Columnist Joe Delaney: Recent events prompt some compelling questions

Joe Delaney

Thursday, June 20, 2002 | 8:19 a.m.

Random thoughts as we return from a four-week vacation spent at home: Will Cirque du Soleil supplant Sieg- fried & Roy and magic as Las Vegas' No. 1 entertainment attraction? The MGM MIRAGE announcement makes it official that Cirque du Soleil will produce the replacement for "Lord of the Dance," due to depart the New York-New York Broadway Theatre on July 28.

Also implied was the eventual departure of "EFX Alive" from the MGM Grand with its replacement an original production by Cirque du Soleil ... That means there will be four major showrooms devoted to Cirque productions ... There's more ... On March 25 Celine Dion will open in the new 4,000-seat Caesars Palace Colosseum.

Franco Dragone, recently departed from Cirque du Soliel, will produce the extravaganza in which Dion will star for 200 performances a year ... One must assume that this production will be performed most of the rest of the year, 165 days less dark days and occasional weeks off ... Will there be other stars to headline those non-Dion performances?

Doesn't that make five major Cirque-like showrooms? Isn't Dragone also scheduled to produce at least one new major attraction for Steve Wynn's Le Reve when that opens two or three years hence? Returning to Caesars Palace, is the person or persons who created this concept of Dion plus an elaborate production in a 4,000-seat venue having a few qualms at this point?

Isn't it time that Sheldon Adelson took over the entertainment aspect of his Venetian? The Venetian is an impressive addition to the Las Vegas hotel scene in every respect except for the woefully inadequate showroom facility that is part of the C2K nightclub ... As a showroom, it is the Bermuda Triangle for new entertainment productions.

Both "The Main Event" and "Signed, Sealed and Delivered" are reportedly worthwhile endeavors with very poor prognoses ... There have been others ... The Robert Goulet period was particularly sad ... Only Melinda, First Lady of Magic has been able to sustain there, but her weekly personal profit is cut at least in half by the onerous rental conditions.

Apparently, the hotel disavows any relationship with the shows playing there while the operators are only interested in collecting the rent at so much per performance, usually in advance ... The producers or entrepreneurs pay all costs including publicity and advertising -- plus the rental fee.

Entertainment is one of the three top reasons people visit Las Vegas ... It is what sets each hotel apart ... Originally it functioned as a loss-leader very similar to the food or beverage specials in a supermarket ... This worked well enough to make Las Vegas so attractive as an investment; it also begat the corporations and a bottom-line mentality.

Entertainment is properly an important part of the hotel-resort operation and should be the responsibility of the hotel, not leased out to operators of a nightclub as is the case at The Venetian ... Do we have to look any further for proof than the success story at both the MGM Grand and Mirage hotels, with their subsequent merger and new arrangement with Cirque du Soleil?

Star-policy rundown

It's Gladys Knight (Flamingo Las Vegas); Society of Seven, 8 p.m., Amazing Johnathan, 10 p.m. (Golden Nugget); Mac King afternoons; Clint Holmes evenings (Harrah's); Smothers Brothers and Sheena Easton in separate showrooms (LV Hilton); Blue Man Group (Luxor); and Carrot Top plus Rick Springfield starring in "EFX Alive" (MGM Grand).

There's more: Darren Romeo afternoons, Siegfried & Roy and Danny Gans evenings, in separate theaters (Mirage); Lance Burton (Monte Carlo); Rita Rudner (New York-New York); Peter, Paul & Mary (Orleans); David Brenner & Kevin Pollak (Paris Las Vegas); Ronn Lucas afternoons, the Scintas evenings, plus Penn & Teller, Samba Theatre (Rio); and Marlene Ricci (Riviera).

Still more: "Bravo" starring Charo, plus Steve Wyrick, separate showrooms (Sahara); Wayne Newton (Stardust); Diahann Carroll (Suncoast); Rick Thomas (Tropicana); and Melinda, First Lady of Magic, 6 p.m., Melissa Manchester and Peabo Bryson starring in "Signed, Sealed and Delivered," 8 p.m. and Bob Anderson starring in "The Main Event," 10 p.m. (Venetian).

Milestones: This column starts my 36th year as entertainment columnist and critic at the Las Vegas Sun ... This fall I start my 30th year teaching a three-credit course that I created, Hotel Entertainment, at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas' William F. Harrah College of Hotel Administration ... In July 2003 I celebrate 50 years as a member of the Louisiana Bar and will attend my 1953 Tulane Law School class reunion.

The International Academy of Broadcasting is moving from Montreux, Switzerland, to Dublin, Ireland, this year ... I've been teaching a three-week module there since its inception ... That's why my four-week vacation was spent at home this year ... Next year, Dublin ... I have also been with Showbiz Weekly since its inception and this continues ... It's been a good 80 years thus far.

Afterthought: Doesn't "Lord of the Dance," averaging 80 percent or better attendance in a 1,000-seat showroom, deserve consideration for another venue here? See you Friday.