The Great(er) White Way
The boom of musical theater to the Las Vegas resorts has caused quite a few divergent opinions in the industry. It’s no secret that some of the more stalwart characters in the New York theater scene regard the culture of Sin City much like Milburn Drysdale regarded the culture of the Clampett clan. It’s not so much the fact that the home of the Rat Pack is doing musical theater or the production values. In terms of production value Las Vegas is second to none in terms of complexity, integration and artistic appeal in the creative elements. We can hold our own, and well, a little bit of everyone else’s too. I’ve trotted around this planet many times in the last few decades and I don’t think it’s an overstatement to say the Las Vegas is the entertainment capital of the world. Entertainment technology included.
The thing that has the classic B-way gang knickers in a twist is the changing of established shows to fit in the Vegas model. Ninety minutes, no intermission, two shows a night most nights. Anyone that’s done the casino and corndog classic rock circuit knows all well what the deal is. Get ‘em in, get ‘em drunk, entertain them and turn them loose on the casino or other attractions. They just reworked Avenue Q to fit in the Vegas format. They’ll do the same for Spamalot, Phantom of the Opera and the rumored Producers for their Vegas runs. The other thing that some are fretting about, the lock in of B-way hits to exclusive deals in Vegas. Case in point, Avenue Q and the soon to open Spamalot. Wynn inked a deal for multiyear exclusives for both shows outside of New York and the West End. That means no Spamalot truck and bus coming to a local performing arts center near you. I don’t necessarily see this as a bad thing, truck and bus, or even regional runs aren’t able to afford either logistically or economically the production value of the big shows. I’ve got several pals doing theater truck and bus or regional runs and they do a hell of a job, but you just can’t make it feasable to offer the same production value on that basis then you can in a theater purpose built for the show.
My point, depending on where you stand is either an insightful prediction or me talking out my ass. Las Vegas will save the musical theater business.
What…The…Hell…Did…You…Just…Say…?
Las Vegas will save the musical theater biz in a way that until recently not too many have thought about. Theater is expensive to produce and it’s a crap shoot. Having it based in Manhattan certainly isn’t doing it any favors. It’s been said that 80% of all B-way shows lose money, the next 10% break even and the rest are the money makers. What the hell kind of business model is that? That’s as stupid as how the record industry works. Granted, legit theater stuff like Death of a Salesman or The Graduate (two of my favs) probably won’t work here as a casino show. Comedy and musicals will though. There is a lower cost, higher standard of living for the employees, most of which are not bound by prohibitive union contracts. I love my brothers and sisters in Local One but some of the work rules and limited availability of theater space puts some constraints that add to the already difficult business climate. In terms of theater construction and development, we can build them twice as fast for a third the cost. In twelve months we could match every seat on Broadway in a modern setting and not even flinch. This could be a boon for those that can’t get their productions financed in New York. The casinos are always looking for new ideas and in the big picture dropping a few mil on something where you already have the infrastructure isn’t a bad bet. I might not be a theater arts major, but I did stay at a Holiday Inn Express the other night.
January 30th, 2006 at 1:39 pm
The musical theater industry just might be headed west. Casinos can easily support productions that otherwise might be backbreaking to Broadway producers. But it will take time.
The prestige and history of Broadway is still a huge consideration. Vegas shows still have the stigma of being disposable entertainment, although the Blue Man Group and Cirque shows have helped chisel away at that stigma. Vegas itself will draw shows that fit the current marketing strategy of the city - “What happens in Vegas stays in Vegas” doesn’t lend itself to the family-friendly shows. Remember they tried to market Vegas as a family destination in the ’90s and that didn’t really work, hence the aforementioned campaign.
I have a feeling that Vegas will cherrypick the best Broadway has to offer as long as it fits their target market. It will also continue to produce exclusive shows (Hunchback, We will Rock You) that would have otherwise been a great risk on Broadway. I think they will be more inclined than Broadway to gamble on shows because they can support the loss.
A new breed of musical might actually come out of this.
January 30th, 2006 at 7:17 pm
It makes me think that the opprotunity to do very large, complex shows that would be difficult in B-way, more possible in LV. Cirque is certainly an example of a complex show, but imagine the complexity and scale upped and its still doable in Vegas. Exciting times ahead it appears. Almost makes me want to move… almost.
January 30th, 2006 at 8:50 pm
What many people are forgetting is that B’way in Vegas and the “tab” version of the traditional musical are nothing new.
It’s never been a runaway success, but who knows this time… and while your point about production expense is well taken, I don’t think you’ll be seeing too many new productions (of anything) starting here - the audience for new material just isn’t there, nor is an audience for just about anything but straight-up musical comedy (Mamma Mia!) or spectacle (Cirque, Phantom) - as you noted. Even bringing a Huge Broadway Hit to Vegas has been no guarantee of a good run (See Chicago, Cabaret, Saturday Night Fever, We Will Rock You (OK, West End), Starlight Express, etc. etc. etc.)
I think there IS an audience here for light, snappy musical comedy that doesn’t suffer when cut down to a tab version. Fortunately, I’m on one (Hairspray). But I’m not buying this “Vegas is the New Broadway” hype, and I think when and if The Producers comes here you will see the definition of stinker. I agree with Eric that they’ll continue to try established shows here that they think fit a very specific mold, and I hope I’ll be on them.
January 30th, 2006 at 10:16 pm
There are a couple of things happening now that weren’t happening when Starlight or Chicago (not exactly Vegas material) were in town. There are more, higher profile shows in town. Keith’s show is next door to you guys, Jason’s down the Strip will open later this year. You guys start next week (thinking of going to the previews, loved the movie, Harvey is awesome), There’s Ave Q, Spamalot and Phantom plus the off B-way stuff at the Gold Coast, Rio and Hilton. The rumor is that The Producers will take the room that WWRY had. I disagree that a Vegas formatted Producers might fail. Remember, the stage production is based on a nearly 40 year old movie that ran just under 90 mins. They shouldn’t have a problem adapting it to a 90 min Vegas format. The shows that failed failed because they weren’t what people wanted to see in Vegas. You gotta match the show to the demographic. It’s one thing to have a B level casino show that does afternoons (no names please) that can plug along with the crowd and another thing to have a prime time big show on The Strip.
Would “O” even previewed on (or off) B-way? I say no way. That show easily equals or bests anything on B-way in terms of butts on seats and revenue. I think this is going to be a fundimental change in comedic musical theater though the creative element may very well stay in Manhattan while launching the shows in Vegas. Look what happened with the movie biz over the last couple of decades. Used to be Hollywood and the Valley had a lock on it. Got too expensive to work there and they moved to Toronto, Vancouver, down under and UK/Europe. The same thing is likely to happen in musical theater. The costs incurred in Manhattan cannot be sustained. A reported US$600k/wk for Chitty Chitty Bang Bang that has to be supported on ticket revenue and merch alone? Now that’s not really a Vegas show but the economics of Vegas can change what’s happening on B-way. Through the ’80s I lived in Hollywood with a person that was an established producer/writer. No one, including her or her peers thought that people would start shooting that much in other places until it became too expensive to work in LA county. They didn’t expect it, the old timers denied it and before they knew it, those shoots had left town.
This is the same sort of thing.
Dave
January 30th, 2006 at 11:34 pm
Adapting the Producers to a 90 minute format wouldn’t be the problem… the problem would be that it’s so NY-centric that a lot of the material doesn’t play well outside of NYC and a few selected cities (and I say this from experience, having spent 3 years on both Producers national tours - which did OK, but not great). The demographic is the problem - I don’t think Bob & Sue from Idaho have a whole lot of interest in the material. (And you can forget the Yiddish jokes!) There’s a huge place in my heart for that show, and I want it to do well… but I would bet against it here. (And hey, I might even find a casino willing to give me odds on it!)
I agree with you on O - never could have been done in NYC, too big of a risk. There’s another tide changing here in Vegas, though, that may prevent us from seeing another “O” - realizing that they don’t have to bear the financial risk of shows alone, hotels are bringing in huge corporate partners (Like Clear Channel, a partner in Phantom along with the hotel) or just straight-up renting the room to an outside producer (like Hairspray). They benefit from the increased traffic with little (or no) risk. That kind of risk-averse thinking makes another O increasingly unlikely as time goes on. It’s also worth noting that although O was a huge hit for Steve Wynn, his luck these days picking a hit is failing, and he may be the last big risk taker on the strip.
The biggest problem with the movie analogy is that wherever you make a movie, the audience is in the same place. It doesn’t matter how much more advantageous it is to produce a show here if the audiences won’t diversify beyond a few simple tastes. I thought Avenue Q would be a slam dunk here - cheap to run, funny as hell, great script, great show, “adult” enough to be naughty… and still it can’t find an audience. I am mystified. So far, the only true theatre show (meaning something with a book) that is a success is Mamma Mia, and that’s only at 7 shows per week. New York has a demographic diverse and sophisticated enough that while Mamma Mia is a hit there (at 8 shows per week), so is Doubt. I don’t think that theatre alone is enough to change the interests of the tourists who visit - I can’t see Vegas ever becoming a destination of choice for theatre fans in the same way that NYC is.
February 8th, 2006 at 2:56 am
It’s nice to have a discussion about theater rather than a discussion about why and how the Superbowl sound was not as good as it could have been.
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