by dick kerekes dickkerekes@yahoo.com
Las Vegas wants to become known as the entertainment capital of the world, not just a city for gambling, celebrity shows, and girly revues. The American Critics Association held its annual convention in Las Vegas last week, and critics were invited to see what Vegas producers have to offer. If you love musical theatre, then there is a show for you, with many more coming.
I know a number of Jacksonville theatre lovers who make regular trips to the New York and Broadway theatre scenes. Visiting London Theatre is less attractive now since costs have risen so high. This article will give you an overview of Vegas shows, their quality, and their cost.
Hal Prince has revamped Andrew Lloyd Webber’s Phantom of the Opera into a 95-minute, no-intermission show called Phantom-The Last Vegas Spectacular. It lives up to its name in a theatre that wraps around the audience, with opera house patrons (life-like dummies) sitting on each side. The sets are gorgeous, and the chandelier scene is truly spectacular. It is at The Venetian Hotel, where going to the theatre is like going to Italy, complete with singing gondoliers.
Donn Arden’s Jubilee has been at Bally’s since 1981 and has always featured fantastic music, great choreography, and gorgeous showgirls. It has 100 performers, 80 backstage personnel, and more than 1,000 costumes. I always wished I could have seen the Ziegfield Follies in the 30s, but this show is a flashback to those days. This show has something for everyone (including semi nudity), and I loved seeing Titanic sink and Samson get clipped by Delilah.
Cirque du Soleil is now one of the major players in the theatre scene today, growing significantly since its beginnings on the streets of Quebec in l982. They have several different shows, but all are a mix of circus arts, outrageous costumes, fantastic lighting and original music. Mystere (at Treasure Island), Ka’ (at MGM Grand), and O (at Bellagio) are each 100 million dollar productions that take you into dream worlds you have never seen on stage. These are truly see-it-to-believe-it shows.
The latest Cirque du Soleil entry is The Beatles-LOVE, at the Mirage. Featuring many of their great songs, it is a truly a light and sound extravaganza, with 6500 speakers, including four built into your seat, and thousands of colorful lights.
I also saw the one-act version of Monty Python’s Spamalot at Las Vegas’ newest hotel, Wynn. I will be doing a full review of this show in a future issue since it is a show that the FCCJ Artist Series will bring in next season.
If you visit Las Vegas between September and May, then check out The Nevada Conservatory Theatre at the University of Nevada Las Vegas for a sample of local productions. They produce ten shows between their main theatre and black box, and will offer up such plays as Doubt, The Heiress, Lysistrata and Come Back, Little Sheba next year.
I was a guest of UNLV at the world premier musical of the life story of Vegas singer-entertainer Clint Holmes. Written and performed by Holmes with a supporting cast of outstanding musicians and singers, it is still in development but set to go to London in a few months, and hopefully to other cities in the USA. The music was excellent, and Holmes is a most charismatic performer.
How does Las Vegas compare to New York? The productions are lavish, with a lot of money invested. The theatres are mostly large, in the 1,000-seat range, with tickets comparable to New York prices. Most of the Cirque du Soleil shows sell popcorn and have seats with drink holders. (Are you listening, local theatres? There is a heck of a lot of profit in popcorn).
Hotel rates are more reasonable than New York. At least Las Vegas offers a choice of less-expensive older hotels to the fancy, expensive new digs.
When it comes to food, Las Vegas cannot compare to the variety that New York offers, but they have some of the best chefs in the world working the hotels and individual restaurants. There are buffets everywhere priced from $9.95 to $35. If your budget is a little tight, check out McDonalds.
Side trips to the Liberace Museum and the Atomic Energy Museum provided an interesting break from the slot machines and glitter.
The Sundance Institute treated us critics to lunch and a program. For most readers, that means the movies and films that come out of its famous Utah screenings, but the Sundance Institute Theatre Lab convenes for three weeks each summer to support developing new plays and musicals. The Theatre Lab has a North Florida connection as well, with a two-week laboratory for the development of musicals at White Oak in Yulee, Florida, every December. Look for coverage of that event in EU later this year.
Want a new theatre adventure? Consider Las Vegas, especially if musical theater is your cup of tea. Jersey Boys will open later this summer, and you can bet more shows will follow as Vegas adds more new hotels. With 40,000 new rooms under construction, bringing their total to about l75,000, this looks like the start of something big.
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