Las Vegas Sun

March 19, 2024

Seeking new venue, ‘Baz’ is leaving Light on Sunday

Opening Night of ‘Baz’

Denise Truscello / WireImage / DeniseTruscello.net

Opening night of “For the Record: Baz” at Light on Friday, June 26, 2015, in Mandalay Bay.

Opening Night of ‘Baz’

Olivia Harris and James Byous perform during opening night of “For the Record: Baz” at Light on Friday, June 26, 2015, in Mandalay Bay. Launch slideshow »

“Baz” needs a forever home, and it ain’t Light.

Announced to the show’s cast tonight is the show based on a trio of musicals written and directed by Baz Luhrmann is moving out of its home of seven weeks. Its final night at Mandalay Bay is Sunday.

The immediate message from the show’s producers is that it will resurface in Las Vegas and the move is because the show is seeking a more hospitable venue. The show is a partnership of Cirque du Soleil’s theatrical division and the Los Angeles theatrical company For the Record.

“With all honesty, this is not a financial decision. The show is not shutting down and moving because it is losing money,” Scott Zeiger, director of Cirque’s theatrical division, said tonight in a phone conversation from New York. “We are working to find a new home, one that will hopefully embrace the show in the same critical way and build an even bigger audience.”

Zeiger stressed that Light, though technically advanced with superior lights and nightclub-caliber sound, has not been an ideal fit for the production.

“We’ve been doing fine at Light, but it is a tough room,” Zeiger said with a chuckle. “Our performers really have to work it to produce the excitement and message of the show. They have done an amazing job, but we’re finding a new home for the show so it can live on.”

Though the show is still experiencing what one cast member calls “slow but sure” improvement in ticket sales, the appeal of Light was that Cirque actually owns the club. Thus, the move by the first Cirque Theatrical Division production out of a Cirque-owned nightclub might well be an indication that the company is looking to get out of the nightclub business entirely. Cirque is itself under new ownership, having been purchased for a reported $1.5 billion by majority partner TPG Capital in a transaction announced in April.

Zeiger and For the Record founder and executive producer Shane Scheel say they are fully confident that the show will re-emerge, though they don’t have a timetable and won’t say what venues or properties are in play. There was an instant ripple of speculation recently when the cast visited Rose. Rabbit. Lie. in the Cosmopolitan, though Scheel says only that such response “gives you an indication of the interest in ‘Baz’ in Las Vegas.”

Zeiger said the decision to leave was discussed as early as five weeks ago, with the talk heating up about a week ago. Scheel learned that it was a done deal Friday. The cast contracts are due to expire next Monday, and many new performers will be hired for the show’s next opening — whenever that is.

“‘Baz’ will be in an alternative space,” Zeiger said. “I can’t tell you that it’ll be in an EDM space, but it will be in an alternative space.” The capacity will likely be in the 500-seat range.

As Scheel said, “I am encouraged in the outpouring of interest in the show. We are looking to find a proper venue, a warmer venue, to bring the show back bigger and better than before. That’s what we are committed to.” As for when, “I don’t want to come back until we can do it right. But I know that there is a room for us, and we can, collectively, work together so we can find the best solution. In my gut, there’s a place for us in Las Vegas for a very long time."

Follow John Katsilometes on Twitter at Twitter.com/JohnnyKats. Also, follow “Kats With the Dish” at Twitter.com/KatsWiththeDish.

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