SPIN CYCLE : Schlock and awe at pricey Las Vegas shows
Posted on Sunday, November 30, 2008
So much for what happens in Vegas stays in Vegas. Even Vegas isn’t happening in Las Vegas these days. That’s according to the local television news reports declaring financial doom on the flatscreen in our hotel room (which was not the kind of room we requested; we couldn’t get that, we were told, because despite troubled times the place was booked solid ), while outside our window the optimistic lights of Nevada’s Neverland blinked and blinded as always. We didn’t notice evidence of a downturn in tourism during our recent stay where we witnessed swarms of other deflated-401 (k ) owners relishing fine restaurants, lining up at the clubs, browsing and buying in the boutiques and donating dollars to the slots and tables. And splurging on tickets to pricey shows. We had plenty of company while taking in four of the Strip’s blockbusters, each reviewed here. (Note that ticket prices do not include tax. )
One notable new show we missed: Bette Midler’s act at Caesars Palace, which was sold out of its $ 117- $ 272 tickets. See ? That has to mean the economy isn’t a total disaster. Or Divine Miss M fans are in total denial.
CRISS ANGEL: BELIEVE
Luxor, $ 59- $ 150, (800 ) - 557-7428, www. luxor. com. Showtimes are 7 and 10 p. m. Friday-Tuesday.
The Luxor believes in Believe. So much that the pyramid-shape casino bet an estimated $ 100 million on the joint project between illusionist Criss Angel and Cirque du Soleil, which opened with much fanfare and strobe lights last month.
But making this haunting yet hokey show with bigger holes than Angel’s jeans a long-term success will require an act of magic not unlike walking across Lake Mead (been there, appeared to do that ). Hopefully he has more up his sleeve than troupes of dancing bunnies and moles and a body double hiding his face (very obvious during one skit ).
Boyish Angel begins by working and wowing the crowd with the types of tricks that tickle fans on his A&E daredevil show Mindfreak. But then there’s an “accident” that causes him to enter a dream sequence like Dorothy in The Wizard of Oz if she had tattoos, shopped at Hot Topic and traded her motley entourage for some French-Canadian clowns. The action only gets more sinister (dismemberment ) and silly (dismemberment via vengeful costumed rabbits ?) from there.
Still, the theater and varied visuals delight, the Cirque dancers dazzle and several of Angel’s stunts (disappearing, levitating, working his way out of a straitjacket while dangling over the crowd ) impress. But even he knows nothing he does on stage is quite as interesting as his recent bunny-out-of-the-Mansion trick. He’s now dating Holly Madison (an ex-girlfriend of Playboy founder Hugh Hefner ) whose name he was quick to drop at the beginning of the show.
For all his talent, Angel wasn’t able to make one audience skeptic disappear, however.
“This show sucks !” a voice behind us yelled out midshow into the darkness of the theater. LOVE BY CIRQUE DU SOLEIL
The Mirage, $ 93. 50- $ 160, (800 ) 963-9634, www. mirage. com. Showtimes are 7 and 10 p. m. Thursday-Monday (the show will not be performed Tuesday through Dec. 17 ).
All you need is love (OK, and at least $ 93. 50 plux tax ) to take in Love, Cirque du Soleil’s colorful and kinetic tribute to The Beatles that is all set to the Fab Four’s hits like “Help,” “ Lucy in the Sky With Diamonds, ” “Revolution” and “Here Comes the Sun.”
Less about stunts (although there are plenty of aerialists and even flipping in-line skaters ), the whimsical 60-member show, with lots of dancing and character interplay, is more about celebration. The action loosely and lovingly traces the band’s journey from young lads in Liverpool to the rise of Beatlemania as clips of the men play on giant screens.
It helps to be a fan of the music — not only from an enjoyment standpoint (there are even speakers in the audience members’ chairs ), but also from a comprehension standpoint (characters like Sgt. Pepper and Eleanor Rigby surface throughout the show ). And anyone who has seen one of Cirque’s other five Vegas shows or traveling performances knows not to spend too much time dissecting the meaning. Just take in the wild acid trip of curious characters and spectacular sights and, well, “Let It Be.”
JERSEY BOYS The Palazzo, $ 62. 70- $ 199. 73, (866 ) 641-7469, www. palazzo lasvegas. com. Showtimes are 7 p. m. Thursday-Monday, 6: 30 and 9: 30 p. m. Tuesday and Saturday. To listen to the upbeat melodies of The Four Seasons, one might think the 1960 s guy group’s biggest problems in life were convincing girls named Sherry to go out on dates and breaking up with stubborn chicks with inactive tear ducts. But those were the least of the worries of Frankie Valli and fellow Jersey boys Tommy De-Vito, Bob Gaudio and Nick Massi, who had a high-drama rise to fame — one that included jail stints, debt, divorce, family tragedy and mob entanglements — in addition to high-pitched hits like “Dawn (Go Away )” and “Walk Like a Man.” Their ups and downs are chronicled in a forceful, fingersnapping Tony Award-winning docu-musical told from the perspective of the four band members. While the production, onstage at the Palazzo since May, takes place in a handsome custom theater, the set and effects take a back seat to the sometimes carefree and sometimes complicated story communicated by capable tellers. In the role of Frankie, Rick Faugno delivers his falsetto flawlessly. Maybe too flawlessly, says my mother, who had the opportunity to see the real Four Seasons back in the day. She says this cast was better. PHANTOM: THE LAS VEGAS
SPECTACULAR The Venetian, $ 62. 70- $ 199. 73, (866 ) 641-7469, www. vene tian. com. Showtimes are 7 p. m. Monday-Saturday with 9: 30 p. m. performances Monday and Saturday.
Several factors make this production of Andrew Lloyd Webber’s enduring musical The Phantom of the Opera — about Christine (played by gifted soprano Erin Stewart ), a chorus girl who becomes the obsession of a deformed composer who haunts the Paris Opera House (played by intense Tony winner Anthony Crivello ) — the best we’ve ever seen. Besides the brilliant cast and stirring music.
1. It was short. (Come on, like even the most passionate show “Phans” don’t find Lloyd Webber’s repetition a little tiresome. ) In the interest of freeing up casino patrons for gambling as quickly as possible, the original 150-minute show has been cut down to a fast-paced 95-minute performance with no intermission. We didn’t feel the least bit rushed or cheated.
2. It has Vegas-tastic effects. The Spectacular, which opened in 2006, is definitely that, set in an elaborate theater with an astonishing crashing 2, 000-pound chandelier (one that the phantom dangles from ), not to mention lots of smoke and fireworks.
3. We could indulge in overpriced drinks and snacks. We didn’t, but the option was there, as it is with all Vegas theaters, which come complete with cupholders, as casinos will gladly take any dollar people have, any way they can get it. All I ask of you is to e-mail: jchristman@arkansasonline. com Spin Cycle is a weekly smirk at pop culture.
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