On July 22, 2022, an internal memo was distributed by Eric Grilly, President of the Resident Shows Division and Affiliate Shows Division at Cirque du Soleil.

Of course, we got our hands on it. Do you know this blog at all?

The internal communication from Grilly said, “I am pleased to announce today that we have extended the contract for ‘The Beatles Love’ through 2023.”

It continues, “As we know that the sale of The Mirage to Hard Rock will take some time to be finalized, we wanted to ensure that the show can continue to be performed throughout that process and through the transition of ownership.”

The memo closes with, “We will have ongoing conversations with the Hard Rock as they develop their plans for the property and will be sure to keep you updated as things progress. For today, we celebrate the good news that ‘Love’ will continue to wow audiences for the foreseeable future.”

While great news for the cast and crew of “Love,” it’s tempered by the fact Mirage hasn’t said whether the hotel will close for its transition to Hard Rock or not.

We’re told the current plan is for Mirage to stay in operation during the rebrand (and, presumably, while the new guitar tower is being built).

Speculation has been “Love” would close when Mirage did. And the show wouldn’t be back, at least not at Hard Rock.

The only thing we can be fairly sure about is “Love” won’t close in 2022. Which seems to mean Mirage won’t, either.

In our humble opinion, “Love” won’t survive the transition to Hard Rock Las Vegas.

Our sources say the “Love” theater will be gutted during the Hard Rock rebrand. And the space will be used as a theater, but probably not for a resident show.

We’re happy for the cast and crew of “Love,” but this contract extension seems to be a response to chatter the show will close soon. That doesn’t mean it won’t close, it just means it’s unlikely to in 2022. The memo is sort of ambiguous and weird. To be honest. (Sorry about the technical entertainment jargon.)

“Through 2023” leaves a lot of wiggle room. Cirque doesn’t sound particularly confident the show will stay open as Mirage becomes Hard Rock. But they’re putting on a happy face to calm the troops.

If Mirage closes for the renovation, as one analyst predicted, this contract extension won’t mean a whole lot. Chatter is the rebrand could start as soon as September 2022.

A Hard Rock International news release mentioned Hard Rock Las Vegas will open in 2025. Not a lot of help, timelinewise.

While the baby contract extension is small consolation for “Love” fans, at least they know they’ll have time to see the show during their next visit.

More to come.