The imminent closing of "We Will Rock You" and reports of trouble on "Avenue Q" make you wonder if all the buzz about the "Broadway West" trend is premature.

But "Avenue Q" producer Kevin McCollum says it's the New York Post that jumped the gun to claim the show is in trouble. "Talk to me at the six-month mark," he says. The Wynn Las Vegas production is selling as many tickets here as it did in its early months on Broadway, he says, and the local edition hasn't lost money in a single week since it opened in late August.

The difference between 792 seats in New York and 1,200 at Wynn does result in an empty balcony some nights. But "our advance (sales are) building every week," he says, a sign that "the show is behaving as we expected."

No one should be surprised by the closing of "Rock You." It makes sense that Harrah's Entertainment, after swallowing Caesars Entertainment, would want to ditch a so-so title it inherited and start over. Paris Las Vegas is valuable real estate, and Mel Brooks has been spotted on the Strip scouting for "The Producers."

Queen guitarist and "Rock You" co-producer Brian May says as much on his Web site. The musical "did not fit into (Harrah's) plan of how to work the casino building," he writes.

But the shows do serve as crash-test dummies to give McCollum and other producers points to ponder. Consider two things the two titles have in common.

The first is exclusivity. "Rock You" was a United States debut, and Las Vegas is the only "Q" production outside New York City. The shows can lure potential ticket-buyers who can't see them elsewhere, but lose the word of mouth that motivates them to do so.

"It is easier to build word of mouth in New York because it's like a college campus," McCollum says. Here, "people have to go back and tell their friends."

The other shared trait is ambitious scheduling that requires expensive double-casting of lead roles to comply with the Actors Equity union. Is this sheer hubris? Why not start modestly, with five or six shows per week and then add as demand requires?

"Ten is the magic number in Vegas," McCollum says. The notion of playing to two half-houses instead of one full one is "a false assumption," he says. "People might not see the show at all, because they didn't have the option of another time."

Michael Gill, whose company manages "Rock You," isn't so sure. He says that because of union contracts, "we're paying for 10 shows with our stagehands and actors regardless of how many we do. So why not do them?"

But he also believes one show per night is "what this town is going toward" and thinks that should be a topic of future union negotiations.

Just in case he's right, "Q" tests a new schedule with three single-show nights, starting today.

Mike Weatherford's entertainment column appears Thursdays and Sundays. Contact him at 383-0288 or e-mail him at mweatherford@reviewjournal.com.