Photos: Ricky Martin promises ‘one hell of a spectacle’ at The Park Theater at Monte Carlo

Longtime collaborator Jamie King, who choreographed and directed Ricky’s “La Vida Loca” and “Black & White” tours and Cirque du Soleil’s “Michael Jackson One” at Mandalay Bay, will co-create the production with Ricky.

“Give me the opportunity to perform for people all over the world in this amazing city, I’m going to grab it. I’m not stupid. I’ll take it!” Ricky said. “Look back at all the artists who have had residencies here, from Barbra Streisand to Frank Sinatra. It was great, and now I can join them. Whenever I thought about staying put in one place, I would always think about Las Vegas.

“I was offered a residency here several years ago, but the timing was not right. It is now right. It is growing organically beautifully. Everything about the residency from the contracts to creative team to timing of everything has fallen into place as if it was all meant to be. This time it was meant to happen.

“My ‘One World Tour’ began here two years ago and ends in December, so you see even there the timing is right. I will get to spend the holidays with my family in Puerto Rico, and that’s a precious and healthy thing because I need the break. Then I’ll fly to the West Coast to start the rehearsals for this Las Vegas show.

“It will be seven to eight intense weeks, and before we all know it, we’ll have opening night. It’s going to be an amazing show. We have an amazing, creative group with Jamie King putting it together. Fantastic musicians, incredible dancers. It will have 1 hour 40 minutes of intensive, adrenaline, nonstop qualities. It’s a production I’ve never seen before in Las Vegas.

“We will have English- and Spanish-language songs, a multicultural theme. It is the very beginning of the creative process, but I promise that it is going to be one hell of a spectacle, the best of my career. We haven’t decided yet which songs we’ll sing, but we are going to create a very beautiful show regardless of your age and cultural background.

“We’ll have a lot of freedom in it and with it. I can share my culture through the music and can create an exciting atmosphere where you have no choice but to have the best time, to dance and sing, to let go and be completely free.”

Ricky, 44, has April 5-15 as his first dates and returns from June 23 to July 2 and Sept. 12-23. Tickets go on sale at 10 a.m. Monday. Our thanks to contributing photographer Tom Donoghue for his photo gallery of Ricky at The Park Theater hosted by Mercedes in the Morning and Mario Lopez after remarks by Rick Arpin, MGM senior VP of Entertainment and Development.

“I was 12 years old in Menudo when I first came to Las Vegas, and it is nice to be back,” said Ricky. “I’m extremely excited to have my residency in Las Vegas. I have been thinking about it for years, and to see it become a reality is just an unbelievable feeling.

“I’ve dedicated my entire life to the stage, and there is nothing I want more than to create the best show of my career and make it an unforgettable experience for each person who comes to see me at the incredible Park Theater at Monte Carlo. I’m inspired and can’t wait to show you what we have in store.”

I reminded Ricky that he had a successful relationship with Las Vegas over the years having kicked off his world tours here as far back as a teenager with Menudo. Was Las Vegas a good luck charm for him?

“Las Vegas is very important to me. I have had a lot of good firsts here. My first concert in my life was here in 1984. Then ‘La Vida Loca,’ then our first night of the new ‘One World Tour’ was here. There is a definite good luck feel to it.

“With this new residency, there has been already a wonderful domino effect that has been so rewarding. It’s going to be a hell of a show. Everything about it feels right.”