Las Vegas may not be the place where one thinks of theater before all else, but yet. . . .
We were there last month for the annual conference of the American Theatre Critcs Assn. I’ve been a member for more than 30 years and, as a boastful aside, may I also note that I am the only person to hold membership in both the ATCA and the Pro Football Writers Assn. of America. Ask at your own risk.
In several different areas, Las Vegas is breaking new ground for theater – for several reasons, the city has pioneered the 90-minute, no-intermission production of shows that originated on Broadway. "The Producers," "Spamalot," "Blue Man Group" and "Phantom of the Opera" are up and running now, along with five different Cirque du Soleil entertainments, an old-fashioned Las Vegas revue, drag shows, comedians, impersonators and countless other ways to spend time and money while being entertained. Tickets are in the $100 range, though high-rollers are probably comped.
Why the abbreviated versions? Some reasons I can offer: Casinos want to get ‘em back at the tables and machines. Visitors have a "more, more, more" attitude that wants to crowd as much action as possible into their time in Las Vegas. Producers have an Actors’ Equity contract that calls for 10 performances a week, and Nevada is a right-to-work (for less!) state. People obviously are as eager to spend $100 for a ticket in the desert as in the city. For me, a half-hour less of Andrew Lloyd Webber music is a reason to attend. Even shorter would be even better. Besides, speaking generally, less is often more. I’ve seen many plays that would be improved with judicious trimming.
I skipped "Phantom," but a fellow critic reported it more enjoyable than the full-length version. He also had learned, during a backstage visit, that one long scene is included on Broadway only so that stage hands are able to do setup work for the next scene. I saw "Spamalot," and it was as good as the version that played St. Louis, mainly because some of the less-funny lines had been dropped and the expository scenes had been trimmed.
"Blue Man Group," on the other hand, offered me less in the shorter version because of the Disney-fication of the show. I saw it in New York, at the Public Theatre, many years ago, and was charmed by the intimacy of the production and the work of the three clowns. The performances are as good today, but the larger theater and the technical progress allow for a plethora of special effects that are impressive – and extremely loud – but visually and aurally drown out much of the work that the clowns have done so well. The group has lost some of its humanity, and that’s an unfortunate loss.
That brings us to Cirque du Soleil
Five of the Montreal-based shows – "O," "Mystere." "Ka," "Love" and "Zumanity" – are headliners at hotels, with $100 tickets not unusual. The first two involve some magnificent water acrobatics, high dives, pyramids, gripping stuff. "Ka" is the newest, involving a vertical wall and some of the finest climbers one can imagine. "Love" is less exotic, but more familiar to many of us, since it is set to music by the Beatles. "Zumanity" was originally billed as the sexiest, but it has been toned down since it opened. It was the one I did not see, but a few fellow-critics thought it overrated, with jokes that didn’t fit and stale routines. “La Reve,” produced by the Wynn Las Vegas, was conceived and directed by Franco Dragone, the man behind several of the Cirque spectaculars; it is not a Cirque production, but the show has the same look and feel as the others.
But "O," "La Reve" and "Ka" are magnificent entertainment. The shows are in theaters that were built specifically for them, so the technical aspects and necessities drove the design and construction. No expense was spared, no effect left out, no safety feature ignored.
Taking a couple of backstage tours, I was impressed even more. A crew of technicians was working to check a light or two, a team of people on sewing machines, washing machines and ironing boards was working on costumes, which receive very hard use from the stretches and twists of the performers, not to mention the stress of impact into the water.
Below the water level, but backstage (or maybe understage), we saw the lifts that rise and fall, breaking water to prepare for dancers and acrobats. St. Louisans or others with outdoor stages are familiar with stagehands and mops drying stages after a rain, squeezing off every drop of water to prepare it for dancers.
Not at Cirque.
The stage surface is covered with a rubberized floor mat, like those used on high school and college tracks, and it is perforated so that the water drains rapidly. A good drainage system helps, but Cirque performers are in action seconds after the stage comes up and out into the air, shedding water faster than a shaking dog.
Divers in gear wait under the water for performing divers to split the surface, a swoop of more than 60 feet, then lead them to air hoses and scuba masks where air awaits. On the dry side of the glass, names are attached to the windows. Performers come to their own name tag to await their next cue. Someone on the other side is watching for them. It is, in a word, amazing.
And as one who had not visited Las Vegas in more than 30 years, I was certain I owned my critical acumen a visit to one of the old-fashioned shows to celebrate and show off the female body. "Jubilee," has been on stage more than 25 years with lovely, silicone-enhanced dancers parading hither and yon, pausing to kick yon and hither, while someone sang "A Pretty Girl Is Like a Melody." There’s more nudity than there was the last time I was there, and the costumes are different, but the show is otherwise almost the same as in days of yore.
-Joe