‘The end of a dream’: Beatles’ music master faces close of ‘Love’

For Giles Martin, it was a “You say yes, I say no,” situation.

At stake was The Beatles’ music being remastered for “Love” at The Mirage. The dispute was between Martin and Cirque du Soleil founder Guy Laliberte, whose company was a partner in the production.

“I had this constant argument with Guy about the music and how to modernize the music for ‘Love,’” says Martin, who led the revival of The Beatles’ music for the whimsical production. “I say, if you had modernized the music of ‘Love’ 18 years ago, it would be 18 years old by now. But everything you hear now is The Beatles, and I stand by it.”

“Love,” the only licensed live Beatles show in the world, closes Saturday night. The production is going dark as The Mirage is to be redeveloped at Hard Rock Las Vegas.

‘Get Back’

The effort to embellish The Beatles’ original songs in 2006 resurfaced a decade later, through the show’s refresh. But Martin held fast to his vision all through the show’s run.

For the 54-year-old producer and composer, “Love” was an inherently personal project. Martin’s participation in recasting The Beatles’ music began with the Strip production.

In the early days, Martin consulted with his late, legendary father and Beatles producer, George Martin, on the production’s soundscape. The younger Martin stitched the music digitally in the same way his father sometimes cut and edited the tapes for the original recordings.

In one memorable moment, at the show’s fifth anniversary in June 2011, the Martins sat side-by-side and played the just-finished “Love” soundtrack at the theater’s listening room.

The closing of the show concludes a remarkable chapter in Martin’s life. The creative team was close-knit, with the Martins working with Cirque director Dominic Champagne on the first such partnership for both arts institutions.

“This is really an emotional thing for me, to be honest,” Martin says. “It’s the end of what was a dream. I spent three years of my life making a show with my dad and Dominic.”

‘Love Me Do’

Though the show would run nearly two decades, it was not a guaranteed success in its pre-production period. The show long went without a formal title. Beatles fans were skeptical about the concept, the legendary band’s classics played as a backdrop for acrobatic production numbers.

“At the time, when it opened, I wasn’t sure whether people were going to like it,” Martin says. “It was really the first time a Cirque show had been done without using a band. I was worried. My concern was people would think they were listening to a CD, and not experiencing an interactive show.”

Martin was relieved after the show’s premiere in 2006.

“People loved it. ‘Love’ has been such a strong show, and it still is,” Martin says. “When I saw it last year, which was in November or December when I was there, it was the best version of ‘Love’ I have seen. It’s in better shape than it ever was.”

Confidence in the show bloomed over the years, among Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr and Apple Corps partners Yoko Ono, with Sean Ono Lennon; and George Harrison’s widow, Olivia Harrison.

Initially, images of The Beatles were comparatively scarce — such as the silhouettes of John, Paul, George, and Ringo striding across the stage. Their actual faces were not seen until the famous “All You Need is Love” film clip closed the show. But the refresh at the 10-year mark included several added video images and vintage photos, strengthening the bond between the band and the Cirque artists.

‘In My Life’

Martin’s familial connection to the show extends even beyond his father.

“For me, personally, I got to work with my dad, but ‘Love’ also paid for my kids’ education,” Martin says with a laugh. “It’s, it’s the truth. It is a big part of our family, and a part of our lives for so many years. It’s not just to a show to us.”

Asking for a favorite scene might be like asking a parent for their favorite kid. But Martin says he is particularly fond of the “Lucy In the Sky With Diamonds” / “Within You Without You” segment, as the white sheet covers the entire audience, then is drawn through the opening in the stage.

“I remember spending so long doing the transition in that section, on that moment, which is really a moment of intimacy,” Martin says. “Dominic and I really worked hard on it, because we’re both very passionate people. We’re achieving intimacy with 2,000 people in a room.”

That is one scene that has not been touched since opening night.

Martin was struck by the show’s impact as he left the theater with a friend after seeing the show last year, who said to Martin, “You’ve got to stop being so humble. You’ve got to realize what you’ve made, how many lives have been affected.”

Martin’s characteristic response was, “You just get lucky. That’s how I think about things.”

‘All You Need Is …’

After that chat, Martin was heading to his room when he was stopped by a couple of artists at Parlour bar at the Mirage.

“They said, ‘Come for a beer! Come for a beer!’” Martin says. “So I went for a beer with them, and one of them said to me, ‘Thank you for the show. It changed my life. I was in Brazil and moved to Vegas, and now I have a life here, and without the show it would have been very different.’”

“That is the human element of what we are talking about now, rather than trying to sell the show to people, because it will be no more.”

Martin will continue to work on new Beatles projects, as he is today the entrusted individual to re-conceive this peerless music catalog. The studio wizard is working with Sam Mendes on the director’s four separate movies told from the point of view of the individual Beatles.

Sony Pictures Entertainment has announced it will distribute all four films theatrically in 2027.

But there will not be another partnership with Cirque. There is no touring version of “Love” in development, or any ground-up production to take its place.

“There’s nothing to replace ‘Love,’ because nothing can replace ‘Love,’” Martin says. “It was totally unique.”

John Katsilometes’ column runs daily in the A section. His “PodKats!” podcast can be found at reviewjournal.com/podcasts. Contact him at jkatsilometes@reviewjournal.com. Follow @johnnykats on X, @JohnnyKats1 on Instagram.