When “Michael Jackson: The Immortal World Tour by Cirque du Soleil” parks itself at Philips Arena for three shows June 29-July 1, familiarity will drip from the stage.
Not only in the form of Jackson’s pop nuggets, mostly played by a live band except for some nostalgic glances to the Jackson 5 days, when a group dubbed the Fanatics lip-syncs a Jackson 5 medley, but also by some of the people involved in the show.
Choreographer Travis Payne began working with Jackson in 1991, starting with the video for “Remember the Time.” That was just a few years after Payne graduated from Northside High School (now North Atlanta High School) and attended Morehouse College before heading to Los Angeles for a gig with Janet Jackson.
For years, Payne collaborated with Michael Jackson and was working on moves with him for the “This is It” tour when Jackson died.
His boss, Payne said, was “a great taskmaster, but he knew it was for a good purpose."
"Sometimes he’d forget to eat because he’d get so consumed. He lived his art," Payne said. "I think a lot of times people mistook his kindness for weakness. He always turned the other cheek, always. He remained optimistic about people.”
Of the 25 songs presented in the video-and-dance-fueled spectacle, which evokes a very loud arena concert vibe more than a prototypical Cirque show, Payne said “Billie Jean” -- part of a pulsing megamix including “Can You Feel It” and “Black or White” and featuring dancers in glow-in-the-dark suits -- was the most challenging to choreograph because every live Jackson performance of the song was different.
“I’d rush to the wings during his concerts to see what he would do that night, depending on how he felt or what the audience was giving him,” Payne said. “I wanted to pick out the morsels that could then be taught to people to perform every night. Not trying to be Michael, just celebrating that work.”
Another artist familiar with Atlanta, saxophonist Mike Phillips, is also part of this Cirque spectacle, playing in the live band. Phillips left Atlanta three years ago for Portland, Ore., after a nine-year residency here, but he still maintains a house in Camp Creek.
To him, the beauty of “Immortal” is the blending of Cirque’s over-the-top approach to everything, combined with Jackson’s outsized ambitions.
“It will have to be electric and spectacular,” he said, describing his reaction when first told about the show.
But despite the number of high-energy favorites in the show, including “Smooth Criminal” and “Beat It,” Phillips said his favorite part is a somber one, when a childhood version of Jackson blankets a video screen to sing “I’ll Be There.”
“You remember then that he was just a little kid,” Phillips said. “No matter what he’s gone through, at the end of the day, looking at that little kid and his intentions as a child ... they were the same intentions when he passed.”
Because of the nonstop blitz of dancing and prop movement during the show, which runs just under two hours and features a cast of more than 60, Phillips has his own challenges.
“There’s so much going on -- you have people flying though the air, pyro going off, pole dancers, contortionists. You get too caught up in what’s around you and you’re gonna miss a note!" he said. "It’s almost like Tiger Woods getting ready to hit a shot and the gallery is snapping pictures and you have to focus on the ball.”
Another quieter moment in the show comes with “Earth Song,” a ballad close to Jackson’s heart and unveiled here in a multimedia blitz of video of ferocious fire destroying fields, the presentation surrounded in an eerie green glow.
There is also footage of Jackson talking about his love of the planet, a recording captured by Payne during rehearsals for the “This is It” tour.
“They were meant to be quotes that would be used as statistics in the back of the program [for the tour]. We were sitting in a circle and I would just ask him questions and recorded it on my camera,” Payne said. “It became so valuable because you heard his words firsthand. I really viewed him as a prophet of sorts. He was really in tune with traditions and could share that knowledge with those around him.”
This traveling version of “Immortal” will head into next year with international dates. A new version of the show will begin rehearsals in Montreal in October for a permanent residency at Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas, slated to open in spring 2013.
Phillips plans to stick with the touring production rather than park himself in Vegas, while Payne, who turns 41 in July, is next concentrating on opening a dance school in Atlanta.
He is currently in negotiations to take over the former Atlanta Ballet building in Midtown, and his ultimate dream is to open a chain of schools to train young talent and also launch a clothing and shoes line.
“My plan was always to move to L.A., accomplish what I wanted to accomplish, then open a school in Atlanta first -- it seemed like the logical place since it’s my hometown and my family is there -- and next, Asia.”
But personal aspirations aside, Payne has a simple message for those heading to Philips Arena for the show.
“You will laugh, cry, cheer and reminisce,” he said. “You’re never going to see a Michael Jackson concert again, but this is a wonderful homage.”
Show preview
“Michael Jackson: The Immortal World Tour by Cirque du Soleil”
8 p.m. June 29-30, 4 p.m. July 1. $50-$175. Philips Arena, One Philips Drive, Atlanta. 1-800-745-3000, www.ticketmaster.com.
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