ThunderVille: Male revue expands for 1st non-Las Vegas residency
We’ve called Las Vegas “VegasVille” for years. In April, Blake Shelton referred to “VegasVille” at his Ole Red honky-tonk, when asked about the interlocking relationships between Las Vegas and Nashville.
“ThunderVille” is a new term, at least when applied to the shiny gents from “Australia’s Thunder From Down Under.” The longtime Excalibur headliners are are expanding to Nashville, opening a permanent residency that the fabled Woolworth Theatre on Sept. 26.
The new “Thunder” show will run Thursdays through Saturdays.
The show is co-produced by Adam Steck of SPI Entertainment and his business partner Billy Cross. “Thunder” has been a hit at Excalibur since July 2002 (having opened at the Frontier a year earlier), moving into the custom-designed Thunderland Showroom in 2019 as that venue’s anchor production.
According to The Tennessean in Nashville, Woolworth had actually been in negotiations with “Chippendales” this year, prior to shifting to “Thunder.” The “Chippendales” production, which has run at the Rio since 2002, filed a lawsuit against the theater in June, claiming it is attempting to recoup costs “necessary in attempting to secure a replacement partner for the production of (Chippendales) Program in Nashville beginning in September of 2024.”
The theater opted for “Thunder” because it was “a deal with terms far superior,” according to the lawsuit.
Steck had noticed three years ago on a trip to Nashville the city is a haven for bachelorette parties. That community is the “Thunder” lifeline.
Steck entered negotiations to move into the 275-seat Woolworth Theater about six months ago. He already has two touring shows and the flagship at ExCal. He is optimistic the Nashville production will run indefinitely.
“Nashville is one of the most exciting places in America, besides Las Vegas,” Steck said in a phone chat Monday. His show is described as “Girls Night Outback,” and the veteran producer is leaning into the show’s Outback image. “At the end of the day, these guys are Australian cowboys.”
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 X, @JohnnyKats1 on Instagram.