Musicals that Should Come to Vegas- Page 2

[Phantom of London]

Posted: 1/2/10 at 8:22pm

New York and London are the theatre capitals of the world, Las Vegas strives to be as big, but unfortunately musicals do not seem to last that long there.

Just out of interest what theatre do Las Vegas have and what are there capacities please?

[winston89]

Posted: 1/2/10 at 8:59pm

Phantom of London. Most of the time there are theatre that are built just for the show itself. A good example of this would be the theatre that is at The Venetian for Phantom. Others I do believe build generic Broadway style theatres that can be used for different shows and aren't tailored to one particular show. I do know that at The Wynn resort the theatre was called The Avenue Q theatre when Avenue Q played there and then called The Grail Theatre when Spamalot played the strip. I do believe but am not 100 per cent sure that these two were in fact the same theatre with a different name.

I don't know for example if Mandalay Bay's theatre changed between Mamma Mia playing there and The Lion King playing there.

Oh and Music Snob, you are in correct. Avenue Q did shorten its length during the course of its run. It did open up to the full length version that was seen on Broadway. Yes, there were some minor changes that they did for the Vegas production that then got put into the other productions of the show so that they all were identical. If you look at this article from Broadway.com that announces the closing of the Vegas production, you would see in the first line that the show was truncated from its full length during their run in Vegas
Broadway.com's article on the closing of Avenue Q

[MusicSnob1]

Posted: 1/2/10 at 9:04pm

I wasn't referring to Avenue Q, winsty poo. Nice try though...

[winston89]

Posted: 1/2/10 at 9:35pm

Ok Snob. I know I am correct about Avenue Q. I know I am correct in that Mamma Mia's Vegas production was not truncated down into a one act. I also said I BELIEVE that We Will Rock You started out at full length and then got shortened down. Not that it did or that it was a fact. So there is nothing that you can say that was wrong with my first paragraph. I know you like to be a bit of a dick Too Darn Hot, but frankly it ain't working this time.

[BenjaminNicholas2]

Posted: 1/2/10 at 9:52pm

Chicago has played Vegas. It actually did well and attracted some nice talent to the show... Chita has a run as Velma there if I remember correctly.

Hairspray was entirely too open-minded for Vegas. It was a fantastic theater and cast, but the audiences wanted more flash.

Phantom is only filling their theatre thanks to offering ridiculous discounts and throwing free tix at their gamblers. I'm sad that Brent left the title role and am not that hot on watching Anthony garble his way through this role now. Bleh.

WWRY: Awful. Terrible changes for Vegas. God awful.

Notre Dame: I actually enjoyed this and was in the minority. I had seen it years before in London and enjoy it even more so on the West End. Guilty pleasure.

Mamma Mia: Shouldn't have ever closed IMO. The audiences were still strong and the cast was better than the current tour.

Ave Q: A damned shame how it was treated in Vegas and Steve Wynn is still my hero for taking a chance on this very awesome show. Great cast. Beautiful theater.


I'm sick of Cirque. Vegas is getting sick of Cirque (as evidenced by the poor showing of Believe and the newest show at City Center, Elvis). They are getting to the point of having an inability to top themselves, technically. The shows no longer have any heart and it's all mechanics, smoke and water. The athletic quality to the shows have diminished and now it's all about how much 'effect' they can put into each scene. KA, to me, was the beginning of the end.

It's also happening to their touring shows as well. All new concepts are failing, not connecting with audiences and failing to live up to the glory days when Franco Dragone was at the helm.



BN

[LizzieCurry]

Posted: 1/2/10 at 10:10pm

I saw Love and thought it was excellent, but I wasn't blown away like a lot of other people. Maybe it's because it's not a huge Beatles fan, but I dunno. It was good, but I won't see it again.

The Jersey Boys Theatre is a surprisingly low-key house, design-wise (especially considering the tackiness of the zebra bar right outside). I've gone back to see the show about 3 or 4 times a year since it opened there, and although the 10 p.m. shows have been pretty hit-or-miss, it's a very good production.

I've seen Phantom twice in Vegas and don't think I want to see it anywhere else. I love its excess and ridiculous bombast, especially the fire and knives. Horrifying and hilarious.

[Mr Roxy]

Posted: 1/2/10 at 10:41pm

Whatever happened to the new Jerry Herman musical? I believe it was called Miss Spectacular. It died after the concept album a number of years ago.

[uncageg]

Posted: 1/2/10 at 10:57pm

neal, of course I was out and about in LV. But returned to the room on several occasions to drop things off and change. That's how annoying it was. I stayed in the hotel and had to hear the music when I left my room, when I walked through the casino, in the elevators, Lobby and when outside of the hotel either leaving or returning. It was overkill.

[ACL2006]

Posted: 1/3/10 at 12:28am

I'll second Rock of Ages, but does anyone else think Hair could work in Vegas??

[Scott Briefer]

Posted: 1/3/10 at 7:27pm

KA is amazing

[uncageg]

Posted: 1/4/10 at 1:08pm

Scott, I have seen Cirque "tent" shows (I worked for them also) but I was jaw dropped during "KA". And the speakers in the seat head-rests were impressive!

[gvendo2005]

Posted: 1/4/10 at 2:12pm

Hair in Vegas would actually be a homecoming to some degree. In 1969, Hair was going to be produced in Hawaii (one of many sit-down productions running at once, a move revolutionary for the time), but there was no suitable venue, so in a move that would forever confuse the **** out of at least me if not others, Michael Butler packed the whole cast on a plane after they rehearsed in their home state and flew 'em out to Vegas. The "Pakalolo Tribe" played the full show in the Theater Royale at the International Hotel from October 1969 to October 1971, and become the "Rainbow Tour" (no joke) thereafter, criss-crossing the U.S. spreading the message of the Age of Aquarius.

(The hotel later became a Hilton, while the show room then known as the "Theater Royale" became a Benihana's restaurant.)

Updated On: 1/4/10 at 02:12 PM

[nomdeplume]

Posted: 1/4/10 at 4:34pm

Here ya go.
Next Musical for Vegas

[husk_charmer]

Posted: 1/4/10 at 6:29pm

Mame played in Vegas in 1968 and 1969. Loretta Switt was Gooch and Celeste Holm took over as Mame (fairly quickly, like it opened December 68, she started January 69).

[BenjaminNicholas2]

Posted: 1/4/10 at 7:23pm

Musicals in Vegas are just a tough sell. What Cirque has done is basically ruin the audience member by turning their attention span into JELLO.

We now expect speakers in the seats. Ridiculous amounts of intelligent lighting. Lasers. Pyro. Etc. It's all done in order to take away from the fact that Cirque couldn't string together a palpable storyline if their life depended on it.

KA was storied to have one: They lied. It's a mess, albeit a very expensive and pretty mess.



BN

[LizzieCurry]

Posted: 1/4/10 at 8:00pm

It's too bad there's no more Broadway series. I saw Les Miz in Las Vegas in 2001 and 2004 -- at the Aladdin and the Cashman, respectively. Kind of an odd experience, but having "regular" ol' theatre there was also nice.

[camncal]

Posted: 2/17/10 at 5:25am

I think Wicked and Rock of Ages are the only two that might have a life in Vegas. It would be great if they build a theatre specifically for Wicked, like you're actually in Oz.
Maybe Dreamgirls may have a shot. I think it was very bad timing for Hairspray to open in Vegas the time it did. If it had open after the movie came out, it might've done a lot better.

[Mister Matt]

Posted: 2/17/10 at 12:07pm

Nothing could compete with Cirque's "O", though. Truly breathtaking.

Except Le Reve, which I felt was a far superior version of O. I even preferred Love to O.

Rock of Ages is perfect for Vegas and after seeing Return to the Forbidden Planet in London, I always felt it would be a great show for Vegas. It's hilarious, inventive and the songs are already popular standards. I loved it.

[philly03]

Posted: 2/17/10 at 7:23pm

I'm surprised Frank Wildhorn hasn't tried to stage something there. You'd think with all the ballads it'd be perfect to attrack some talent too.

While I think something like The Scarlet Pimpernel would close the same it opened in Vegas, they could do a lot with Jekyll & HYDE or DRACULA, the musical (Austrian version), especially since both (in my opinion) cut be cut down a lot and be intermissionless. Not to mention both have the room in their plots to have some great spectacles (ie: flying stunts in DRACULA).

[PiraguaGuy2]

Posted: 2/17/10 at 7:45pm

I've been thinking about it more and more and I think American Idiot would work really well as a resident show in Vegas, maybe in one of the hipper, twenty-something oriented casinos (the Hard Rock or the Palms...hell, Planet Hollywood could probably use a show that can survive without a former Playmate in it). Maybe the Luxor can get rid of that Criss Angel fiasco and put it in, they've been trying to get hipper lately.

[tourboi]

Posted: 2/18/10 at 9:13am

You and me, both, Lizzie. I toured through Vegas a few years ago (I think it was the last year that Bacci, the tour presenter in Vegas, was in existence).

I wish someone would come along and pick up where they left off. It was a great town to tour through, and we actually did decent biz there (playing mostly to locals who came to the strip for the show.).

[inlovewithjerryherman]

Posted: 2/18/10 at 1:22pm

"Rock of Ages" for SURE. It'd run and run and run.


"Priscilla, Queen of the Desert" would do well.

I think several off-broadway musicals that had decent runs would do well too, especially girl-power or hot boy shows. Four that come to mind are "Menopause: the Musical", "Respect: A Musical Journey of Women", "Naked Boys Singing", and "Altar Boyz".


Updated On: 2/18/10 at 01:22 PM

[Mister Matt]

Posted: 2/18/10 at 1:28pm

A gem of a revue I saw in London called All You Need is Love would probably work nicely as well. It's not a tribute show like Beatlemania, but just a revue of Lennon/McCartney songs a la Smokey Joe's Cafe with stunning arrangements. Speaking of Smokey Joe's Cafe, I wonder why that never had a run on the Strip.

[PiraguaGuy2]

Posted: 2/18/10 at 1:45pm

Menopause the Musical and Naked Boys Singing are already in Vegas.

[inlovewithjerryherman]

Posted: 2/18/10 at 4:19pm

PiraguaGuy,

It figures. Women of drinking age love thems two shows.

Maybe I'll produce "Respect" and/or "Altar Boyz" in Vegas and become rich. I feel like "Altar Boyz" has already been done there, though?