the mommy avenger

We were in Las Vegas recently for a quick getaway, and if you know us, you know we can’t leave a Vegas trip without catching at least one good show. We started scrolling through what was playing, and Michael Jackson ONE by Cirque du Soleil caught our eye immediately. I’ve seen my fair share of Cirque shows over the years, and I’ll just cut to the chase right now: this one is my favorite of them all.

Michael Jackson ONE runs at the Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino, and it’s built as a tribute to the creative legacy of Michael Jackson — a 90 minute, no intermission, full-sensory dive into his music, his movement, and his imagination. It’s not a tribute act with a guy in a sequined glove lip syncing on stage. It’s Cirque doing what Cirque does best: taking something iconic and turning it into an experience you feel in your chest, not just watch with your eyes.

The show follows four misfit characters who stumble into Michael’s world and go on a journey of self-discovery, guided along the way by his music and his spirit. It’s part concert, part acrobatics showcase, part fashion show, part fever dream, and somehow it all comes together into one cohesive, electric night.

I have to talk about the music first because it is genuinely the backbone of the entire experience. This isn’t a backing track playing quietly under the acrobatics. The show is built entirely around Michael Jackson’s catalog, remixed and layered into a live sound experience that hits you from every direction. “Beat It,” “Thriller,” “Smooth Criminal,” “Black or White” — it’s all there, and it’s woven through the choreography and the acrobatics so tightly that you can’t imagine one without the other. The sound design in that theater is next level. It doesn’t feel like you’re hearing a recording. It feels like the music is happening around you, on you, through the seats. If you grew up on this music the way I did, you will feel every beat of it in your bones.

And then there’s everything you’re looking at while that music is playing. The costuming alone is worth the ticket price. Every scene has its own distinct visual identity, and the transitions between them are seamless in a way that makes you wonder how they pulled it off. There are moments with aerial performers, moments with breathtaking group choreography, moments with props and lighting that make the whole stage feel like it’s breathing. The production design leans into Michael’s aesthetic — the glove, the sequins, the shadows, the light — without ever feeling like a costume party. It feels like art.

There’s a moonwalking sequence that had the entire theater gasping, and a segment built around “Smooth Criminal” that is incredible. I found myself leaning forward in my seat more than once, genuinely unsure how a human body was doing what it was doing on that stage.

I’ve seen several Cirque du Soleil productions over the years, and they are all impressive in their own right. But ONE has something the others don’t quite have for me: a soul. Because the entire show is built around one artist’s actual body of work, there’s an emotional throughline that ties every act together instead of a series of impressive-but-disconnected performances. You’re not just watching acrobatics. You’re watching a story about creativity, identity, and legacy, set to music that most of us have had playing in the background of our entire lives. That combination — jaw-dropping physical performance plus real emotional and musical weight — is what put this one at the top of my list.

If you’re planning a Vegas trip and trying to decide which show is worth your night, I’m telling you: put this one on the shortlist. It’s a great pick for music lovers, for anyone who grew up with Michael Jackson’s music playing at every family party, and for anyone who just wants to see world-class acrobatics set to a soundtrack that will have you moving in your seat whether you meant to or not. It’s high energy from start to finish, there’s no lull in the middle, and it ends the way a great concert ends — with your heart racing and your ears still buzzing.

We (and everyone else in the audience) walked out of that theater energized! If you’re heading to Vegas and want a show that will genuinely stick with you, do yourself a favor and grab tickets to Michael Jackson ONE. You will not regret it.

^{*we were invited to facilitate a feature, all opinions are our own*}