Friday, Feb. 8, 2002 | 10:56 a.m.
The past few months have been a blur for David Gravatt.
Or, as he put it, "A lot of late nights and early mornings."
Gravatt is the chief operating officer of Dick Foster Productions (DFP), a Las Vegas theatrical production company. In early December DFP received a three-year contract from the Rio to "redo" its "Masquerade Show in the Sky."
Originally a $25 million production that premiered nearly four years ago, the hotel-casino's brass decided it was time to take the show in a new direction with sexier costumes and dances, creating a more adult-oriented look and image for "Masquerade."
A former dancer-turned-choreographer-turned-director, Gravatt has "been through the ranks" for the 17 years he has been with DFP.
So serving as director and producer of the "Masquerade Show in the Sky" shouldn't have been anymore challenging than any of the other shows he's directed, among them: "Spellbound," which ran for nearly three years at Harrah's Las Vegas, or "Imagine," which played at Luxor for about a year.
Under normal circumstances, such as using six months of production time, that would have been the case.
Gravatt, however, had half that amount of time to put the entire production together -- from hiring dancers and creating new choreography to overseeing the costume changes and learning the technical aspects of the production.
It included a crash course on understanding the four flying parade floats used during the show, the computer system controlling them and safety regulations for the dancers and patrons who will ride the attractions.
It's no wonder that when Gravatt, a Las Vegas resident, said he's "been living the Rio" since December, there's little irony in his voice.
But last Saturday, just before another rehearsal, his hard work and sacrifice of a social life appeared to be paying off.
The new-and-improved show, which makes its debut Saturday after a two-day hiatus, is nearly ready.
A new vision
In April 1997 the "Masquerade Show in the Sky" opened at the Rio. Created by Farrington Productions, the original show was a part parade, part stage attraction, based on Mardi Gras and Carnivale festivities that had three separate themes: New Orleans, Rio de Janeiro and Venice.
During its initial run, the "Masquerade Show in the Sky" has gone through some modifications, such as the production "Village Street Party" from a few years ago.
After the Rio's contract with Farrington Productions expired last year, the hotel decided to take the show in a new direction, said Rio Vice President of Marketing Michael Weaver.
The idea, he said, was to take the theme-park attraction that "Masquerade Show in the Sky" had become and make it "sexier and more adult," in keeping with the images of both Las Vegas and the Rio.
"And," Weaver added, "we wanted to give (patrons) an opportunity to show them something they can't see anywhere else."
In November execs from the Rio met with six production companies that pitched ideas and concepts for the production, before choosing DFP because of its "combination of vision and experience," Weaver said.
It also didn't hurt that Harrah's, which owns the Rio, was already familiar with DFP through "Spellbound," as well as two other productions created for the hotel-casino chain's Reno property. Although the total cost to revamp the "Masquerade Show in the Sky" isn't yet known, Weaver joked that when he turns in the final bill -- easily in the millions -- "you'll hear the gasps."
From what Weaver has seen during rehearsals, however, he said it's money that's been well spent.
"I think this show is a significant departure," Weaver said. "It's always been a fabulous show -- it's the biggest icon for the Rio -- but the new choreography is electric and the costume changes are significant. It's such a visual experience."
Behind the scenes
There are about 45 dancers crammed into a gymnasium-style rehearsal room at DFP's office space, located in a warehouse district in Henderson.
The previous "Masquerade Show in the Sky" production consisted of about half that many dancers, who performed shorter routines.
To take the show to "its next level," Gravatt and the rest of the DFP creative team made several changes to the show, including four dance numbers that lasted 12 minutes apiece.
Of the four themes, "Swing and Disco" and "Venice International" are the only two to debut on Saturday and will be the only stage productions running until Feb. 23, when "Contemporary Street Show" and "Beach Party" premiere.
"Masquerade Show in the Sky" will also run seven times daily, every day. In any given show, 35 performers will be onstage, with the other 10 cast members on a two-day weekend. The cast will be rotated this way to keep everyone fresh and, as one dancer put it, "to keep from wasting away."
"In a normal show, you'll do about seven, two- to three-minute numbers," said Branwen Hackett, 26, one of the 45 dancers out of 140 who learned Christmas Eve they made the final cut. "What we're doing is a full, nonstop 12 minutes ... that's 3 1/2 hours of dancing a day. They should have a pancake buffet to fatten everybody up."
Supply and demand
Since the show was already operating under tight time restraints, Gravatt, along with two DFP choreographers, didn't have long to put the routines together. And the cast had even less time to learn them.
The dancers showed up for their first day of rehearsals Jan. 26. After a full day of intensive production-related workouts and memorization, most of them left DFP both physically and mentally spent.
"I've been a professional dancer for eight years, and after the first day I went home sobbing," Hackett said. "My body ached and my brain hurt, after processing everything I learned."
David Dunlop, 27, one of about 10 male dancers in the show, said after practice he immediately went home and lay in a bed full of heating pads as his mind raced with instructions to the new choreography.
"I kept thinking, 'Step kick, step kick, now turn ...' all night," Dunlop said. "I didn't sleep at all."
By the fifth day, though, the cast was running completely through "Swing and Disco" and "Venice International," about a week before the productions' premiere.
The dancers aren't the only entertainment to the show.
There is also the parade that begins about 10 to 15 minutes before each show, snakes through the Rio's casino area and winds up at Masquerade Village, at the staging area.
Then there are the "environmental acts" -- mimes, jugglers, stilt walkers, acrobats and contortionists -- on two satellite stages and, after the dance routine is over, mingle with the audience to make the show a more interactive experience.
Even Rio Rita, the hotel-casino's mascot, is involved, leading each parade and joining the cast during the dance numbers.
"There are so many different elements we're incorporating," choreographer Troy Trussell said, "this is like putting together the halftime of the Super Bowl."
But even with the added pressure of the production's time restraints, Gravatt hardly seemed alarmed. In fact, there was never a moment when he believed he wouldn't make the show's deadline.
Earlier Gravatt described "Masquerade Show in the Sky" as "fun, fast, furious Mardi Gras madness."
After tirelessly working to have the production ready by Saturday, he could just as easily have meant the last three months of his life.
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