‘Baz’ knows Vegas still deserves it

Some people just don't give up on Las Vegas entertainment, or trying to close the gap between what is and what should be on the Strip.

As nightclubs continue to marginalize traditional shows, "Baz" was a noble experiment in taking the fight to the enemy. It was an ambitious theatrical tribute to film director Baz Luhrmann staged in the Light club at Mandalay Bay.

Cool idea, cool setting. But the show closed abruptly last weekend, and co-producer Scott Zeiger restricted himself to a field of comment that suggests outside factors involving the larger future of the Cirque du Soleil-affiliated club itself are involved.

Otherwise, it would be hard to think of a reason why "Baz" is looking for a new home on the Strip instead of quietly slipping back to Los Angeles, and going down as another "nice try" at something different.

Audiences were "growing every day," Zeiger says. "There wasn't one day when we sold less tickets than the day before, which was in my opinion the litmus test."

During his years with Base Entertainment, Zeiger brought a lot of ambitious ideas to the Strip, from the Broadway-meets-burlesque of "Peepshow" to the hip '50s musical "Million Dollar Quartet." Some were better in theory than in the ground-game reality of how most tickets actually move on the Strip (through creative discounting and hefty commissions to ticket brokers).

But even the ones based on bad math and wishful thinking suggested Las Vegas audiences were smart and ready to look ahead, not be talked down to or treated like rubes.

"Baz" came after Zeiger joined Cirque du Soleil to launch a new theatrical division (a live NBC broadcast of "The Wiz" in December will come from this same department) and leveraged Cirque's branding partnership with the Light club to host "Baz" with the Los Angeles troupe For The Record, which created it.

I've been asking why For The Record didn't launch with its safer '80s tribute to the comedies of John Hughes instead of the Luhrmann show's grandiose mix of "The Great Gatsby," Shakespeare and "Moulin Rouge."

But bless his heart, Zeiger still believes "Baz" is the right show. "Everybody loves it," he insists.

He admits trying to convey on billboards that "Baz" was the name of a show and not a headline club DJ was a marketing challenge.

And he says downsizing isn't always a bad thing as the show seeks a new home (yes, in another club, not a conventional show space). The idea of structured entertainment in a cocktail environment has been tougher to realize than more than one producer imagined.

But in this case, there were specific aesthetic and acoustic challenges.

"The club in Los Angeles is cozy and warm, and Light is edgy and cool," Zeiger says. "There aren't any throw pillows at Light. The couches are meant to sit on the backs, not on the seats themselves. ... I think something a little more lounge-esque will probably be a warmer environment." ...

Believing your own PR department: We all know Vegas is an all-night town. Party till dawn, bro! And we all know the promoters of big outdoor concert festivals wouldn't mind selling as many tickets in the local market as they can. The more they sell, the less last-minute tourist walk-up there is to worry about.

But locals tend to have jobs, or school. The upcoming Route 91 Harvest is putting headliner Tim McGraw onstage at 10:30 p.m. on a Sunday night (Oct. 4), just as Rock in Rio held Taylor Swift until 11:30 p.m. last May, though that one was at least on a Friday.

MGM Resorts executive Chris Baldizan said he had questioned the Rock in Rio headliners' late start, but the promoters had their way of doing things. If you recall, attendance at that one was fairly disappointing.

The first year of Route 91 seemed to go well, though. So if you want to get home much before 1 a.m. this year, duck out of the last few songs and get a jump on traffic. ...

More about Hart: We close out the summer with a sad follow-up to my June 24 column about Larry Hart, who was known as a gospel performer, composer and co-keeper of the eccentric Hart Mansion at various times in his career.

The Clark County Coroner's office eventually ruled the 57-year-old Hart's death on June 19 a suicide by gunshot. Toxicology testing searched for drugs that can trigger suicidal impulses, but none were listed in the report.

Donna Manto, a neighbor and part-time employee of the Hart Mansion, says she witnessed a deteriorating relationship between Larry and brother Garry that reached the point of hostility after their mother, Toni, died last year.

Manto has a complaint pending with the Department of Labor as one of nine people trying to collect wages for work done at the mansion last year. She says they are owed an average of $3,000 each for work done as contractors, craftsmen and service employees who did remodeling on the house and staffed the parties and receptions held there.

Suicides rarely make sense, and a $27,000 financial dispute wouldn't seem to explain this one. But Hart's life obviously was more complicated than his creative legacy, which we hope will live on.

Read more from Mike Weatherford at bestoflasvegas.com. Contact him at mweatherford@reviewjournall.com.