$40M Las Vegas production steps out for its premiere

Early on a weekday morning, Ross Mollison leads a tour of the under-construction Glitterloft, his disco club at The Linq Hotel. This is where, in his vision, Vegas showgoers will pay to groove with a Finnish dance instructor in the new entertainment experience “DiscoShow.”

Why disco? “Because I love it,” he says.

But will audiences love it?

“I think people are going to lose their minds,” Mollison says.

Set it to music. Consider the Spiegelworld founder’s fertile brain all the market testing “DiscoShow” needs.

The $40 million production makes its premiere Saturday, after running in previews for three weeks.

About seven years in development, “DiscoShow” is staged at Glitterloft, formerly the Imperial Palace sportsbook, which does have a dance heritage — it’s where folks once wagered on college basketball’s Big Dance.

The dance team

As always an effective recruiter, Mollison has built an all-star creative team for “DiscoShow.”

Steven Hoggett (“Harry Potter and the Cursed Child,” “Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street”), the Obie and Olivier award-winning choreographer, directs. The associate director is Yasmine Lee (“Wild Goose Dreams,” “Tender Napalm”). Lead writer is Olivier Award winner Michael Wynne (“The Priory”). The period sets and costumes are conceived by 10-time Tony nominee and three-time winner David Zinn (“Stereophonic,” “SpongeBob Squarepants: The Broadway Musical,” “The Humans”).

We’ve held a full account of their collective artistry until Saturday’s premiere. But we know the heavily refashioned room is furnished with a pulsating floor that flashes to the beat of the music. About 200 ticket holders take a disco tutelage tour led by the character Åke Blomqvist, based on Finland’s actual “King of Disco,” who died in 2013.

The production’s diva, known as Mother (Eureka O’Hara, from “RuPaul’s Drag Race”), warms the crowd up with a speech at the connected 99 Prince bar.

Folks then file in, preferably prepared to groove. The white-suited Blomqvist (played by Spiegelworld vet Eli Weinberg) and a cast of backing dancers teach a series of steps culminating in a communal dance party.

Disco’s history

The show rolls with a storyline tracking the birth and death of disco.

Blomqvist, who taught “Hustle”-style steps beginning in the early 1970s, would represent the birth. Disco’s death is marked by the infamous “Disco Demolition Night,” the July 1979 promotion in which a crate of disco records was blown up on the field between games of a Tigers-White Sox doubleheader at Comiskey Park.

The detonation touched off a riot. In its embers was the disco craze itself. Video of Blomqvist and “Disco Demolition” are featured in the show, along with a shimmering Glitterloft image.

“We want everyone who wants to dance to be motivated to dance,” Mollison says. “We want to celebrate the history of the culture, which has always been impressive and important to me.”

A subway series

Mollison’s bar and club concepts are inspired by the late, groundbreaking DJ David Mancuso’s invite-only parties known as The Loft in New York City. This is a true Big Apple trip, with subway benches salvaged from the city.

“The idea is, you get on the subway, you’ve gone downtown, and then all of a sudden, you get off the subway,” Mollison says. And you come to David’s party, where he’s made a bar out of whatever he can find.”

Around the room: A weathered pay phone, old cut-out letters spelling out such cocktail specialties as MANCUSO MARGARITA (for $20, reflecting today’s Strip prices rather than 1977 NYC), and a painting of Oscar the Grouch.

A DJ, working two turntables with vinyl records, plays every night at 99 Prince.

The similarly 1970s-themed Diner Ross restaurant is a destination unto itself in this disco-era multiplex. The name speaks to Mollison himself, and to Diana Ross, which is why a big portrait of the disco icon hangs in the dining room.

In his image

Mollison, the “Impresario Extraordinaire,” is a firmly planted Las Vegas personality. The man who launched the force of nature that is “Absinthe” in 2011 is a genuine jet-setter, spanning the planet seeking talent in Ethiopia or catching the Formula One race in Monza, Italy. He’s to Spiegelworld what Guy Laliberte was during his reign with Cirque du Soleil, the face and creative visionary of his company.

As such, Mollison is steadfast in his quest to deliver shows and hospitality experiences as a complement to “Absinthe.” His company manages the undeniably successful Superfrico restaurant at The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas and its offshoot connected to “The Hook” at Caesars Atlantic City. A new show and restaurant are planned for Caesars New Orleans (opening date undetermined, pushed back from February 2025).

The company also operates “Atomic Saloon Show” and its money-making bar at The Venetian’s Grand Canal Shoppes, and it owns the circus town Nipton, California, where concepts are hatched.

Keeping all of the projects alive is a challenge in a notoriously competitive Las Vegas entertainment market. The stage shows “OPM” (originally “Opium”) and “Vegas Nocturne,” both at the Cosmo, have opened and closed since “Absinthe.”

Regardless of its drawing power while playing 16 shows a week, “Absinthe” will always stand as its own success story. Mollison isn’t into sequels.

“I just want to continue developing creative ideas. I want to keep pushing the creative in a whole new range of ways,” he says. “I’ve never looked to copy ‘Absinthe.’ I’ve always looked to do something as far away from ‘Absinthe’ as I can. You can’t get much further away than ‘DiscoShow.’ ”

John Katsilometes’ column runs daily in the A section. His “PodKats!” podcast can be found at reviewjournal.com/podcasts. Contact him at jkatsilometes@reviewjournal.com. Follow @johnnykats on X, @JohnnyKats1 on Instagram.