Ruffin’s tenacity helped push ‘Mystere’ to June reopening

“Mystere” has long been a joyous experience onstage, led by RJ Owens as Bébé François and the legendary Brian Dewhurst as prankster and usher Brian Le Petit. But the long-standing Treasure Island production wasn’t clowning around when accelerating its return, as Cirque rises from its long pandemic pause.

Initially lined up a month behind box office champ “O” in Cirque’s reopening timeline, “Mystere” is actually returning in tandem with the Bellagio aquatic production. Cirque du Soleil CEO Daniel Lamarre says Treasure Island owner Phil Ruffin’s passion for returning “Mystere” to the stage was a determining factor in the show’s June 28 restart. “O” is back, hand-in-hand, on July 1.

Lamarre outlined that process, and the company’s reopening strategy, in a wide-ranging interview this week as Cirque announced the return of those shows, along with Blue Man Group at Luxor on June 24. The highlights from our chat:

Johnny Kats: How was it that “Mystere” became the first Cirque show to reopen? I know Mr. Ruffin was very interested in the show coming back. How important was his personal zeal for “Mystere” to this whole equation?

Daniel Lamarre: Phil Ruffin was very, very eager that as soon as the market recovered that he would open “Mystere.” So, to me, between June 28 and July 1 is almost the same thing, having the two shows opening at almost at the same time. You know, we always talk about companies and corporations, but what really matters at the end of the day is that I have a personal friendship with Phil Ruffin over the past five years or more, and we stayed in touch all along.

Kats: This is the same for your partnerships with MGM Resorts International as well?

Lamarre: I have the same relationship with (MGM Resorts President) Bill Hornbuckle for more than 20 years now, and I know I can count on his support. Over the last five years, or more, I have the same kind of relationship with (MGM Resorts President of Entertainment and Sports) George Kliavkoff as well.

Kats: What’s the reopening plan for the rest of Cirque’s Las Vegas shows, “Love,” “Michael Jackson One” and “Ka?”

Lamarre: Assuming that the market is back at the pace we think it will be, we will then open one show at a time every month. So we will probably open “Love,” at the latest, in August, but maybe before because now people at MGM feel that the market is much stronger than we expected. We were planning one every month, but it could be sooner than that based on what I’m hearing. The way it will work it will be “Love,” “MJ,” and “Ka.”

Kats: In that order?

Lamarre: In that order, yes.

Kats: There is a historic message in bringing back “Mystere” and “O” first, isn’t there?

Lamarre: It’s a great symbol for us because as you know, “Mystere” was our first show in Vegas, and “O” the second. Those two shows have been historically great, not only for Vegas, but for the entire company. It’s very symbolic for us, and I would be tempted to say, for the entertainment world that those two shows are back.

Kats: How many employees are returning, combined, in these two shows, and when do rehearsals start?

Lamarre: About 300 employees, all together. We will start rehearsing next week because we need, as you know, a good two months of full-blast rehearsals so we have to have our artists in shape. We also need the show in shape, with the equipment and the technicians and everybody else to make it possible.

Kats: You’re selling tickets at full capacity?

Lamarre: Yes.

Kats: Is Cirque still interested in trying to develop something inside the old Zumanity Theater at New York-New York, and if so, where is that process?

Lamarre: Very much so. We’re very interested and we have been pitching other ideas to MGM. I hope that we can announce within, you know, a couple of months that something is happening, but we’re not there yet. As we speak, we’re still in I would call it preliminary conversations.

Kats: Are you in any similar, preliminary conversations for venues outside New York-New York, or the ones Cirque is in now?

Lamarre: To be totally transparent, today, no. But we’re always on the lookout.

Kats: We’ve had a new ownership group take over Cirque during the pandemic. Were you worried that your future with the company was also on the line here?

Lamarre: It was, for sure, because we didn’t know what the new owners would decide, but that was not important to me, to be frank. Because what was important to me — I felt like almost like I was on a mission to save the company, so even whenever I will leave the company — because I’m not here forever — I will feel that I stayed as captain on the boat when there was a huge storm, and now that the storm is over, and it’s going well for the company.

Kats: Sounds like a scene in “O.”

Lamarre: Yes (laughs).

Kats: What was it like to tell the casts and crews of these shows they would be returning to work?

Lamarre: It was so emotional. We have been waiting 400 days for this to happen. All I can say is I feel relief, and I went through a lot of happy emotions (Wednesday) morning. Looking through the screen I saw a lot of tears in the eyes of our people that were tears of joy.

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 Twitter, @JohnnyKats1 on Instagram.