Viva Las Vegas - sort of...

Went to Las Vegas with the family for a few days over the holiday; traditionally a city of oppresively warm temperatures to complement all that sinfulness, we were instead greeted with this:

The rain let up by evening time, though, so we did get to do some walking around. But it was still cold and windy so for the most part we avoided much trouble. Still, I managed to loose $4 in a nickel slot machine.

The Fountains of Bellagio

Caesar's Palace at the holidays, with detailed copies of Roman statues.

More Caesar's theming.

Couldn't resist this picture.

Alas, I didn't see any shows while in Vegas. There was nothing particularly interesting playing - I last saw "O" there, Cirque du Soleil's magnificant spectacle that takes place in a humongous swimming pool. Cirque now has 4 shows playing in Vegas; but none of the new ones really captured my interest since I have come to realize that Cirque shows are all essentially the same thing, just wrapped in different packages. I would go see "O" again, though, if I didn't have to pay such enormous prices for tickets.

"Mamma Mia!" and "We Will Rock You" make up the Broadway component of Vegas' current offerings - and both are bland musicals comprised of pre-existing pop songs, the former of music by ABBA and the latter with music by Queen. At least "Mamma Mia!" had a legitimate touring and Broadway career before landing in sin city; "We Will Rock You" is an oddity among London West End theatre and skipped Broadway entirely (probably because producers knew it would never sell there). I didn't personally enjoy "Mamma Mia!" when I saw it on tour, but I understand how it would appeal to the Vegas show-going demographic. I would never pay Vegas prices to see it, though.

What I would go see in Vegas is yet to come: "Avenue Q" will open in a specially-made theatre at the Wynn Hotel, sometime in late spring 2005. It's a great, intimate little show that relies on wit and hilarity instead of flashy spectacle to win over its audience. The show deservedly won 2004's Tony Award for Best Musical; hopefully it will win over Vegas audiences for a long run. Caesars Palace is also apparently constructing a theatre for "The Phantom of the Opera"; it's supposed to be a condensed version of Andrew Lloyd Webber's long-running show, with pumped up special effects. That should be interesting - even though the show is bland and sometimes irritating, it remains a guilty pleasure and a surefire spectacle.