Wynn says ‘Avenue Q’ will enrich experience

By Jeff Simpson

Thursday, June 10, 2004 | 11:06 a.m.

Steve Wynn has lured the winner of the Tony Award for best musical to Las Vegas, the Strip casino-resort developer announced Wednesday.

"Avenue Q," a critically acclaimed musical for adults featuring singing puppets that Sunday won the Tonys' top award, will begin an open-ended engagement at the $2.4 billion Wynn Las Vegas in September 2005.

Wynn expects the show to enhance the appeal of both his new megaresort and Las Vegas itself.

" 'Avenue Q' will give our guests a broader range of entertainment choices, broader than at any property in Las Vegas," Wynn said. " 'Avenue Q' is a very primary, fundamental piece of theater. It provides another element to enrich and intensify the emotional experience."

"Mamma Mia!," the smash ABBA-scored Broadway hit Mandalay Resort Group brought to Mandalay Bay, simultaneously has other companies performing around the world. "Avenue Q," however, will play in only Las Vegas and New York, Wynn said.

That means "Avenue Q" will remain in New York indefinitely and will play at Wynn Las Vegas instead of touring nationwide.

"We want to be special," Wynn explained, noting that the Cirque du Soleil shows he brought to Treasure Island and Bellagio when he ran Mirage Resorts were worldwide exclusives. "If you want to see it (outside New York), you'll have to come to Las Vegas."

Wynn is spending $48 million on the show and to build an 1,180-seat Broadway-style theater to accommodate "Avenue Q," with 800 seats downstairs and a couple of hundred in an intimate balcony.

No seat will be more than about 75 feet from the stage.

Wynn will co-produce the show with its Broadway producers but declined to disclose how they'll split revenues and costs.

Wynn's deal gives him the right to keep the show at the resort indefinitely -- "It goes forever," Wynn said.

Tickets will probably cost about $75, Wynn guessed.

Deutsche Bank Securities equity analyst Marc Falcone said entertainment and big-show productions are a staple to a successful Las Vegas property, and that Wynn's past success in the entertainment part of the business suggests he'll win again at Wynn Las Vegas.

"Steve Wynn has always been at the forefront of bringing new ideas to Las Vegas," Falcone said. "He has a tremendous record."

"Avenue Q" is an English-language musical, and Wynn acknowledged its appeal would be limited to many of the international customers expected to flock to Wynn Las Vegas.

"It's American theater," he explained. "But it's good theater. It's a counterpoint to the elaborate productions everyone has and gives people a choice."

Wynn already has a deal with former Cirque du Soleil creative boss Franco Dragone, producer of Celine Dion's show at Caesars Palace, to create "Le Reve," a big-production show set in 2,080-seat theater with a million-gallon pool. "Le Reve" is slated to open at the same time as the megaresort.

Las Vegas audiences are ready for a different type of entertainment, Wynn hopes.

"You cross your fingers," he admitted. "We believe Las Vegas is a place that very well could be the top center for the performing arts in the world. We can offer better theaters and better audiences than New York, and we can afford to take chances and try new things. (Musicals like "Avenue Q") can help Las Vegas exploit its role as the real performing arts center. The more Las Vegas broadens itself, the stronger it is."

He bought Avenue Q because he and wife Elaine Wynn loved it, he said.

They decided to buy the show a couple of months ago, before its Tony nominations were announced, he said.

The awards were an unexpected and lucky bonus, he said.

The Tony award for best musical, as well as separate Tonys for best score (its lyrics and music) and best book (dialogue and plot) should boost interest in the musical and in Wynn Las Vegas itself, he said.

Wynn said the Le Reve theater and the "Avenue Q" theater are only the beginning of the entertainment possibilities he's considering.

"My new sign (going up on the Strip at the northwest corner of the property) will have space for four shows," Wynn said.