Tuesday, October 14, 2003
Copyright © Las Vegas Review-Journal
MIKE WEATHERFORD: Two new shows hope to fill 'Siegfried & Roy' void
Two new shows opening on the Strip Wednesday should ease the national media's concern about tourists having nothing to do after the closing of "Siegfried & Roy at The Mirage."
"The World's Greatest Magic Show" at the Sahara includes seven different magic acts, a stealth fighter appearing onstage and yes, even a tiger, used by an act called the Majestics.
"We didn't plan on taking it out of the cage," producer Dick Feeney says of the tiger. "It takes them a while to get used to the stage."
Producers David Saxe and John Stuart move into the former Sevilla nightclub at the Desert Passage mall at the Aladdin with a show called "Ovation."
The room has been refitted with rows of theater seats, and will no longer function as a restaurant or nightclub. For now at least, it's being called a theater and will only be open for performances.
The club's general contractor, M&H Building Specialties Inc., ended up with the room after suing Sevilla International Inc. in May for failure to pay $1.2 million in building improvements.
Saxe also produces "V -- The Ultimate Variety Show" at The Venetian. He says "the concept is much the same" for "Ovation," except the new show will feature a live band and be more tailored "to Generation X."
"There's enough room for two shows," Saxe says. "They're different enough." He's optimistic enough to hit the ground running with 14 shows weekly, at 7:30 and 10 p.m. daily. Tickets are $49, $59 and $69, the latter a dinner package with nearby Lombardi's.
"Ovation" features juggler Anthony Gatto, magician Jason Byrne, balancing act Tino Ferreira, comedian Mark Kornhouser, the dance team All That and aerialists Cees & Kathy, who are already familiar with the room: They were part of Charo's "Bravo" revue at Sevilla.
Yes, it's more than coincidence that both shows open on the same day. Both use ticket-broker commissions as a major part of their marketing, and so didn't want to give the other any head start. ...
"Shock" is one of the smallest shows in town, playing only weekends in a glorified lounge at the Bourbon Street. But it's apparently getting some big publicity: MSN's "Access Hollywood" was on hand Saturday for a segment scheduled to air Wednesday, says producer Scott Lewis. ...
It would be weird to have a column without at least one Siegfried & Roy-related item, so here goes: Producer Kenneth Feld has no contractual claim on The Mirage theater after the closing of the show, but he does have one show credit on the Strip beyond the Siegfried & Roy spectacle.
"MadHattan" ran at New York-New York from June 1997 to early May of 1998. The street theater-themed production went down as an ambitious but ultimately unsuccessful attempt to shake up the Las Vegas formula.
"You're going to have some failures. It's the nature of entertainment. You have to take some risks," Phil Misiura of Feld Entertainment noted last week.
He predicted MGM Mirage would be happy to hear any pitches from Feld, which also produces the touring Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus, and "Disney on Ice." ...
Finally, a cautionary tale of the be-careful-what-you-wish-for variety.
Most of the Gloria Estefan concerts at Caesars Palace last weekend and this are being taped for a DVD and future TV use. It makes sense, given the show's handsome production values, that six performances alone wouldn't generate enough revenue (about $3.2 million, based on sellouts at an average ticket price of $135) to justify the effort.
Perhaps fearing an honest audience response wouldn't be good enough for TV, producer Kenny Ortega went onstage before the show and told patrons "we would really appreciate" them getting on their feet at the beginning. He even coached people through "a conga dance lesson" for the appropriate moment.
Later, during a Cuban dance number, Ortega was so excited -- possibly about the idea of an Alfred Hitchcock-like cameo in the DVD -- that he jumped onstage and joined the dancers he had choreographed.
But when the big "Conga" song came, the crowd's response was perhaps too excited, natural and unrehearsed for the production crew's tastes.
As audience members formed an impromptu conga line and started snaking between the front row and the rim of the 120-foot stage, camera operators ignored it and continued to film the performers onstage as Caesars' Colosseum ushers raced down to break up the party and send people back to their seats.
Mike Weatherford's entertainment column appears Sundays and Tuesdays.
