Australians shake up Las Vegas at Gala Opening of ‘Vegas Nocturne’ by Spiegelworld
The most innovative and talked-about new live entertainment concept to be seen in Las Vegas in years had its gala opening on Saturday 18 January. And the production company behind it is all-Australian.
Ross Mollison’s Spiegelworld is operating the new social club Rose.Rabbit.Lie. at The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas. Reinventing the concept of the immersive supper club from a bygone era, the venue combines bar, restaurant, nightclub and ticketed show all under the one roof, and into one evening’s experience for those patrons who choose to go all in.
Celebrities walking the red carpet at the weekend’s grand opening included Neil Patrick Harris and Australia’s own Human Nature who have a resident show in Las Vegas.
Spiegelworld’s Impresario Extraordinaire Ross Mollison, who last week graced the much-coveted cover of Las Vegas Weekly said, “I was so thrilled to have fellow Australians Human Nature along to what was the realization of months of work by an incredible team of brave and talented people. Human Nature were also opening night guests at another of our crazy ventures when we presented the musical Cats under the big top at Uluru way back in 1999.”
The anchor ticketed entertainment at the club is Vegas Nocturne, created by Spiegelworld and directed by former Sydney Theatre Company director Wayne Harrison. Each night, an epic seven hours of material unfolds, involving 38 performers from around the world. No two patrons can possibly witness the same thing. Other Australians on the creative team include Academy Award-winning costume designer Angus Strathie and choreographers Dein Perry, Gideon Obarzanek and Lucas Newland.
Visitors to Rose.Rabbit.Lie. first enter an octagonal, mansion-like antechamber with eight doors, each leading to different places. This is the opulent home of debonair millionaire Alfonso Buzukhov and his crass sister Beverley, their servants and a host of eccentric characters. Whether you choose to order a craft cocktail in the study where old 45s can be played on a record player, or sit down to dinner in the library, there is always something unexpected going on around you.
One dining area offers a “backstage” view of the big room’s show, where sofas, chairs and VIP boxes circle the stage and bars line each side wall.
The 8pm performance or “canto” of Vegas Nocturne is a 90-minute revue of neo-vaudeville and acrobatics that radically extends on the concepts of Spiegelworld’s acclaimed spiegeltent shows Absinthe (now entering its fourth year at Caesars Palace) and Empire (now touring Australia). For Vegas Nocturne, Ross Mollison has assembled some of the world’s greatest artists including Captain Frodo, David O’Mer (Bath Boy) and Piff the Magic Dragon as well as acrobats, contortionists, singers, beat-boxers, tap dancers, fire-breathers and comic actors.
At 10pm, the seating is reduced from 500 to 250, and the show is shorter, with different content. At midnight it’s shorter still, segueing into a riotous dance club environment with a DJ as the wall panels open up, unifying the different rooms into more of a single space.
Neil Patrick Harris was so blown away by the 8pm show that he begged Alfonso and Beverley to allow him to make an impromptu appearance on stage in the midnight show. Which he did, causing the packed audience to erupt.
Ross Mollison said today, “It is Las Vegas’s Las Vegiest Place.”
www.spiegelworld.com
www.roserabbitlie.com
www.empireaustralia.com
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