Freestyle Love Supreme closing early in Vegas

[windowwaving]

Posted: 1/6/23 at 9:57am

According to the Las Vegas Review Journal, after just opening on November 10th and scheduled to run through April 2023, the show will cut its run short at the Venetian to only January 29. 

Lin Manuel Miranda still set to appear in the show next week. 

https://www.reviewjournal.com/entertainment/entertainment-columns/kats/freestyle-love-supreme-latest-strip-show-to-shut-down-2706687/

[quizking101]

Posted: 1/6/23 at 10:03am

Broadway shows have almost always had a rough time when it comes to Vegas residences - especially because there is such a wider variety of entertainments, not to mention gambling.

Having a nearly 3-month residency on the Strip seems impressive to me for a show not based on any existing IP.

[ErmengardeStopSniveling]

Posted: 1/6/23 at 10:22am

Aside from PHANTOM, has any show lasted longer than a year or two in Vegas? On paper FLS seems like the right fit for Vegas, but evidently not.

[BMcGregor]

Posted: 1/6/23 at 10:32am

I still feel like FLS would work so well as a semi-regular event in NYC in a non-Broadway space. I loved how they had shows during atypical times like 5 pm and 10 pm when they were on Broadway as it allowed you to sneak in a performance of it in addition to a Broadway evening performance. Maybe at a place like New World Stages or something like that where it could play late evening shows with a rotating cast and surprise guest appearances. 

[SouthernCakes]

Posted: 1/6/23 at 10:39am

Jersey Boys lasted awhile, I think? 
 

I think it’s just impossible to compete with the spectacle of the other shows. 

[Islander_fan]

Posted: 1/6/23 at 10:45am

As much as I enjoyed Freestyle when I saw it on Broadway, considering the track record of Broadway shows on the strip, I can’t say that I find this shocking at all. 

[ACL2006]

Posted: 1/6/23 at 11:08am

I think the issue with Broadway shows in Vegas is that you're not going to get repeat guests. I'm surprised Hamilton never did a sit down in Vegas, but Vegas requires shows get cut down to ~100 minutes.

[kdogg36]

Posted: 1/6/23 at 11:27am

ErmengardeStopSniveling said: "Aside from PHANTOM, has any show lasted longer than a year or two in Vegas? On paper FLS seems like the right fit for Vegas, but evidently not."

Starlight Express ran for a little over four years back in the 1990s.

[AEA AGMA SM]

Posted: 1/6/23 at 12:29pm

Mamma Mia ran at Mandalay Bay for six years, and, if I'm not mistaken, was the full two act show during that entire run. The Lion King lasted for just over two and a half years, also at Mandalay Bay, though I don't remember if that was shortened or was also the full two act show. The first Vegas production of Rock of Ages ran for three years at the Venetian, and it has since been brought back several times, though never lasting as long as the first time. 

[jpbran]

Posted: 1/6/23 at 12:39pm

Not sure if any show will ever come close to Mamma Mia and Phantom’s 6+ yr Vegas residencies. Attention spans are even shorter nowadays. 

Updated On: 1/6/23 at 12:39 PM

[AEA AGMA SM]

Posted: 1/6/23 at 12:57pm

I don't think it has anything to do with attention spans. A Broadway musical is just not what Vegas audiences are interested in for the most part. Cirque has cracked the formula and their most popular shows have had incredibly successful runs. For instance, O consistently sells out and has done so since it opened in 1998, with very few, if any, discounts ever being available. Mystere has been running for even longer, and Ka and Love are both approaching the 20 year mark (Ka in 2024 and Love in 2026). 

[everythingtaboo]

Posted: 1/6/23 at 1:02pm

It's playing in a smaller showroom at The Venetian, where comics usually perform. Not surprised it didn't do well, most shows aren't doing great anymore except for Cirque and headliners. Vegas in general has priced themselves out of range for tourists to travel and stay there, the increased rates and nickel-and-diming make it hard for anyone to spend money. Also, prices start at $118.76 - that's ridiculous.

[jpbran]

Posted: 1/6/23 at 1:06pm

Again, attention spans. Cirque shows have pretty much no dialogue or any true plot to follow. (I’ve seen all but the Michael Jackson show at least once.) Audience members arrive and leave at random times, look at their phones a LOT and even nap (especially the later evening shows.) They’re lovely-to-view shows in air conditioned theatres with comfortable seats and no plot to follow. 

Updated On: 1/6/23 at 01:06 PM

[Jarethan]

Posted: 1/6/23 at 2:34pm

FLS never seemed to me the type of show that would work on Vegas.  To really enjoy it, people first of all had to want to see that type of show and, secondly, concentrate.  Just doesn’t sound like a Vegas audience to me.  Maybe if they’d inserted 20 minutes of magic in the middle.

[VintageSnarker]

Posted: 1/6/23 at 9:32pm

Jarethan said: "FLS never seemed to me the type of show that would work on Vegas. To really enjoy it, people first of all had to want to see that type of show and, secondly, concentrate. Just doesn’t sound like a Vegas audience to me. Maybe if they’d inserted 20 minutes of magic in the middle."

Really? I feel like musical improv is at about the same level of entertainment as a bad comedian and bad comedians do great in Vegas. Maybe it's the genre of music. 

[inception]

Posted: 1/6/23 at 10:55pm

I think part of the problem is the title.  If it was called "Funny Improv Rapping Show" it might do better in Las Vegas.

Also it doesn't help that they don't get as many celeb guests there as the NYC runs had.

When I saw it in NYC in 2019 I thought it was OK but not really anything special. 

[BoringBoredBoard40]

Posted: 1/6/23 at 11:43pm

Its not even really Freestyle Love Supreme anymore....it doesn't feature any founding members, if Lin and UTK and Chris were doing this every night in Vegas it would be PACKED