Stephanie Klienman
Anita Mann
Tuesday, Oct. 6, 2020 | 2 a.m.
Anita Mann is best known in Las Vegas as the creator of the long-running “Fantasy” revue at Luxor, but she has served as a choreographer and producer for some of the biggest events in television and been recognized for her work in dance by the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences. Mann was working on several high-profile projects for stage and screen when the pandemic pressed pause on productions of every kind across the country, and now that live entertainment is starting to come alive again in Las Vegas, she’s focusing once again on her dream show, “Fantasy.”
The Sun checked in with Mann this week to find out how and when her show might return to the Strip.
“Fantasy” was Las Vegas Weekly’s All-Time Best of Vegas award winner earlier this year for Best Female Revue, which was awarded by reader vote so that must have made it extra special.
That was very rewarding in so many ways. That’s all we try to do is make the show better every year, so to be recognized this year was special.
You were deep into development on some other projects and TV concepts when this entertainment shutdown occurred. Have you been able to resume those developments?
Everything was put on hold and even network meetings were canceled or postponed, just taken off the books. Just this past week I started emailing again about revisiting one of those projects. But we’re not giving up. We are going to go forward and hopefully get back on track. And we did announce the plans last September for the Dance Hall of Fame, which we hope to turn into a yearly TV special. It would be like the Grammys of dance. I have been busy with philanthropic work all year long and that changed quite a bit because the arts are so clearly suffering. I’m on the board for the American Dance Movement and we did a virtual event for National Dance Day in September. I guess the good news is at least I have time.
“Fantasy” celebrated 20 years at Luxor last year and while there’s so much going on with that show, comedy and singing and glamour and more, dance is really at the core of the production.
I build a lot of live shows and I’ve had great success with many of them but “Fantasy” was my dream, to showcase dances as the star vehicle for the show. I want to recognize their individual personalities and highlight them as individuals and artists and just pay tribute to the dancer.
The governor recently updated the restrictions for events and that will allow some shows to resume operation. Can “Fantasy” relaunch under these criteria?
Honestly, it’s so new and I think there’s still some confusion with some of it, but we are partnered with MGM Resorts and they’ll be sending out more specific guidelines. We will definitely stay within all the guidelines and do whatever we have to do to keep everyone safe and bring live entertainment back to the people in Las Vegas. Whatever we’re asked to do, we will be able to do, we just don’t know when yet. I love working with MGM and we have a very open and healthy and supportive relationship. We will continue to work hand in hand and keep plugging away and be ready to launch the minute we get the go-ahead.
Once you get it, how much ramp-up time do you think the cast and crew of “Fantasy” will need to get back onstage?
I would like a week. I know the girls are staying safe and obviously we’d have to get [everyone] tested and get organized with all the safety issues, but once those logistics come together, I can make the necessary creative changes. Our show was so well run and we have such a great crew, and the ladies are so eager. I trust that they are all ready.
When you have a tight-knit group who has been performing together for so long, I’m sure that makes it a bit easier to restart like this.
I stay very connected with Mariah [Rivera], our associate producer, and with Yesi [Burgess, dance captain] and our in-house choreographer, and all the girls are on this big text chain all the time. It really is a family. We have so much care for each other and support for each other. We all want to be back onstage but we want everyone to be safe, which we will be. I have to say how blessed I feel to have the kind of cast that we have, where no one comes into the dressing room feeling like it’s a task, or like you’re going to work. The energy they have brought to the show has kept us all going through this time, and we feel like we’re going through it together. That’s not always the case in any company in show business or in any industry.
