Visiting theater critics give Las Vegas mixed reviews
About 140 theater critics from across the country recently attended a convention here, and they now are writing up their judgments. Keep in mind, many of them didn’t want to come. They were convinced Vegas had no quality theater. Here’s a sample of their thoughts:
"Arts purists … may sneer at the very idea of Vegas theater. But after seeing more than a dozen shows … I came away star-struck by the story-telling promise of technology." (Ellen Fagg, The Salt Lake Tribune)
"Las Vegas is breaking new ground for theater. … The city has pioneered the 90-minute, no-intermission production of shows that originated on Broadway. For me, a half-hour less of Andrew Lloyd Webber music is reason to attend. Even shorter would be better. Besides, speaking generally, less is often more." (Joe Pollack, StLouisSeats.typad.com)
"In this most unlikely of locations, an intriguing and sometimes exciting cultural cross-pollination is beginning to germinate." (Damien Jaques, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel)
"Today’s Vegas looks like an otherworldly circus and smells like air freshener working overtime to cover up the stench of cigarette smoke, greed and desperation. Old Vegas smells like smoke, vice and rhinestones and looks like ‘Jubilee!’ Now, if only Frank, Sammy and Elvis would return, I might actually think about liking Las Vegas." (Chad Jones, Inside Bay Area)
"While the answer to the question of whether Las Vegas has spawned a new art form may still be an answer-in-progress, the city is unique, its diversions and delights are colorful and provocative and, if you can enjoy it for what it is and not regret what it isn’t, it’ll be a New Day." (Laura Hitchcock, CurtainUp.com)
The musical productions "are better in their full-length versions, although they have been cut down with care. There are some funny bits and songs missing … but each can be satisfying. But it’s a different kind of satisfaction compared to some of those circus-flavored shows that represent Las Vegas today — they seem to give more bang for the buck." (Jay Hendleman, Florida’s Herald-Tribune)
"There’s enough variety in theater in Vegas to satisfy just about anyone." (Michael Grossberg, The Columbus Dispatch)
"Less than five years ago, Las Vegas might have seemed an unlikely destination for a theater critics convention. … Well, times have changed and the dust has yet to settle. … Yet when the hundred or so critics convened in a scorching Las Vegas … the choices were overwhelming. It’s a boom for visitors with a theatrical bent." (Richard Dodds, Bay Area Reporter)
Anthony Del Valle can be reached at DelValle@aol.com. You can write him c/o Las Vegas Review-Journal, P.O. Box 70, Las Vegas, NV 89125.