A Gamble: Largely Untested, Broadway Shows Take Over the Strip

07:32 AM PT, Jan 30 2006

In the Sunday Review-Journal, Mike Weatherford authored one of the most detailed looks yet at the Broadway/Vegas connection. Weatherford points out the very real possibility (if, for example, longstanding rumors that "The Producers" is coming to Paris Las Vegas pan out) that Broadway shows may wind up outnumbering the soon to be 5---when The Beatles themed show opens at The Mirage in May---Cirque shows in town. Weatherford writes:

It all adds up to a seismic shift in Las Vegas entertainment, albeit one full of jitters. The shaky status of 'Avenue Q' and the ho-hum reaction to a non-Broadway musical, 'We Will Rock You,' run counter to the big bets on the coming titles. But if the trend sticks, it has the potential to reroute the traditional course of a Broadway musical and rewrite the rules for both Las Vegas and New York.

Weatherford concurs with many points made in this column about the challenges and opportunities of customizing both the shows and the theatres for the Las Vegas market. A highlight of the outstanding piece is the sidebars in which Weatherford reminds us of some earlier attempts to bring Broadway style values to the Strip as well as makes predictions about the chances of upcoming efforts. In the former category, Weatherford recalls "Notre Dame de Paris" from 2000 at Paris Las Vegas which closed after only five months (all the main characters die and it was lame, too, Weatherford painfully remembers). As for the chances of "The Phantom of the Opera" set to open in June at the Venetian, Weatherford, avoids committing himself instead choosing to look up and admire the ceiling: "The chandelier will now come together from four pieces controlled by 32 winches that move simultaneously and assemble it before our eyes."

(photo by Andrew Schwartz/Universal)

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