‘Magic Mike Live’ grand opening: ‘You see the talent onstage shine’ — PHOTOS
The screams from ladies were so loud that they drowned out the MC’s microphone turned up to full-decibel level during the grand opening of “Magic Mike Live” at The Hard Rock Hotel on Friday night. And not only did it continue, but it also built to an even higher pitch during the 80 minutes of the newest male revue to hit town.
“Magic Mike Live” is the most-buzzed-about new production, and it celebrated at The Hard Rock Hotel with a performance in its custom-designed showroom, Club Domina, transformed from the previous Body English Nightclub.
The show, based on the hit films “Magic Mike” and “Magic Mike XXL” and conceived, co-directed and produced by Channing Tatum, brought the mostly female audience to the top of their Christian Louboutins in its open-ended run.
Post-show, the cast and creative team returned to the stage for an encore performance of Fatman Scoop’s “Be Faithful” joined by Channing and his wife, Jenna Dewan-Tatum. Tatum thanked the crowd in the packed venue for joining the cast for the excitement of first night.
Guests enjoyed a celebration at nearby Dish Pool atop plush daybeds beneath canopied palm trees, as well as special activations presented by Lelo, a leading pleasure brand, featuring a “touch and play” area and VIP gift bags with pleasure objects.
Hollywood attendees included Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Emmanuelle Chriqui, Nick Zano, Cody Horn, Jillian Bell and “Absinthe” stars The Gazillionaire, Wanda Widdles and Melody Sweets. Our thanks to Erik Kabik for his photo gallery and Richard Corey’s YouTube video of opening night and my chat with Channing:
The cast: Anton Engel, Brandon Foster, David Terry, Jason Williams, J.D. Rainey, Jeremy Denzel, Jesse Morales, Kyo Dominick, Linda Garisto, Luke Broadlick, Lyndsay Hailey, Manwe Sauls-Addison, Ryan Carlson, Ryan Pires, Sebastian Gonzalez and Mark Shunock. Mark (“Rock of Ages”) starts the show as MC, then Chelsea Phillips-Reid (“50 Shades! The Parody” at Bally’s) takes over.
Also there: co-director and choreographer Alison Faulk; associate director and choreographer Teresa Espinosa; choreographer and performer Luke; production designer Rachel O’Toole; scenic designers Rob Bissinger and Anita La Scala; composer Jack Rayner; sound designer Nick Kourtides; costume designer Marina Toybina; and aerial choreographer Dreya Weber.
Mark told me why the show is so different from Chippendales at The Rio and Thunder From Down Under at Excalibur: “It’s the overall experience. You’re really immersed in this room. They’ve done an incredible job transforming the old Body English into Club Domina Theater.
“The talent — these guys are probably some of the best dancers I’ve ever seen, and I’ve been a Broadway kid for 20 years. To see these guys come together and do what they do, it’s incredible to watch. You forget that you’re at a male revue, and you see the talent onstage shine.
“It’s far more than just taking their clothes off and stripping down to drop trou, absolutely. It’s about empowering women and making them realize how important and valuable they are to us as dudes. It’s not about just guys taking off their clothes; it’s about empowering women and letting them know, ‘Hey, this night’s for them, and we’re here for you gals. Have fun!
“The women are sure having fun. I lose my voice every night. The decibel level on our PA system can’t get louder than the decibel level that the women put out. This is all about the overall presentation. It’s a 360-degree experience with 13 incredible dancers all over the place and not just on a stage.”
Teresa, associate director and choreographer who has the enviable task of looking after the 13 males and their moves, told me: “None of them have done Chippendales or Thunder From Down Under before. They’re all professional dancers in the industry. They do film, television.
“They dance for artists like Chris Brown, Justin Bieber, Jason Derulo. We’ve got them from behind the artist, and now they’re artists themselves. We have a background in hip-hop and masculine dancing. The guys we hired are all extremely talented, talented dancers. Most of them are straight, which is amazing.
“This isn’t a male revue; we wouldn’t classify it as that. They take off their clothes at certain points, but we’re going to give women more of what they want. That’s not always taking their clothes off. Sometimes it’s something funny, sometimes it’s something romantic, sometimes it’s super, super dirty and raunchy.
“Our female MC really has a lot of levity in the words she says, and she also makes it really fun and accessible. You can laugh about it, and it’s not so serious. Through that process, women feel comfortable, and they’re together as a group, and they feel empowered together. Hopefully, when they leave, they’re going to ask for more in their lives on a daily basis.
“This is for all women, this is for men, this is for heterosexual men, this is for homosexual men. We want everyone to feel special. It’s not about women idolizing these handsome men. It’s about these handsome men being here to provide a service for these women and have them enjoy the night and be there. They’re their medicine; they’re there to help them forget the troubles of their lives and just enjoy the night.”
You can watch my full red carpet interview with Channing in the YouTube video. He told tell me: “I never expected this kind of reaction in Las Vegas. If you would’ve come into a strip club in 1998 when I was 18 years old and told me I was going to own a strip club in Las Vegas, I would’ve been like “OK, maybe.” But if you told me how it’s all going to happen and how I was going to get there, I would’ve never believed you in a million years.
“This really isn’t a strip club. It’s more about the experience — an escape from reality. It’s about having a connection, a real moment with somebody. We’ve worked a lot with our guys. We’ve done a lot of real research of what do people actually take away from a real experience.”
There was one guest who had other thoughts. The Gazillionaire put into focus with just what you’d expect from him: “First thing I would do would be to fire all the guys and replace them with a bunch of hot chicks: Magic Michelle, Magic Margo, Magic Melania, maybe Melania Trump. Magic Melody comes in at the end. That would be the very first thing that I would do.”
However, Channing has the formula down because his show is sold out for the next six months. He summed up: “I’m not sure the metrics of it, but it’s something to that extent. We’ve been really lucky. The movie has helped a lot.”
