Bat Out of Hell - Las Vegas Residency

[RippedMan]

Posted: 4/22/22 at 2:40pm

Looks like "Bat Out of Hell" will start a Las Vegas residency this year at the Paris according to a casting notice. Non-Union production. 

[tourboi]

Posted: 4/22/22 at 5:06pm

Same producer as before that bungled the tour, Michael Cohl, who also announced a Spider-Man sit down in Vegas that never happened? 

I mean - I wish them well but I'll believe it when I see it. Will it be cut down to 90 minutes? It was hard to comprehend at full length as it was, imho. 

[g.d.e.l.g.i.]

Posted: 4/22/22 at 6:15pm

Whichever venue it is, they'd be better off booking the other Bat, the only tribute that Meat Loaf ever sanctioned while he was alive. The musical, as tourboi says, was borderline incoherent already, and cutting it down for a Vegas residency will turn it into more or less the same show as the band, but with more people.

[RippedMan]

Posted: 4/22/22 at 6:21pm

I don't know normal Union salaries, but the pay is VERY nice. So I guess we'll hold our breath, but don't think this show will do too well in Vegas. Guess it's playing the same space as Jersey Boys?

[Dusoleilcanwhistle]

Posted: 4/22/22 at 7:31pm

Literally one of the worst things I've ever seen on a stage - and I saw WONDERLAND, RING OF FIRE, and IN MY LIFE. Why anyone would book this is beyond me.

Updated On: 4/22/22 at 07:31 PM

[pmensky]

Posted: 4/22/22 at 7:50pm

Oh, I think there are plenty of Meatloaf-loving tourists over the age of 55 visiting Vegas who would pay for a cheap ticket to sit for 90 minutes and be entertained by a bunch of pyrotechnics and the songs of their youth. They’ll be able to keep the ticket prices low because the cast is non-eq, and I hear they’re going to use the set and costumes from “Goddess” and Nomi Malone will play Raven.

[RippedMan]

Posted: 4/22/22 at 8:02pm

$1500 a week ain't too shabby. Unless they're doing like 12 shows a week or something. 

[pmensky]

Posted: 4/22/22 at 8:24pm

RippedMan said: "$1500 a week ain't too shabby. Unless they're doing like 12 shows a week or something."

I bet they do about 10 shows a week. That’s a lot of work for $1500.

[CATSNYrevival]

Posted: 4/22/22 at 11:09pm

Is there a link?

[SouthernCakes]

Posted: 4/22/22 at 11:19pm

Do all the cirque performers also do 10x a week or are there multiple casts? 

[pmensky]

Posted: 4/23/22 at 12:03am

SouthernCakes said: "Do all the cirque performers also do 10x a week or are there multiple casts?"

Only one company of performers for each show. They usually do two shows a night and have Mondays and Tuesdays off. 

[Call_me_jorge]

Posted: 4/23/22 at 10:05am

Can the op add a link or share where this is coming from? I’ve googled “bat out of hell Las Vegas” and couldn’t find anything, except for this 

[g.d.e.l.g.i.]

Posted: 4/23/22 at 11:56am

Oh, pmensky, I admire your optimism, but when these same people can buy even cheaper tickets to hear the same songs performed in their own backyard by the late artist's band and an American Idol winner without the loosest possible storyline hamstrung between them, I predict they'll stick to the one-armed bandit when they hit Sin City.

[pmensky]

Posted: 4/23/22 at 12:32pm

g.d.e.l.g.i. said: "Oh, pmensky, I admire your optimism, but when these same people can buy even cheaper tickets to hear the same songs performed in their own backyard by the late artist's band and an American Idol winner without the loosest possible storyline hamstrung between them, I predict they'll stick to the one-armed bandit when they hit Sin City."

I think you are mistakenly referring to Queen and Adam Lambert. Bat Out of Hell is the music of Jim Steinman made popular by Meatloaf. But, since you brought it up, the Queen jukebox musical, We Will Rock You had a 14 month run in Las Vegas from 2004-05, so there is data showing that tourists buy tickets to these kind of shows in Vegas. 

[g.d.e.l.g.i.]

Posted: 4/23/22 at 1:02pm

I acknowledge that in terms of band and musical, this is very much a parallel situation, but you might try clicking the link, dear. NASCAR dads with a penchant for arena rock cheese will easily take "actual artist's band fronted by a person who looks like him singing the songs of their youth" over "dark queer blink-and-you'll-miss-it-Peter-Pan with a familiar soundtrack."

Since you bring up WWRY, though, am I the only one who noticed that plot-wise, Bat is more or less "WWRY a la Meat Loaf"? (He spelled his name as two words, btw; he was always very sensitive about that.)

[pmensky]

Posted: 4/23/22 at 1:56pm

Sorry, I didn’t see the link in your profile, as I’m color blind. Regardless of which American Idol is on tour with whichever dead front man’s band, my point was that the Vegas run of WWRY shows there could be an audience for this kind of show. Also, the idea that Meat Loaf fans are ‘NASCAR dads with a penchant for arena rock cheese” is kind of a silly stereotype. BOOH ran in London for years. I doubt there are many NASCAR fans frequenting the West End these days, and visitors to Vegas come from all kinds of socioeconomic backgrounds with varied interests. If Vegas can sustain runs of shows like WWRY, Phantom, Jersey Boys, and Menopause, The Musical, there’s a pretty good chance that BOOH has a shot at finding an audience. Also, the American Idol is only touring a handful of cities across 12 states while Vegas hosts over 40 million people from all over the world every year.

[RippedMan]

Posted: 4/23/22 at 2:27pm

It was an audition posting on Actor's Access. 

Producer/Theatre Company: Base Entertainment
Artistic Director: Jay Scheib
Director: Jay Scheib
Musical Director: Michael Reed
Choreographer: Xena Gusthart
Casting Director: Louanne Madorma
Audition Date(s): May 1, 2022
Callback Date(s): May 13, 2022
Rehearsal Date(s): August 1, 2022
Rate of Pay: $1400 - $1600 per week
Location: Las Vegas, NV

 

BAT OUT OF HELL THE MUSICAL
Theatre
Union Status: NON-UNION
Venue: Paris Hotel Resort Las Vegas

[jimmycurry01]

Posted: 4/23/22 at 3:56pm

pmensky said: "BOOH ran in London for years. I doubt there are many NASCAR fans frequenting the West End these days."

I'm not sure where you are getting your statistics, but BOOH ran in Manchestster for about three months, then it ran in London for about two months, before transfering to Toronto for about three months. It had a brief revival in London at the Dominion that lasted about nine months. It certainly did not run in London for years.

Also of note, the infamous US tour never took off, but there is currently a UK tour, and an upcoming Australian tour. Still, those don't equate to a successful London run lasting for years. While I do love the music, and I would happily see the show in Vegas (despite not knowing a thing about NASCAR) even I have to admit that, based on the short length of previous runs, there may not be much of a demand for this show. I do think that if anywhere can pull off a reasonably successful run, Vegas might be the place, so long as it has a 90 minute run-time.

 

[tourboi]

Posted: 4/23/22 at 3:57pm

So is this an entirely new staging of the show? I did note from the pasted casting info below that Base Entertainment is producing, not Michael Cohl. Weird. So if this is a licensed production... that reads to me like the original producers have (finally?) given up on North America for this show. 

Updated On: 4/23/22 at 03:57 PM

[SouthernCakes]

Posted: 4/23/22 at 4:01pm

It would have to be a little diff anyway to fit the truncated version of the show. Not sure but guess we will have answers in Sept. 

[g.d.e.l.g.i.]

Posted: 4/23/22 at 4:15pm

jimmycurry01 said: "I'm not sure where you are getting your statistics, but BOOH ran in Manchester for about three months, then it ran in London for about two months, before transferring to Toronto for about three months. It had a brief revival in London at the Dominion that lasted about nine months. It certainly did not run in London for years.

Also of note, the infamous US tour never took off, but there is currently a UK tour and an upcoming Australian tour. Still, those don't equate to a successful London run lasting for years. "

The Dominion revival also played a brief engagement in Toronto that didn't do so well.

After the initial abortive attempt at a U.S. tour and the run at City Center here in the Big Apple, the original producers also announced, just before the pandemic hit, a series of limited runs at Hard Rock Cafe locations across the country. (There was a lot of talk around the office about how "From the people who brought you Spider-Man and Dance of the Vampires, here comes I Can't Believe It's Not Meat Loaf" evidently wasn't selling well to theater promoters if they had to eat crow and plant the show at chain restaurants all over the place.)

No clue if this Vegas run will be a test drive for those, but it certainly seems to be a separate production from the current UK tour and forthcoming Australian arena tour.

[pmensky]

Posted: 4/23/22 at 4:48pm

jimmycurry01 said: "pmensky said: "BOOH ran in London for years. I doubt there are many NASCAR fans frequenting the West End these days."

I'm not sure where you are getting your statistics, but BOOH ran in Manchestster for about three months, then it ran in London for about two months, before transfering to Toronto for about three months. It had a brief revival in London at the Dominion that lasted about nine months. It certainly did not run in London for years.

Also of note, the infamous US tour never took off, but there is currently a UK tour, and an upcoming Australian tour. Still, those don't equate to a successful London run lasting for years. While I do love the music, and I would happily see the show in Vegas (despite not knowing a thing about NASCAR) even I have to admit that, based on the short length of previous runs, there may not be much of a demand for this show. I do think that if anywhere can pull off a reasonably successful run, Vegas might be the place, so long as it has a 90 minute run-time.

Yes, my bad. The original production did not run for two years on the West End. The original production opened in Manchester in February, 2017, transferred to the West End briefly, then transferred to Toronto briefly, then transferred back to the West End where it closed in January 2019. So the original production ran in 3 venues in just under two years.

 

[RippedMan]

Posted: 4/23/22 at 4:55pm

Arena tour?! They are really underestimating the appeal of this show. Couldn't even sell out City Center. 

[g.d.e.l.g.i.]

Posted: 4/23/22 at 5:28pm

In fairness, Australia has always had an unusual taste, and the reception the work of Loaf and Steinman received in its day is just another example. Bat I knocked the Saturday Night Fever soundtrack off the top of the charts there in '78 and remains one of the country's highest sellers to this day (certified 25x platinum with sales of over 1.75 million), even topping the charts again as of this February. Bat II was no slouch either, settling for a mere 4x platinum. The plot may or may not go over, but the music will certainly sell some tickets there.

[Lot666]

Posted: 4/25/22 at 12:45pm

My husband and I saw it with a friend at NY City Center and we all loved it (and my husband isn't even a Meat Loaf fan). We would've gone back for a second viewing, if we'd had an opportunity. Bradley Dean and Lena Hall singing "Paradise by the Dashboard Light" was worth the price of admission alone.

Updated On: 4/25/22 at 12:45 PM