Showroom: Vegas’ gamble with Broadway is not always a sure thing

Friday, Jan. 6, 2006 | 8:43 a.m.

The musicals "Hairspray" (Luxor) and "Phantom of the Opera" (Venetian) soon will join "Avenue Q" (Wynn Las Vegas) and "Mamma Mia!" (Mandalay Bay) on the Strip, as Broadway productions continue their migration West.

"Monty Python's Spamalot" is still a year or longer away from setting up residence at Wynn.

Whether others will follow remains to be seen.

Success is not a sure thing for those shows wrapped in the aura of Broadway. "We Will Rock You" barely lasted a year, premiering at Paris Las Vegas in August 2004 and closing in November 2005.

"Forbidden Vegas," a spoof patterned after the successful "Forbidden Broadway," ran for only six months, closing in May 2005. But then, it was off the Strip at the Westin, which may have been a factor in the early demise.

Of course "Saturday Night Fever" didn't fare any better and it was on the Strip (at the Sahara).

Many are hoping to see Las Vegas become a center for theater -- perhaps none more than Giovanna Sardelli, a director and actor in New York City who was born and raised in Las Vegas.

Sardelli is the daughter of Nelson Sardelli, an international comedian/singer/ dancer whose home base has been Las Vegas for more than 40 years.

"I grew up traveling around the world watching him perform and getting standing ovations in Thailand, Europe, South America," Sardelli said of her father, who was born in Brazil to parents who immigrated from Italy.

There was never any doubt that she would become involved in some aspect of entertainment.

"I can't sing on any kind of competitive level," she said during a recent visit to her hometown. "But I always wanted to act and dance."

Growing up in Vegas she was exposed at an early age to its kind of entertainment -- glamorous shows, such as "Folies Bergere" and "Jubilee!"; popular performers such as Jack Jones and Donnie Osmond.

And of course there was the occasional theatrical production that passed through town.

"The Aladdin would import shows liked 'Guys and Dolls,' " Sardelli recalled. "That was a huge deal. And 'Chorus Line,' that was huge."

After graduating from Western High School, she attended UNLV, graduating in 1987 with a degree in theater.

She moved to New York, where she emersed herself in theater -- first acting and then, about five years ago, moving into the director's chair.

As an actress she spent several years as a cast member of the soap opera "Another World."

And she appeared in countless off-Broadway productions.

Along the way she received a master of fine arts degree from the prestigious New York University's Tisch School of the Arts and attended the university's Director's Lab (a by-invitation-only program that accepts only three students per year).

About five years ago she became disenchanted with acting and turned to directing. "I wanted to be in control," Sardelli said.

Since then she has directed numerous off-Broadway plays. The next one will be Rajiv Joseph's "Huck and Holden," which will open at the historic Cherry Lane Theatre in February.

Sardelli's heart is torn between two worlds of theater -- the more glamorous shows of Vegas and the more meaningful productions found in New York.

"I love the spectacle, the beauty, the size of the Las Vegas shows," she said.

But legitimate theater is her passion.

"Theater needs to be provocative," she said. "That's always been its job." When "Avenue Q" came to Vegas, Sardelli saw a glimmer of hope that legitimate theater might actually be able to survive in Las Vegas.

"To me 'Avenue Q' is a little bit provocative," she said. "That's exciting -- the fact that it's happening at Wynn resort.

"It intrigued me enough to inspire me to want to come back to Las Vegas -- I would love to bring my New York contacts in straight theater here."

She has seen enough changes in Las Vegas and in theater itself to be optimistic that theater of all kinds might succeed here.

"Maybe you won't ever see Shakespeare on the Strip, but you should see it in Summerlin and Green Valley," Sardelli said. "I worry about any major city in the world that can't support Shakespeare."

While theater in New York is doing well on one level, Sardelli says it is struggling on another.

"New York theater, in general, is in a tough place," she said. "It's hard to create anything there."

She says New York is full of brilliant playwrights who can't get their plays produced.

She blames the problem on the cost of the shows, and the need for almost certain success -- an issue faced by Vegas producers as well.

"It's a huge financial investment," Sardelli said. "You can make a bad film and get your money back selling it to the foreign market -- but not theater."

As a hedge against failure, many Broadway shows attach a celebrity to the production.

This year Julia Roberts will star in Richard Greenberg's "Three Days of Rain," and Harry Connick Jr. will appear in a revival of "Pajama Game."

"Gabriel Byrne will star in 'Touch of the Poet,' " Sardelli said. "If you put Antonio Banderas in a play, people will come to see it.

"After 9/11 a lot of theaters closed, and it caused everyone to re-assess things. Taking a risk is a lot harder know -- investors want a known director and a known star, which is why producers of 'Hairspray' (at the Luxor) had to have (Broadway star) Harvey Fierstein."

Although most of her past 20 years have been focused on New York, Sardelli is looking West for her creative fulfillment.

"I think Las Vegas is ready for art," she said, "and I think it's ready to stop importing art and start creating art.

"I want very badly to bring straight theater here, a regional theater. I think we have the money, and I hope we have the people."

Jerry Fink can be reached at 259-4058 or at jerry@lasvegassun.com.