Gauging the vibes, seeking the vital in Las Vegas
“Zeitgeist” means capturing the spirit of a time or place, and it will be the fancy word I use to look beyond the city limits for perspective on new things coming to town.
First, the idea of “immersive” theater is and also isn’t the driving force behind Light nightclub at Mandalay Bay hosting “For The Record: Baz,” a cabaret salute to the films of Baz Lhurmann starting June 19.
Everybody is trying environmental theater in this selfie era. New York is hosting the likes of “Queen of the Night,” offering Cirque du Soleil-like acrobatics in a New York basement nightclub. Club-show hybrids have filtered onto the Strip with Beacher’s Madhouse and the homegrown “Alice.”
“People are interested these days in an alternative,” says Scott Zeiger, who produced “Phantom” in Las Vegas before joining Cirque to form a new theatrical division.
“A lot of the younger people who are coming to town, let’s say below 30 … want to have fun, but don’t necessarily want to wait until midnight to get their evening started, here’s something I think they’ll love,” Zeiger adds.
“Baz” is the first Las Vegas will see from Cirque’s theatrical division, though a televised revival of “The Wiz” will hit the road after it airs on NBC in December.
But here’s another way of explaining the venture: Cirque and Mandalay Bay are sitting on prime, underused real estate with Light.
“We have this great nightclub at Mandalay Bay, and we monetize that club 15 hours a week,” Zeiger says. “It’s open three nights for five hours.”
Contrast that with five shows now sharing the sub-let Windows Showroom at Bally’s, where the a cappella quintet Mo5aic sets up shop Friday. The group was last stationed in the Shimmer Cabaret at Westgate Las Vegas, but kept getting better offers to perform on cruise ships, making it hard to maintain a consistent schedule.
“We’re going to be in town a lot more” for this six-month commitment, says singer Corwyn Hodge.
There’s irony in Mo5aic sharing the room with “50 Shades! The Parody.” That one timed its arrival with the release of the “Fifty Shades of Grey” movie, but how quickly we quit hearing about it. On the other hand, the a cappella movie “Pitch Perfect 2” stunned Hollywood by outgrossing the “Mad Max” reboot.
“It’s very coincidental but good timing for us,” Hodge says. “I think a cappella is more popular than it’s ever been.”
Something else about the “Pitch Perfect” movies. When people ask me about my favorite shows I ever saw in Vegas, one of my answers is disappointingly obscure: The 2002 and 2003 editions of The Second City comedy troupe.
The cast included then-couple Jason Sudeikis and Kay Cannon. You’ve seen him in some stuff and she wrote both “Pitch” movies. There was something about that cast. A zeitgeist maybe.
Read more from Mike Weatherford at bestoflasvegas.com. Contact him at mweatherford@reviewjournal.com. Follow him on Twitter: @Mikeweatherford
