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There
was a time when performing in Las Vegas represented the absolute
pinnacle of any show-business career. In the early 1960s, when Frank
Sinatra's Rat Pack were shooting the original Ocean's 11 during the day
then singing the night away at the Sands, the city could claim to be
the capital of the international entertainment industry. It was even
hip.
The money is still here in Las Vegas, as was shown by the MGM Grand
paying Barbra Strevisand a reported $20 million to perform on Millennium
Eve, but the world has moved on. As the great names of the past fade
from view, few of the indiidual performers popular with traditional
egas isitors are now considered capable of carrying an extended-run
show.
Today's stars, on the other hand -
Celine Dion excepted - don't
want to spend their lies playing Vegas. Top-selling musicians make
quite enough money from recordings and occasional tours not to need to
spend months at a time in the desert.
Nonetheless, lie entertainment remains a crucial component of the Las Vegas package, and the days of the big-budget "spectacular" are far from
over. The tendency nowadays is to rely on lavish stunts and special
effects rather than global megastars.
A
fair number of old-style Vegas revues are still soldiering on, but there
are more stimulating contemporary productions than you might imagine. In
particular, the arty Canadian-based circus/theater troupe,
Cirque du
Soleil,
has revolutionized attitudes toward what Las Vegas audiences might be
able to handle.
Its two stunning shows, Mystère at
Treasure
Island and the magnificent O at
Bellagio, remain the biggest tickets of
all, though the Luxor 's Blue Man Group has stolen a little of their
avant-garde thunder. To make sure of seeing one of these big-name
shows, especially on a weekend, it's essential to make reservations as
far in advance as possible; if you're happy just to see whatever's
available, however, most of the lesser shows are still selling tickets
right up until showtime.
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It also looks as though Las Vegas might finally be getting more into
tune with the musical tastes of the baby-boom generation. You can still
see Tom Jones, Englebert Humperdinck, and Wayne Newton if you're in town
at the right time, and lots of unfashionable names from the Seventies
and Eighties linger on, but the Hard Rock, Mandalay Bay, and Aladdin
are all now showcasing the biggest names in contemporary rock, reggave,
blues, and soul.
We've reviewed a representative cross-section of Las Vegas shows. All
take place on the Strip ; several of the downtown and off-Strip casinos
have showrooms. Note that the entertainment scene was especially hard
hit by the post-September 11 economic downturn. Several shows closed,
while others reduced their frequency and/or ticket prices. All the
listings here are therefore even more subject to change than usual.
As for what the future may hold, the
Cirque du Soleil will certainly
remain at the forefront. They're said to be developing a show for Steve
Wynn's Le Ree, set in a Himalayan village where all the children aged
under eleven can fly, and another for New York-New York, with a fire
theme to match O's water motif. The biggest single project of all,
however, is the Coliseum at Caesars Palace, intended to draw four
thousand people per night to watch
Celine Dion.
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