Strip hit ‘Absinthe’ takes the tent to Los Angeles
“Absinthe” is going Hollywood.
Well, in a manner of speaking. A second version of the hit show at Caesars Palace is opening on March 22 at L.A. Live Event Deck, the show’s production company Speigelworld announced Wednesday morning. Tickets are on sale now for American Express card holders. Pre-sale tickets will be available to the public at AbsintheLA.com on Monday morning.
Spiegelworld founder Ross Mollison says the show will likely run at least one month in what is termed a “limited” engagement in Los Angeles. A new Spiegeltent, similar to the venue at Roman Plaza, will be built on the 90,000-square-foot area outside Microsoft and the Staples Center ( the space currently staging a “Holiday Ice” production). The new tent will seat 600, about 50 more than the Las Vegas Spiegeltent.
The new show will rely on familiar characters including the Green Fairy and Gazillionaire, though Gaz’s sidekick is not yet determined (he has worked with both Penny Pibbets and, currently, Joy Jenkins). Some new acts and artists will be assigned to the L.A. show, but there is no plan to move existing performers from the show in Las Vegas to the new production.
“We have been looking at new acts, new acrobats, for this show,” Mollison said Tuesday afternoon. “We are always thinking of new ideas.”
The second show should have no bearing on the schedule or execution of “Absinthe” in Las Vegas, which opened in March 2011 and has grown to be one of the city’s hottest-selling and critically acclaimed productions. The show premiered in New York a decade ago and has previously toured Australia.
Much of the show’s audience, and visitors to Caesars Palace, arrive from Southern California. When asked if the production would be cutting into its own ticket-buying market, Mollison said, “This show has such a fan base, I look at it as a great promotion. This will help market the show in Las Vegas, and will help market the city, too.”
OH, BEHAVE
A show with some of “Absinthe’s” flair and tenor is being showcased at 8 p.m. Sunday, Monday and Tuesday at Anthony Cools’ theater at Paris Las Vegas (go to the MissBehave.com website for tickets, ) . “Miss Behave Gameshow” is a cabaret comedy show described by The Times in London as “a raucous cross between a boozed-up game show, freewheeling disco party and unbridled variety entertainment.” The show is hosted by British comedian and producer Amy Saunders in the Miss Behave role.
The show’s minimalist set — constructed primarily of cardboard — and the production are marked by on-the-fly contests among audience members (bring your cellphone is one piece of advice). “Think For Your Selfie” and “Don’t Ask Don’t Get” are a couple of call-outs to the crowd.
The show’s producer, Julie Richardson, is former resident director of “Vegas Nocturne” at the Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas. She is also married to David O’Mer, who performs the bathtub act in “Absinthe.” Spiegelworld official David Foster is behind the “Miss Behave” show, but it is not a Spiegelworld production.
MORE ON THAT ERA SCENE
Bearing deeper examination is the impact, or rather lack thereof, of the Elite Rodeo Athletes tour on the National Finals Rodeo. The tour’s five-day championship event in Dallas in November was trimmed to three days, the total prize money cut from $3 million to $1 million, and three of the series’ scheduled events (those in St. Louis, Atlanta and New Orleans) were canceled due to lack of interest. There is no E.R.A. schedule yet announced for 2017, either.
Also, dozens of rodeo stars (including 11-time Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association champ Trevor Brazile, five-time champion steer wrestler Luke Barnquinho and three-time champion tie-down roper Tuf Cooper) have returned their investment in the E.R.A. and are returning to PRCA. The idea that the upstart series would pose a serious threat to the NFR in Las Vegas has not materialized. Not yet, anyway, and maybe not ever.
MORENO’S TRIPLE-SHOT
Can we call this a mini-residency? Frankie Moreno has three sold-out holiday shows Saturday at Cabaret Jazz at the Smith Center, at 2:30, 4:30 and 7 p.m. The series marks the first single-day, triple-header ever at Smith Center.
John Katsilometes’ column runs daily in the A section, and Fridays in Neon. He also hosts “Kats! On The Radio” Wednesdays at 8 p.m. on KUNV 91.5-FM and appears Wednesdays at 11 a.m. with Dayna Roselli on KTNV Channel 13. Contact him at jkatsilometes@reviewjournal.com. Follow @johnnykats on Twitter, @JohnnyKats1 on Instagram.