying to figure out how it made sense in the show," King said. "In the beginning, in the vortex, when you first see the drones, when they come out, what they're representing is Mephisto, the dark character and opposing force in our show that the heroes are working against."
King said they are red when we first see and hear them but if audience members look closely, you can catch brief moments of them trying to turn into gold and white.
"That represents Michael and his energy trying to break through."
WEB EXTRA: Cirque du Soleil staff demonstrate how drones work in the show at Michael Jackson ONE
The drones mark a huge first, according to show creators.
Michael Jackson ONE is the first show to fly drones over the public in an indoor production in North America and they don't just hover over the stage. They fly above the audience.
"Big tours, arena tours, NFL stadiums, drones have been used. But if you look at them, it's over the stage, over the performers in a much more controlled environment," Dovell said. "Unlike outdoors, where you can use GPS locating systems and other stuff, you have to replicate that in a showroom and set up its own geofencing."
And Dovell said what audiences see now is just the beginning.
"I think the operational maintenance, upkeep, and reliability of them was the challenge once they were installed," Dovell explained. "The drones are here and we don't want to sit on it. We're going to continue, with our partners, to press the envelopes and try to match the magic of Michael on stage and make it more immersive in the days to come."
A new act has also been integrated into the show.
"[We have a] diabolo act for 'Wanna Be Startin' Somethin'. That was a complete redo that we started discussing based on the changes we wanted to make," said Kati Renaud, Senior Artistic Director.
The diabolo group is based out of Taiwan and led by Jim Chen, who is a coach, choreographer, and artist in the show. He said he wanted to create something fresh that matches the energy of Michael Jackson ONE.
"What is the major theme? What do you feel when you hear the song? Don't just throw tricks in the act. You have to think about how to match this," Chen said. "Jamie told me the song is like a party and you're having fun with your friends on stage. I'm like wow. That's cool because I can feel free to create."
Chen said the biggest challenge for him was incorporating a bigger group into the number.
"Most of the time, we travel with four people. In the show, we have six people. What can I do to upgrade this from four to six," Chen said. "We also need to combine with dancers. That's really difficult for me because if I throw the diabolo this way, what about the dancers coming on? The act also has to be flexible with the tricks that I can change but you have to always challenge yourself and I like it. You make it happen when you have passion for what you do."
WEB EXTRA: Diabolo artists demonstrate their act in Michael Jackson ONE
Many costumes were updated and added to the show's inventory as well.
"We approximately added 347 new costume pieces to our show," said Veronica Vazquez, Head of Wardrobe on the show. "With the new diabolo act, we haven't had something like that in our catalog so we knew it had to be a new concept. It has to move and work with them."
Vazquez added that other costumes are more elaborate.
"For our MJ Girls, the previous look consisted of three pieces and now, there are 13 pieces. Our quick time didn't change and our staffing didn't change so we had to figure out how to get these pieces on our girls in time for them to get on stage," Vazquez explained. "There was never a question of can we do it but how can we do it. We weren't limiting ourselves with this."
Renaud said updating and enhancing shows isn't just about making the guest experience more magical, it's also about keeping artists and staff engaged in the creative process.
"Tapping internally into the case here was an important part of this process. Once we shared that we were going to be working on this project, many artists came forward and expressed interest in being able to partake in any way possible," Renaud said. "It's important for the future of artists, as well, to prepare for what's next in their career, once they're done performing."
This year, MGM Resorts and Cirque du Soleil announced the contract for Michael Jackson ONE has been extended to 2030.
Even though the new features have made their debut, show creators say the sky is the limit and they are always looking for ways to innovate. But the big question they always try to answer is: what would Michael do?
"He just wanted to give the best show to his fans and to people always," King said. "Everything comes from that spirit, that feeling, that sentiment that Michael taught me."
WATCH: Show creator Jamie King explains his creative process and what he learned from Michael Jackson
