The newest resident production on the Strip is a variety show paying tribute to Vegas itself, set in one of the most storied showrooms on the Boulevard. But Extravaganza was performed only once, on March 14, at Bally’s Jubilee Theater before Caesars Entertainment shuttered all live ticketed entertainment at its properties due to the coronavirus pandemic.
“Every time I’ve worked on any show, you always have some problems with the opening and think maybe it should be postponed, and with this one I was saying to myself, I don’t know if it’s ready,” says Hanoch Rosénn, creator and director of Extravaganza. “There’s a lot of stuff, different sets, moving stairs, hologram screens. I was thinking, maybe I need another day, but the people were ready, the crew was ready, and we did it.
“We had a very nice house of about 600, and everything was good. All the different acts were accepted well; people were cheering. It was a wonderful success, and I’m so happy we did it, because it would have been a shame for these artists who worked so hard for months to not get this chance.”
Extravaganza is a significant addition for Bally’s, which hasn’t had a consistent show in the 1,000-plus-seat casino-level theater since Jubilee! ended its 34-year run in February 2016. The magical Masters of Illusion took a brief turn, as did Dionne Warwick before her special engagement moved across the street to Caesars Palace. A Nitro Circus motorcycle stunt show was announced for the space in the summer of 2018, but it never landed.
Extravaganza uses over-the-top sets, massive LED screens and holograms of famous headliners of the past like Frank Sinatra and Elvis Presley as the backdrop for performances by dancers, acrobats, aerialists, skaters, ventriloquists, comedians and, yes, showgirls. It’s a modern take on a familiar style of show, created by a veteran producer and director who found Vegas success with the similar WOW production, which opened at the Rio in 2017. Extravaganza could very well become a staple at the 46-year-old center-Strip property that’s rumored for sale as the Caesars Entertainment-Eldorado Resorts merger wraps up.
“Jubilee! was the Vegas show, the last show of that type, and it’s absolutely iconic. For me, the past is something you have to honor and learn from and take in a new direction,” Rosénn says. “Nowadays, everything is very quick, and that has an effect on the way people want to be entertained, so we’re trying to use all the up-to-date technology that is available.
“The whole Extravaganza concept is about Las Vegas,” Rosénn continues. “It’s my tribute to this amazing city. When I came here 25 years ago I was amazed, going from one casino to another. It was like Disneyland for adults, a roller coaster of excitement. And when you go to Vegas, you want to see a Vegas show, which is something everybody in the world knows about. In the past few years, it’s been hard to see. It’s been all about headliners and magicians and Cirque du Soleil and comedy, but [not] that typical Vegas-style show.”
Rosénn said the initial closing period was set at two weeks, then it doubled. As other casino resorts ceased operations—Caesars properties were still open as of this writing—he was told it could take up to eight weeks before the show might return.
He was planning to return to his native Israel this week while the casts of both shows will stay in Las Vegas and stay in performing shape, ready to take the stage. Rosénn has dealt with showbiz interruptions before while producing and touring various events around Europe and the Middle East. He created a concert production for Israeli pop star and actress Rita in 2006, which he says was a “huge success” for weeks before war put an end to its tour.
“Maybe this is a lesson,” Rosénn says of the current pandemic. “Maybe we wait a little bit, stay at home, read a book and rest, and when it’s over, everybody will want to be out enjoying themselves, and people from California will be in the car coming over here to party. Our shows will be even bigger and ready.”
