Las Vegans assemble for new ‘Marvel Universe Live!’ tour
The new “Marvel Universe Live!” show “Age of Heroes” — at The Thomas & Mack Center through Sunday — transports audiences to a variety of exotic locales, from an African volcano to outer space.
But there’s one exotic location that unites four of the show’s performers: Las Vegas.
Some, including the guy in the Spider-Man suit, Matthew Daos, grew up in Southern Nevada. Others, such as Kevin Myrick — alias Doctor Strange — moved to Las Vegas to pursue performing opportunities.
They found them in the all-new Marvel arena extravaganza, which launched its two-year North American tour in Southern California earlier this month, following a 2½-month “boot camp.”
During training, performers learned how to “fly” with wires and harnesses, gained experience dealing with pyrotechnics, brushed up their stage combat skills and practiced parkour jumps and high falls.
They also learned about their places in this Marvel Universe, which features more than 25 characters ranging from superheroes to supervillains.
On the good-guy side: the Guardians of the Galaxy, along with such assembled Avengers as Iron Man, Thor, Captain America, the Hulk and Black Widow.
But it’s the diabolical likes of Loki and Green Goblin who serve as catalysts for the show’s battles, prompted by Loki’s quest to control the Wand of Watoomb, an ancient artifact with mystical powers that would enable him to rule not only Asgard but Earth.
“He’s the main reason we’re all in panic mode,” explains Las Vegas native Sierra Estrada, an ensemble member whose roles include a Stone Soldier, a Fire Tribe member and a Chitauri, one of Loki’s minions. “It’s a completely different show from the first” Marvel Universe production that previously played the Thomas & Mack.
“This show is so big, it fills almost the entire arena — it’s almost 360 degrees,” notes Myrick. “There are a lot of things coming from all directions, from flying to pyrotechnics. People are coming from every direction.”
With aerial stunts, special effects and video projection adding to the atmosphere, audiences see “an entirely different show” depending on where they’re sitting, he adds. “Every seat is a great seat, with its own unique” perspective.
And he would know, considering that the show’s storyline finds Doctor Strange calling on the Marvel heroes to assemble and save the day.
“We’re telling a new kind of story,” Myrick comments. “One with combat, fighting and conflict.”
Matthew Daos: Spider-Man
Technically, Daos is a Hawaii native. But he moved to the “ninth island,” alias Las Vegas, at age 2 — and began studying martial arts at 6.
“I stuck with it,” the 22-year-old says. (Indeed he did, winning a world taekwondo championship in 2006.)
By 18, Daos was teaching martial arts at a local studio when he spotted a “Marvel Universe Live!” audition notice.
“It was mainly the stunts that attracted me,” he explains. After all, Spider-Man uses “a lot of martial arts skills” — and Spidey was the role he wanted. (Good thing, too; the 5-foot-8 Daos is too short to play Iron Man, he notes.)
Daos appeared in the previous Marvel Universe show but never tires of portraying the web-slinger, whose “funny sense of humor” makes him a standout.
Despite his extensive martial arts background, Daos had to learn a few moves to play Spidey — notably flying into the air.
“That’s really fun,” he says, describing how he puts a hand loop around his wrist “and you pretty much hang on for the ride.”
“I get to go above the crowd” during performances, he adds, and when “I see the audience, I wave.”
Although Daos’ ultimate goal is to go Hollywood and make movies (particularly with martial arts superstar Jackie Chan), he’s happy to be Spidey on the current “Marvel Universe Live!” tour.
“It has its ups and downs,” he acknowledges. “I’ve been with it so long. But it’s still fun — and that’s all that matters.”
Sierra Estrada: ensemble
Las Vegas native Sierra Estrada considers herself “the daredevil of the family.”
Which explains how, and why, she’s perfectly at home playing with fire, taking 20-foot falls and otherwise demonstrating her daredevilry as a “Marvel Universe Live!” ensemble member who plays a variety of roles.
Estrada recalls one part of her training, where she learned to “hang off a net and dangle with your body weight, then pull yourself up.” That was “so fun,” she says. “I thought, ‘This is the job for me.’ ”
Estrada came to performing relatively late — at 14 — so “I had to work twice as hard to get myself up to the standards of my competition and coworkers,” she says. “In eighth grade, I saw the first ‘Step Up’ movie … I instantly wanted to start dancing.”
Now 23, Estrada pursued her dance studies at the Las Vegas Academy (she later attended the University of Nevada, Reno) and achieved a lifelong dream to be an NBA dancer when she spent a year with the Denver Nuggets’ dance team and realized after dancing in arenas that her “true passion” was performing.
When a friend, who had performed in a previous “Marvel Universe Live!” show, told her about auditions for the current production, Estrada (literally) jumped at the chance to try out.
“I want the audience to feel like they are a part of the action” when she performs, Estrada says. “It’s more fun to watch a show when you feel like that could be you beating up the villains.”
Kaitlin Murdock: Black Cat
Kaitlin Murdock hadn’t been in Las Vegas long when she auditioned for “Marvel Universe Live!”
The 22-year-old — who’s from Huntsville, Alabama — moved to Las Vegas to pursue a dance career, joining a brother who lived here.
Murdock performed in corporate shows and did promotional modeling before auditioning for the Marvel show, which was “something different” that enabled her to add tumbling and aerial work to her movement repertoire.
Learning aerial moves proved “the most challenging part for me,” she says, because she hadn’t done “a lot of harness work. I’m very comfortable performing with wires and stuff now,” especially after the show’s 2½-month training camp.
Joining the Marvel cast has enabled Murdock to “broaden my horizons,” she says.
As one of the show’s few female villains, Murdock’s Black Cat “shows up when Spider-Man’s around,” she explains, describing the character as “a smart, sneaky cat burglar.”
Murdock and Matthew Daos’ Spider-Man “have a little fight sequence in the show,” but her dance background also plays a role in her performance, enabling her to “add a little bit of my dance style to the character,” whom she describes as “slinky.”
And though Black Cat is “completely opposite my personality,” Murdock admits that “I really enjoy playing a villain.”
Kevin Myrick: Doctor Strange
Kevin Myrick only spent a year as an official Las Vegas resident, dancing at corporate events and performing with a local troupe.
But the Southern California native felt at home in Southern Nevada long before he officially moved here.
“I grew up as a competitive dancer,” he explains, and as such visited Las Vegas every summer for national dance competitions, starting at age 10.
“I grew up adoring Vegas,” Myrick says. “I loved the life and energy.” After he moved here, he discovered “such a supportive community of dancers,” where veteran performers are “so much more likely to help you out and support you” than in New York or Los Angeles.
Myrick, 30, spent seven years performing at Disneyland — and another five years touring in Disney Live! shows.
Playing multiple Disney princes proved ideal preparation for the role of Doctor Strange, he explains.
Although Doctor Strange is “not a prince, he is pretty regal,” Myrick says. “It’s a fun new challenge to play a superhero,” especially one who “isn’t very traditional.”
“A lot of superheroes are combat-based,” but Doctor Strange is “pretty refined,” which means Myrick can create “choreography for casting spells.”
Not to mention “this amazing cape,” Myrick says of his character’s signature costume piece. “In the movie, the cape has a life of its own.” And in the show, it’s up to him to “bring this cape to life.” Along with the rest of the character.
Contact Carol Cling at ccling@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0272. Follow @CarolSCling on Twitter.
