Of ‘Opium,’ Bill McBeath says, ‘This isn’t going to be your typical show’

Bill McBeath has sought a winner at Rose. Rabbit. Lie. showroom since he took over as chief executive officer of The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas in December 2014.

He felt he’d made a sure bet by agreeing to bring “Absinthe” to the property in September 2016. But a settlement between that show’s producers, Spiegelworld, and business partner Base Entertainment ended a lingering court case, kept the show at its longtime home,Caesars Palace.

Undaunted, McBeath and Spiegelworld have teamed up to bring “Opium” to the newly named Opium Theater at Rose. Rabbit. Lie for a March 13 launch.

“Opium,” helmed by the character Harry M. Howie, will be an intergalactic-themed show filled with specialty acts, comedic numbers, singers and a live band. Other details will be made known later — like, March 13. The show’s teaser performance at Cosmopolitan on Feb. 8, while aesthetically fascinating, did little to clarify the production’s content. The excerpted act featured musicians in a drum circle donning aluminum foil and a sax soloist heralding costume designer Machine Dazzle’s arrival in a glass elevator.

Last week McBeath took a few moments away from all the merriment to expound on his hotel’s new show, its unique characteristics, and why he chose to shake hands with Mr. Howie (and, in fact, Spiegelworld founder Ross Mollison).

McBeath spoke specifically of …

The performance at Cosmo that introduced ‘Opium’:

“I thought, ‘This isn’t a traditional press conference, but a promotional launch,” McBeath said. “I think it was great and encapsulated that they are thinking out of the box. This isn’t going to be your typical show, and it’s going to have a lot of the nuances and unexpected elements that have been synonymous with Spiegelworld programming.”

Spiegelworld’s penchant for presenting stage characters as real-life subjects:

“I think having a little mystique to it is great, and the truly great performers never get out of character until they’re done,” McBeath said. “The Gazillionaire (of “Absinthe”), this guy (Harry), even Ross — it’s hard to do a business deal with this guy when I don’t know if I’m dealing with the Gazillionaire or him.”

The potential risks of staging new, unproven show:

“I guess my one big takeaway is, I made a bet to bring ‘Absinthe’ here, which is just a hands-down winner and an established show with tremendous brand equity and demand and for whatever reasons with the litigation with their partners, that didn’t come to fruition,” McBeath said. “So, Ross came back to me and noted that room was still there and that they had the secret sauce for what works in Vegas, and they were working on a bunch of separate acts for a new ‘Absinthe’ that would be more tailored for the dimensions of the new room …

“So, my risk is putting the brand inside my facility and remodeling the space and the production is his responsibility. But I think it’s a good partnership and I really enjoy working with him.”

On the difference between “Opium” and “Vegas Nocturne,” the Spiegelworld show that closed in June 2014:

“‘Vegas Nocturne’ was successful, and was successfully received. I saw it and thought it was a very good production. Unfortunately, they couldn’t overcome the fixed production costs in that size of a showroom with the ticket fee that they were getting, so I think everybody learned lessons from this, especially Ross,” McBeath said. “I think we’ve eliminated a tremendous amount of moving parts and overhead costs, and I think the simplification and getting back to creating great entertainment value in an intimate room is the big differentiator.”

Agreeing to name the show ‘Opium,’ also a substance that is at the center of a national epidemic:

“I’m kind of a pragmatic guy, and that’s one of the first things I brought up and that we’re in the middle of this crisis that’s killing hundreds of people a day, and I asked Ross straight out and he went on this diatribe about this isn’t about drugs,” McBeath said. “It’s his show, and his brand, and he felt that it was the correct brand and vehicle to drive it …. The opioid crisis is a horrible thing, but we did talk about it, and he was very adamant that it was the brand that he wanted.”

The possibility of bringing other stage shows to Rose. Rabbit. Lie.:

“I had over 50 meetings with some of the biggest production people, with presentation after presentation after presentation,” McBeath said. “I would sit there very objectively and very open-minded, and then we’d evaluate it internally and we just never saw anything that was going to get off the ground … So, I’m excited to see the (‘Opium’) final product and, more importantly, excited to see how the consumer reacts to it.”

John Katsilometes’ column runs daily in the A section. Contact him at jkatsilometes@reviewjournal.com. Follow @johnnykats on Twitter, @JohnnyKats1 on Instagram.