‘Bubble’ busts at Planet

Ah, life in Sin City. While Mirage executives ponder the image branding of a puppet show on their outside marquee, a child-friendly bubble show folds its tent just before summer vacation season.

Fan Yang's "Gazillion Bubble Show" has wrapped up its afternoon run in magician Steve Wyrick's theater at the Miracle Mile Shops at Planet Hollywood. The show's Web site says the last bubble popped on May 11, with wording that suggests finality.

However, theater manager Robyn Spencer says the show is dark for "an indefinite period" and might make it back by year's end, after spending the summer touring overseas.

The show's company manager, Freddie Hallgren, said earlier this week the production hadn't yet loaded out of the theater, and there was a "slight chance" it would reopen if producer Yang could work out a more favorable rental agreement.

Otherwise, it sounds like the all-too-familiar story of a producer coming in with a lopsided rental contract and without doing his homework. Hallgren says that when the show opened in February, tickets were available only at the box office because contracts hadn't yet been signed with online vendors.

The bubble show and Brett Daniels' magic act at the Sahara both disappeared just before the prime Memorial Day weekend and the peak summer season for family-friendly matinees.

Next year, the Mirage will test the long-term drawing power of "America's Got Talent" ventriloquist Terry Fator, tapped as Danny Gans' replacement. Gans will be across the street at Wynn Las Vegas, and it will be a fun showdown.

One big difference is that Gans' outdoor sign photo won't include puppets. I pointed out to Mirage president Scott Sibella that I recently questioned in a column if tight economic times mean a return to the tried-and-true family market.

And Sibella was a good guy for perspective, since I first interviewed him next door at Treasure Island, when the outdoor pirate show was being revamped to drop the "Yo" from its "Yo-ho," becoming the hip-hopping "Sirens of T.I."

"Of course kids love puppets, but we didn't think about this show as a show that will draw families," Sibella said. "It's not designed as a children's show, but it doesn't cross that line (of suitability)."...

The naughtier side of the Strip is on display in the June issue of Playboy, which devotes six pages of photos to "Crazy Horse Paris" at the MGM Grand. The photos are nearly all within a stage context, and so come off as good advertising. ...

Back in January, I did a feature about the opposite of ticket discounting: an "upsell," or VIP ticket, that offers a backstage tour or other perks for premium pricing. Now, Cirque du Soleil jumps in on the action with a $295 "Tapis Rouge" (red carpet) ticket for its flagship show "Love."

The ticket option that starts June 26 includes a gift bag and preshow reception in the Revolution Lounge, with backstage video and "hosts to provide insights" into the show, according the news release announcing the show. ...

It's a good thing The Second City didn't go too far overboard promoting the last-name value of performer Rob Belushi (Son of Jim, nephew of John).

Belushi had previously agreed to spend much of his summer performing "The Lion in Winter" at the Writers' Theatre in suburban Chicago (Glencoe, to be exact). The play runs Monday through Aug. 3, and Belushi plans to be back for the last third of another balmy summer on the Strip. Various understudies will fill in for him at Second City. ...

For those who like to jump in on the fun of interactive shows, a couple of promising changes.

"Marriage Can Be Murder" inside the Four Queens' Canyon Club has upgraded its dinner entrees without raising the ticket price. What began as a fairly sparse plate (skewered beef or chicken over white rice) is now a choice of steak, teriyaki chicken or salmon with twice-baked potato and vegetable.

And at the Riviera, "The Soprano's Last Supper" won't seem so much like the early-bird senior's special come June 1. The show times will change from 6 to 7 p.m., with arrivals for the preshow dinner option at 5:30 p.m. instead of 4:30 p.m.

(These changes will push back the start time for the Riviera Comedy Club from 8:30 p.m. to 9 p.m.)

Contact reporter Mike Weatherford at mweatherford@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0288.