Tuesday, October 07, 2003
Copyright © Las Vegas Review-Journal
MIKE WEATHERFORD: Siegfried and Roy's manager confirms closure
We had one heck of a run," Bernie Yuman, longtime manager of Siegfried and Roy, said Monday after delivering the definitive word that the long-running show has closed for good.
Phil Misiura, general manager of the show for producer Feld Entertainment, agreed Monday that company head Kenneth Feld considered the show closed in lieu of "a medical miracle" that would accelerate the recovery of injured co-star Roy Horn.
The Mirage show opened Feb. 1, 1990, and ran for 5,750 performances for an estimated 10.5 million patrons, Yuman said.
Yuman said Monday the Secret Garden of Siegfried & Roy tourist attraction would remain open. "That will continue for many years," Yuman said.
Even before Roy was bitten onstage by one of the show tigers Friday, Siegfried Fischbacher and Yuman had maintained that as the illusionists aged, they would not change the format of the show to incorporate other magicians such as protégé Darren Romeo.
"I would say that's not something he will be considering," Yuman said of the 64-year-old Fischbacher. "It's over."
"Siegfried & Roy at The Mirage," as the show was officially known, was "one of the more complicated entertainment agreements you'll ever come across," Misiura noted.
In essence, Feld -- the circus impresarios who tour Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus -- produced the show and paid the 60 onstage performers. Siegfried and Roy were business partners analogous to A-list movie stars who form their own production companies and retain executive producer credit for their films.
MGM Mirage paid the stagehands and staff members such as ushers and cocktail servers. When the Siegfried & Roy show is on vacation, as it was scheduled to be after Nov. 25, The Mirage books the showroom with headliners. ...
Steve Wyrick announces his plans for a new magic show at the Aladdin at a media event today, while producers of the girlie show "X" confirm they're on the hunt for a new room after Oct. 21.
"There's going to be some major construction happening," Wyrick says of a renovation that involves the current theater plus "quite a bit of additional space."
The magician was saving details about design specifics, along with more details of his business arrangement with the Aladdin, for today's event. However, he and hotel publicist Tyri Squires both confirmed hotel management is involved beyond the point of a "four-wall," or rent-the-room arrangement.
"X" producer Bobby Bolling said he is in talks with four other properties and is "not really worried" about finding a new home for the topless show that has attracted an impressive share of national media attention.
"We think the momentum is going to carry us on," he says. "X" shared the room with variety act Society of Seven, which closes Oct. 19.
The hotel built the modest 400-seat CenterStage room a year ago, after it already had filed for bankruptcy protection. With its flat-floor seating and barely elevated stage, it could not house a full-scale magic show.
However, the room occupies what was to be the entry lobby for a much larger nightclub and showroom. Bankruptcy ended a plan to lease the space to outside investors who planned to stage a major production with Carmen Electra. Wyrick's new show will occupy at least part of that space.
Wyrick staged a theatrical magic show at the Sahara from late 2000 through August; his investor for that production was Dallas insurance executive Burk Barr. ...
Rotund comedian Ralphie May will be performing under the banner of "Last Comic Standing Live!" when he plays the Sahara Oct. 21-Nov. 16.
May was booked before promoter Bill Caron finalized a deal with NBC to license the "Last Comic" name for an open-ended engagement. Now he hopes to keep the momentum going with other comedians from last summer's reality show and talent contest; summer memories are fading fast, so part of the deal's longevity will depend on how fast NBC gets a second edition of the series on the air.
Sean Kent and Rob Cantrell are scheduled to join May for the first run. ...
Finally, Jason Sudeikis, The Second City alumnus who recently left the Flamingo's comedy revue to be a staff writer at "Saturday Night Live," hit the ground running.
Though he was told it could take all year for him to actually get material on the air, Sudeikis wrote and directed a sketch in the season-opener that had guest host Jack Black as a bar troubadour singing "Cat's in the Cradle" to his obnoxious father (Horatio Sanz).
Mike Weatherford's entertainment column appears Sundays and Tuesdays.
