Thursday, April 28, 2005 | 9:33 a.m.
Observers are watching with eager anticipation the curtain rising on two new production shows Steve Wynn is bringing to Las Vegas to enhance his new resort.
When Wynn speaks, everyone listens, and "Le Reve" ("The Dream") and "Avenue Q" may speak volumes.
Or, fall on deaf ears.
The question is whether the resident genius of Las Vegas can once again raise the entertainment bar, as he has done so many times in the past.
His Bellagio Gallery of Fine Art put art on the same level as floor shows.
It was Wynn who brought the first resident Cirque du Soleil shows to Vegas -- "Mystere" at Treasure Island and "O" at the Mirage.
Today, Cirque dominates the scene -- with shows at the MGM Grand ("Ka") and New York-New York ("Zumanity") and another planned for the Mirage (a tribute to the Beatles).
The Cirque influence has been profound.
Celine Dion used Franco Dragon (who created "O" and "Mystere" before he left Cirque to strike out on his own) to develop her show at Caesars Palace, "A New Day ..." In Dragone, she chose one of Cirque's most creative forces.
Between 1985 and 1999, Dragone directed the company's "Le Cirque Reinvented" (1987), "La Magie Continue " (1989), "Nouvelle Experience" (1990), "Saltimbanco" (1992), "Mystere" (1993), "Alegra" (1994), "Quidam" (1996), "O" (1998) and "La Nouba" (1999).
Wynn reached out to Dragone to produce the centerpiece of entertainment for Wynn Las Vegas.
Little is known about "Le Reve" at this point, other than it involves a lot of water, as does "O" -- the pool for "Le Reve" is 27 feet deep.
In a vaguely worded press release the production is described as, "A small collection of imperfect dreams," and, "A new form of visual theater, blending performing arts with an innovative approach to multimedia and visual effects."
In a press release, Dragone said, "My aim is ... to transport everyone into a world where the theater, performance and audience become one and the same reality."
The theater, designed by Dragone, is in-the-round, domed, and seats 2,087. There are just 14 rows, with the farthest seats only 42 feet from the stage.
"This is something I've dreamed of for a long time," Dragone says. "I wanted to talk to the audience, to really reach them, using images and body language.
"And that's what we've done here. With every show we try to go further than we've gone before, and, with "Le Reve," I know we've taken a big step."
There are 68 performers, including clowns and aerialists and (presumably) aquatic acts. It sounds similar to other Cirque shows, created with the vision of a Cirque graduate.
But is it?
"I don't think that is what 'Le Reve' will be," said Jeff Koep, dean of the UNLV College of Fine Arts. While Koep hasn't seen the show, he is among the eager anticipators.
"I look forward to it," he said. "Wynn is super detail-oriented, and he wants everything to be better in every sense of the term -- in quality and largeness, and by largeness I don't mean just big."
Koep says the Cirque type shows have resulted in the entire Strip being raised to a new level.
"I think it will be exciting to see what the next level is," he said.
If "Le Reve" will raise the level of performing artistry, what will the Tony Award-winning musical comedy with a cast of puppets do?
Road trip
"Avenue Q," the other production show presented at Wynn Las Vegas, has been described as a sexed-up "Sesame Street" for adults.
It takes place on a mythical low-rent street in New York, with the puppets using profanity and engaging in sex.
"It's typical of Wynn to take a chance on something that is edgy," Koep said. "It's something we're not seeing on the Strip right now."
Will the puppet show change the entertainment landscape in the same way Wynn Las Vegas hotel has changed the skyline?
"It always takes a leader for change" Koep said. "If you think imitation is the sincerest form of flattery and if 'Avenue Q' is successful, will others get on board? You bet they will."
Koep says he likes what is happening in Vegas.
"I don't make apologies to my friends around the country for entertainment in Las Vegas," he said. "It's a type of theater.
"I look forward to seeing what the impact of Wynn's shows will be. If it follows what he has done, it will be profound."
In an earlier interview with the Las Vegas Sun, Wynn stated, "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."
Myron Martin, executive director of the Las Vegas Performing Arts Center Foundation, says Wynn has changed more than just the entertainment in Las Vegas.
"He has changed the Broadway paradigm by creating a permanent home for 'Avenue Q' in Las Vegas," Martin said.
Traditionally, a Broadway show goes on the road after spending some time in New York. But Wynn paid producers of "Avenue Q" to skip the road and come to a $40-million, 1,200-seat theater he built for the show in Las Vegas.
Now fans of the production can see it only on Broadway or in Vegas.
Martin sees a precedent.
"It's not impossible to think that, down the line, some other Broadway show could opt for Las Vegas," he said.
But he doesn't see it has becoming a common practice.
"This clearly is not the model that works for most big Broadway shows," Martin said. "The road is still important."
Martin saw "Avenue Q" on Broadway.
"I think that, based on the show's success there, it should have success here," he said.
Andrew Gans, a theater critic for Playbill, writes that "Avenue Q is, simply, two hours of pure joy ... It's rare that I leave a musical without wanting to change a single moment, without one criticism whatsoever. From the melodic, toe-tapping tunes and the witty, hilarious, and often moving lyrics to the wonderfully talented cast, Avenue Q could not be better."
Gans says the musical "manages to humorously exploit some of the more trivial aspects of day-to-day life, whether it's the joy of receiving a 'mix tape' or the 'fine, fine line' between a relationship and a 'waste of time.' "
But not everyone is enamoured of "Avenue Q."
Margaret Croyden, a theater reviewer and essayist for the New York Theatre Wire, noted in her 2003 review of the production that: "Avenue Q" is a lively musical comedy about the hip-hop generation and all that this entails. A group of young people live on Avenue Q, and each is a type with a story to tell. And unto the bargain that story is sung and dramatized by characters manipulating their puppets right out in the open. No shadow play here. The puppets are hand held and strings are pulled right in front of us.
"So what have we got? We've got a raunchy, supposedly comic, supposedly hip musical about types (actually stereotypes) that you find in New York, or any big city...
"So what's unusual about all this? Nothing. It is all a replay of "Rent" with Sesame Street puppets thrown in."
But Martin says the production is a good fit for Vegas.
"Some of the dialogue is a little adult, which fits Vegas," Martin said. "It's a fun musical that makes people laugh and howl along with some of the songs."
Martin is a producer involved in bringing another Broadway show to Vegas -- "Hairspray" will replace "Blue Man Group" when "BMG" moves to the Venetian in 2006.
Martin sees more Broadway shows finding homes in Vegas, following in the footsteps of such shows a "Mama Mia!", but he says he doesn't believe it will go too far.
"I can't imagine Shakespeare in a lounge with a two-drink minimum," he said.
But then, he doesn't really know Steve Wynn.
archive
