Gladys Knight: Performing at Trop was ‘a dream come true,’ but staying didn’t make financial sense

Friday, Sept. 23, 2011 | 4:50 p.m.

Lest anyone assume that Gladys Knight is taking the midnight train to Georgia, or elsewhere, and leaving the Tropicana in an acrimonious fashion, that is not the case.

Nonetheless, she is leaving the theater and issued this statement Thursday afternoon: “Performing at the Tropicana has been a dream come true for me, and I have enjoyed every performance there. I am blessed to have had the chance to work with the wonderful people and professionals at the Tropicana.”

The R&B and soul legend and Las Vegas resident is not performing previously announced dates in November and December at her eponymous theater at the Trop. A handful of dates had been added to her run and announced Sept. 9, as a release stating, “Due to the show’s immense success, the ‘Empress of Soul’ will continue to entertain audiences Tuesdays through Sundays … through the end of the year.”

Knight’s run was originally scheduled to conclude Sept. 3. But a simple accounting of the relatively scant number shows Knight was actually to perform showed that continuing the run through December was too costly to make financial sense.

As Knight spokeswoman Laura Herlovich explained in a release: “Originally, the extension included a week in November and a week in December, but upon closer examination, it did not make financial sense to keep those months in the schedule playing only two of nine weeks at the Tropicana. Due to previous commitments, the remaining weeks in those months had been previously booked for road dates prior to the extension.”

Knight finishes her run at the hotel Oct. 29. Also affected are the esteemed gentlemen of rhythm, Recycled Percussion. They were due to return to the theater Oct. 4 for a 6 p.m. engagement and share union costs with the Knight production. Both shows are four-walled, meaning they leased the space from the hotel.

But after Knight’s shows were canceled, SPI Entertainment Chief Executive Officer Adam Steck (who was planning to present R.P. at the Trop) balked at putting them in back in the theater, where they had headlined this year.

In crystallized form, it means Knight and Recycled Percussion are both free agents in Las Vegas. And at some point, there will be a new show at Gladys Knight Theater, which (logic tells us) will have to be renamed. During the Trop’s $170 million renovation, its slogan has been, “We’re Changing Everything,” and that still holds true.

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