Line #20 Theatre/MichaelJacksonONE


1	-> '''''"Don't touch the glove!"'''''
2	''Michael Jackson ONE'', Creator/CirqueDuSoleil's 33rd production, is a permanent stage show that opened at the Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada in 2013.
3
4	A sister production to the arena tour ''Theatre/MichaelJacksonTheIMMORTALWorldTour'' (with the same writer/director, Jaime King, at its helm), the show has a similar JukeboxMusical format and many of the same songs but a different ExcusePlot: Four misfits discover and invoke the four fabled traits of Michael Jackson -- agility, courage, playfulness, and love -- to conquer the forces of evil. These qualities are embodied in four magical articles of clothing, as it happens.
5
6	As for the title, ''ONE'' refers to Jackson's superstar status, the promise that the bulk of the show would feature his #1 charting songs (though only 10 of the 33 songs used actually achieved that position in the U.S.), and his dream of a completely united human race.
7
8	!!This show contains examples of:
9	* {{Animesque}}: The animated segment during "Scream" is drawn in this style.
10	* ArtisticLicenseHistory: There are onstage references to two notorious tabloid stories of Michael from TheEighties, namely that he slept in a hyperbaric chamber and wanted to buy the skeleton of Joseph Merrick (aka the Elephant Man). These stories are portrayed as typical inventions of the gutter press, but in real life Michael and his crew created and planted them for publicity purposes. Michael always claimed the tabloids made up the stories, however, and the show takes him at his word.
11	* BadassesWearBandanas: The gang members who turn up for "Bad".
12	* {{Badbutt}}: The gang members only dance and look cool.
13	* BeethovenWasAnAlienSpy: Michael Jackson was apparently so ''magical'' that his ClothesMakeTheSuperman in the present. Enforced due to Jackson's estate serving as a co-producer of the show; Jackson loved portraying himself as having supernatural abilities/origins (as in his music videos, ''Film/{{Moonwalker}}'', ''Film/MenInBlack II'', etc.).
14	* BigBad: Mephisto (aka the Paparazzi Monster), a HumongousMecha that represents a StrawmanNewsMedia.
15	* BlackAndWhiteMorality: Those on Michael's side are good. Those opposed to him are pure evil.
16	* BroughtDownToNormal: During "Scream", Mephisto's minions steal the traits from the Misfits, then proceeds to sic his terrifying goons on them in "Thriller".
17	* ClothesMakeTheSuperman: The misfits gain Michael's four defining traits via four magical articles of clothing, [[http://www.CirqueFascination.com/?p=4153 specifically...]]
18	** TrickedOutShoes (Agility for Clumsy)
19	** CoolShades (Courage for Shy)
20	** A [[HatOfPower Fedora of Power]] (Playfulness for Smarty Pants)
21	** A GemEncrusted [[TrickedOutGloves Tricked Out Glove]] (Jackson's IconicItem; grants love to Sneaky)
22	* ConceptsAreCheap: Of the four traits Jackson supposedly embodies, ''agility'' and ''playfulness'' are obvious, but ''courage'' and especially ''love'' less so, thus falling into this trope. This was probably bound to happen in a show with no actual dialogue; a few spoken word sound bites of Jackson himself don't go very far in explaining what they're supposed to mean. But hey, ''courage'' and ''love'' are good things, right? And the bad guys are weak against them, right?
23	* ConspicuousTrenchcoat: The Tabloid Junkies wear trenchcoats, often paired with fedoras (otherwise, they wear headpieces with attached cameras) and dark sunglasses.
24	* CrucifiedHeroShot: At the end of the "Earth Song" shadow play, the performers create an image of Michael in this pose, which he used so often in performance himself. The performers also strike the pose as the show ends.
25	* DanceBattler / SheFu: Shy, once she dons the glasses. (Specifically, she is using the martial art known as Wushu.)
26	* DancePartyEnding: Or as the press notes call it, an "Electric Love Parade".
27	%%* DarkIsEvil / LightIsGood: Guiding principle behind the characters' costume color schemes, according to designer Zaldy Goco.
28	%% Please separate and add context.
29	* TheDeadCanDance: In the "Thriller" sequence. They can also use trampolines.
30	%%* TheElevenOClockNumber: "Man in the Mirror".
31	* EveryoneLovesBlondes: The Muse, "a conduit for Michael's music", is a golden blonde and the {{Foil}} to the dark-haired villainess Dirty Diana with regards to desirability and moral code. She rocks out too much to be HairOfGoldHeartOfGold.
32	* EverythingsBetterWithSparkles: Wink's black getup is sparkly in the way that Jackson's ''Motown 25'' "Billie Jean" jacket was sparkly, and the hat jugglers are similarly twinkly. By the end of the show -- but particularly during "Man in the Mirror" and "Can You Feel It" -- there's sparkly golden magic dust flying/being flung about ''everywhere'', thankfully not literally (rather, on film).
33	* ExcusePlot: The setup's just a framework for acrobatics and hit tunes.
34	* FemmeFatale: Dirty Diana, the seductress from the MJ song of the same name, that performs a tantalizing, PG rated, pole dance.
35	* FishOutOfWater: The Misfits were just teenagers in the audience, till Sneaky, well, [[MeaningfulName sneaks]] onto the stage, and after being warned not to do so, touches Michael's Iconic Glove, and gets them all dragged into the strange battle between Mephisto and his Tabloid Junkies and the MJ Warriors.
36	* TheFourthWallWillNotProtectYou: Justified, as there's NoFourthWall to start with. The photo-taking Tabloid Junkies harass the audience during the preshow, and zombies roam the theatre during "Thriller".
37	* FromBeyondTheFourthWall: During the preshow, The Misfits first appear in the audience before sneaking on to the stage.
38	%%* GirlishPigtails: Shy.
39	* GoldMakesEverythingShiny: The Muse's outfit is gold, and is complemented by her golden-blonde hair.
40	* GreatBallsOfFire: A stream of fireworks erupts from the neck of the Muse's guitar at one point. The whole show is drenched in {{Spectacle}}, of course; fireworks go off in the opening sequence and smoke effects ''will'' be used.
41	* GreenAesop: The "Earth Song" sequence.
42	* HellBentForLeather: The gang members have black leather jackets.
43	* HistoricalDomainSuperperson: Michael Jackson is portrayed as a ''very'' magical being and the misfit protagonists are searching for his clothes, which are also magical. Enforced due to Michael Jackson's estate serving as a co-producer of the show.
44	* HistoricalHeroUpgrade: Presenting Music/MichaelJackson as a larger-than-life inspirational figure to the point that the protagonists want to follow in his footsteps and his ClothesMakeTheSuperman requires this trope, as in RealLife he wasn't a great role model. His estate has a stake in the show and the key creative team worked with him while he was alive, so this was to be expected.
45	%%* HumongousMecha: Mephisto.
46	%%* InCaseYouForgotWhoWroteIt: Type 1 example (Original Author's X).
47	* InstantCostumeChange: Donning one of the magic costume pieces triggers this, an effect reversed when the piece in question is lost.
48	* JerkWithAHeartOfGold: Sneaky may be a somewhat selfish, trouble maker, but he does care about his friends, and finds himself falling in love with Shy along the course of their adventure.
49	* JukeboxMusical: A jukebox circus, though (as in its sister show) the singing is provided by Michael's own recordings.
50	* LivingClothes: Michael's Shoes, as Clumsy witnesses can Moonwalk on their own, and as Sneaky finds out, Michael's Glove has a mind of its own and engages in a little bit of ClothingCombat against him during "Working Day and Night", while Michael's Suit watches.
51	* LoveRedeems: During "I Just Can't Stop Loving You", the Misfits realize they may have lost their traits, but have what they need, the love for each other, (Sneaky for Shy, Clumsy for Smarty Pants, and vice versa), and in doing so are granted access to "Neverland".
52	* MeaningfulName: The four misfits are named Sneaky, Smarty Pants, Clumsy, and Shy.
53	* MelancholyMoon: Ngame (aka Mother Moon), a singer sitting on a crescent moon, provides a backdrop to the "Stranger in Moscow" sequence, among other things.
54	* MrFanservice: At one point during "The Way You Make Me Feel" the entire male ensemble tear their shirts off, to impress the ladies they're trying to seduce.
55	* NoFourthWall: As is usual for Cirque; during "Stranger in Moscow" the audience even gets snowed upon!
56	* OneWomanWail: Ngame does this as a lead-in to "Stranger in Moscow".
57	* {{Paparazzi}}: The Tabloid Junkies.
58	* PinkMeansFeminine: Shy, one of the two female misfits (Smarty Pants is the other, and wears light blue), wears pink.
59	* ThePowerOfLove: This is the one thing powerful enough to destroy Mephisto, though exactly how Michael Jackson and the characters embody and use it [[ConceptsAreCheap isn't clear]].
60	* RedAndBlackAndEvilAllOver: The Tabloid Junkies dress in red and/or black.
61	* RoseTintedNarrative: ''MJ Warriors''? ''Tabloid Junkies''? Yep, this is clearly a romanticized view of Jackson.
62	* RummageSaleReject: Clumsy wears a striped shirt, plaid pants, solid-colored vest, and multi-colored sneakers.
63	* [[SharpDressedMan Sharp Dressed People]]: The Smooth Criminals (dancers), who wear pinstriped suits.
64	%%* SinisterShades: Some of the Tabloid Junkies wear these.
65	* SpiritualSuccessor: To ''Theatre/TheBeatlesLOVE'', ''Theatre/VivaElvis'', and ''Theatre/MichaelJacksonTheIMMORTALWorldTour''.
66	* StarringSpecialEffects: Turns up in the late going. "Man in the Mirror" features [[spoiler: the cast dancing with a Jackson hologram]].
67	* StrawmanNewsMedia: As in Jackson's songs, the mass media is portrayed as a cruel entity that preyed upon him for money by painting his behavior in a negative light -- to the point that a representation of it is the BigBad, and its {{Paparazzi}} minions turn out to be werewolves.
68	* TabloidMelodrama: The Tabloid Junkies relentlessly stalk people (even the audience in the preshow) to create tabloid front page fodder, but Michael is their prime target.
69	* TotallyRadical / TwoDecadesBehind: The cartoony outfits for the misfits and the "Bad" acrobats could have come from a [[Ride/DisneyThemeParks Walt Disney World]] musical revue from TheEighties. Well, TheEighties ''were'' Music/MichaelJackson's salad days...
70	* TheVamp: Dirty Diana, one of Mephisto's minions.
71	%%* WalkingShirtlessScene: Beggar Boy, an aerialist who performs to "Stranger in Moscow".
72	%%* WeirdMoon: See MelancholyMoon above.
73	* WhiteGangBangers: In "Bad"; of course, they're all {{Badbutt}} characters anyway, so realism was never going to be in the cards.

Context Theatre / MichaelJacksonONE