‘Triumph’ looking for new digs

Was "Triumph" merely overly ambitious? Or irredeemably bad?

The answer may depend on whether the magic show ever reopens in a new location after departing the Las Vegas Hilton last week.

Touted last year as a major production, "Triumph" was one of the few new shows to go up in a tough year for Las Vegas entertainment, but also the rare one to close before its official opening night.

Larry Fischer, the co-star and creative head of the Victorian "steam punk"-themed production, said the Hilton was too large and too expensive a theater, but he maintains "Triumph" has a future in a smaller venue.

"We're not going away," he vowed. "Failure is not an option."

However, the production is "looking to find a new home that is more affordable," says Fischer, who co-stars with Rafael Palacios as half the magic duo LaRaf. "We are trying to do it sooner rather than later, (but) taking our time to make sure we only move one time."

Hilton officials aren't making any statements, but observers close to the production -- which closed Feb. 22, the day before local reviewers were finally invited to see it -- say there was no hope for it.

"What they produced is nothing at all what they sold," said one source familiar with the situation. "Aspects of it were quite good, but it lacked the 'wow' factor and didn't have any pizazz to it other than the look."

The Hilton agreed to the "four-wall," a lease arrangement where the casino assumed no risk, based on a presentation with storyboards, not an actual viewing. The deal owed some degree of faith to the solid reputations of longtime media professionals Candi Cazau and Bart Torres. Cazau said Tuesday the two are still attached as managers through their BCM Entertainment.

The production was challenged all along the way. Both the original set designer, Andy Walmsley, and the writer, Walter Bosley, went public with contractual disputes that led them to pull out.

"What people saw was not what I wrote nor what the original director prepared to stage," Bosley wrote in an e-mail. "There was Chet Walker's choreography and the set designer's basic vision ... but the story and heart were missing." The illusions turned out to be "standard fare, well below Vegas standards."

The original producer, Bill Gibson, bowed out in December. Cazou says Gibson decided he could not helm the show from Florida. The production was then financed by "a local investor" she did not identify.

Early shows last fall were delayed, then became nine nonticketed previews. By the time it reopened in early January, Hilton executives were frustrated by the ad campaign ("It runs on steam!"), the lack of a marketing hook and the challenge of explaining the concept to players club members, said a source close to the production. By February, "Triumph" became an "opportunity cost" by its mere existence, blocking other bookings with more potential.

"Our ticket sales were light," Fischer says. But he claims the final weekend drew enough people to prove the show is viable, and public comments collected on video praised its family-friendliness.

"The Hilton doesn't have as much traffic as we had hoped," Fischer says, and proved "quite costly on a daily basis. On a weekday we weren't doing the numbers. You have to stop the bleeding" before it's too late.

Fischer told the 14 dancers he is working to move the show, but that if other jobs come along, "you have to do what you have to do."

"Triumph" originally was set to be an afternoon production Sundays through Thursdays, leaving weekends open for concert headliners. That plan might have been dubious, since the Hilton is isolated for pedestrian tourists. The Sahara and Riviera that once supplied foot traffic are now challenged properties, and newer resorts on the Strip pushed south, not north.

Still, Fischer knew the costs and schedule going in, said the source close to the production. "They supposedly had more investment and were going to promote the hell out of it. A lot of stuff that never happened." ...

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Last week's story about the burlesque and circus show "Absinthe," which opens March 21 in a tent outside Caesars Palace, had co-producer Scott Zeiger saying it would be restricted to customers 21 and older. His explanation, not included, was that a bar will be in business during the show.

The producers have since figured out a way to let "Absinthe" have an age limit of 18, like the other content-restricted shows on the Strip.

Contact reporter Mike Weatherford at mweatherford@ reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0288.