Money tests love of MGM, Cirque

With all due respect to Steve and Eydie, the hottest showbiz romance of Las Vegas' modern era has been Cirque du Soleil and MGM Resorts.

Their fortunes grew together, to the point where there's little room for other entertainment at MGM's 10 big properties on the Strip. Its devotion to Cirque borders on blind faith. If that's not love, what is?

But every marriage has its rough patch. It came as a shock to hear MGM is asking Cirque to come up with something better than its "Viva Elvis" show at CityCenter.

I have often written that failure is not an option for Cirque. Thanks to its corporate sweetie pie, the company can front-load production costs with the confidence of having a long window to recoup, even if the shows need work.

Tweaking was, in fact, the stated plan for "Elvis." Cirque previously announced it would pump up the acrobatics and downplay the biography next year. But apparently, it will be gone instead by late next year, possibly replaced by Cirque's Japanese import "Zed." (No one said this marriage is in enough trouble for MGM to look beyond Cirque.)

What changed? Apparently, a lot, and before we knew about it.

One change may have been the very basis of the partnership. In the roaring days of both companies, the deal was said to be that MGM paid for the theater, with all show costs and profits after that a 50-50 split.

The first strain on the relationship was the disastrous opening of "Criss Angel: Believe." But it's said that paying off the star's contract to make the show go away would have cost nearly as much as losing the expensive cast and, at MGM's urging, letting Angel strip it down to a leaner, more traditional magic show.

Patience and a "too big to fail" attitude prevailed.

By the time "Elvis" went into Aria, however, did one partner have a wandering eye? Look at the theater. It's generic enough to host anything.

Some people also will tell you Cirque was asked to assume more than a 50 percent stake in "Elvis." Others complained that Cirque kept tightening the budget on "Elvis," well after the storyboard phase of planning and preproduction should have locked it.

This also seems to be the first Cirque to exercise a pre-nup: a "stop clause" standard to Broadway, allowing the host venue to pull the plug if attendance falls below an agreed percentage level.

Look around at the larger disappointment of CityCenter. You sense MGM may have lost its patience with the low traffic flow at Aria after "Elvis" turned out not to be a "must see," even though it's Cirque who is bearing more of the costs of the empty seats.

It's always money that strains a relationship.

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