Spiegelworld previews show for F1 race in Vegas

Spiegelworld is ready for an F-1 good time.

Thinking out of the box has led company founder and Impresario Extraordinaire Ross Mollison to “Box Box,” the show being developed for the OPM-Superfrico space at the Cosmopolitan and to run during the F1 Las Vegas Grand Prix in November.

The “Box” reference is to a racing pit crew, and Mollison gets all the terms as he’s a huge F1 fan.

The first workshop of the show on Tuesday and Wednesday is in the dusty, rustic burg of Nipton. The 80-acre parcel is Spiegelworld’s “Circus Town,” about an hour’s drive from Las Vegas on the Nevada-California border along Route 164.

The show’s format is four performers acting as a pit crew, with emcee Max Baumgarten (we remember him as Harry M. Howie and Rob The Robot from the original “Opium”). Bill O’Neill, Courtney Pauroso, Chad Damiani and Reshma Anna Meister all delivered masterfully.

In the show’s pit-crew concept, cast members wear racing suit-inspired costumes, red and trimmed in checkered flags. They are a size too tight, yet somehow a perfect fit. A memorable bit is that the group performs such team tasks as peeling a banana, solving a Rubik’s Cube and changing a baby (a doll, don’t worry).

No photos or video were permitted or furnished from the Nipton previews. Intrigue abounds.

“Box Box” is a bold effort, like taking a splash of gas while still in high gear. Mollison is already piloting a new show and restaurant in Atlantic City, developing “DiscoShow” while building the Glitterloft theater at Linq Hotel, and also planning a new show and theater at Harrah’s in New Orleans.

Mollison said after the 80-minute showcase that his Spiegelworld teammates told him “Box Box” would be impossible, that he shouldn’t attempt the project.

Sensible advice. But Mollison doesn’t do “sensible.”

“We said, ‘Let’s do something fun, let’s do something that should be in a Las Vegas Grand Prix,’” Mollison said Wednesday night. “Maybe this is it. Maybe it’s not. But I hope you enjoy it.”

Even in its practice lap, “Box Box” already roars at high performance. See you on race day.

John Katsilometes’ column runs daily in the A section. His “PodKats!” podcast can be found at reviewjournal.com/podcasts. Contact him at jkatsilometes@reviewjournal.com. Follow @johnnykats on Twitter, @JohnnyKats1 on Instagram.