Love Vs. Phantom: the anniversary

 

Here is a question that is a little more tricky: how do I know Love is so successful? After all, Cirque does not release its numbers to me. And, the Las Vegas formula for selling, grouping and even giving comps results in a ticket distribution system so complex that very few probably know in a legitimate way the actual bottom line profit/loss of any show on the Strip. For example, sticking with Love, I just checked on-line and I can easily find tickets still  to see Love for any performance next week; most interestingly, this includes decent seats to see Love on June 26. That is the date Love is celebrating its one year anniversary. That night Larry King will be at Mirage broadcasting a "one year anniversary of Love" version of his CNN show, featuring the founder of Cirque, both living Beatles as well as the widows of John Lennon and George Harrison. My guess is that those June 26 tickets will vanish swiftly. Yet, for now, they are still available for even such an important night.

 

For myself,  trying to figure out how successful a show is on the Strip often involves a very complex reading of tea leaves. Yes, it helps to know ticket brokers and box office workers. That is where I get a lot of my best information. But in Las Vegas there is a good rule of thumb: success is franchised and celebrated. By that measure Love is a huge success. The release of the chart topping Love soundtrack was inevitable. But if the show had not been doing well the Beatles' Revolution Lounge (where Larry King will be broadcasting from) would not have opened. Most important, this massive victory party with national press and actual Beatles would be much more low key.

For example, around the same time Love opened at Mirage, over at Venetian, Phantom of the Opera opened as Phantom: The Las Vegas Spectacular. Back then Andrew Lloyd Webber told me he was not fond of this name change but was confident that after a short time in Vegas, success for Phantom would allow for the original moniker to be returned to his creation. That has not happened. The one year anniversary for Phantom: The Las Vegas Spectacular is being celebrated tomorrow night with a reception. No mention of Andrew Lloyd Webber being there or any of the hoopla of the opening for Phantom a year ago.

That doesn't mean that Phantom has proven to be a failure. Not at all. In fact, surviving a  year was not an accomplishment reached by recent shows at other resorts like Avenue Q (Wynn) and Hairspray (Luxor). In fact, I hear that Phantom is hanging in there better than, for example, The Producers (now without David Hasselhoff). But, like I said, this is reading tea leaves. Yet, this basic truth is worth noting: failure happens very quietly in Vegas, and only success makes a lot of noise. (This is as true of a show as it is of winning vs. losing while playing a slot machine.) And, the noisiest show on the Strip right now, by far, is Love. (Photo by Sarah Gerke)