14 to Watch in 2014
Ross Mollison puts his foot down in the nicest way possible. “We’re trying to create an experience that is unexpected, and I don’t want to go into a long list of what it’s not,” he says about Rose. Rabbit. Lie., the enigmatic nightlife/dining collaboration between Cosmopolitan, foodie group Coastal Luxury Management and Mollison’s adult circus company, Spiegelworld.
One suspects Rose. Rabbit. Lie.’s chief mouthpiece and dreamer is just following the mystery-shrouding strategy that preceded the openings of the Cosmo itself and Spiegelworld’s first local endeavor, Absinthe. Once the first crowds processed those experiences, word of mouth spread like herpes at a beer pong tournament. As such, the hype behind the new evening haunt and its entertainment centerpiece, Vegas Nocturne (Spiegelworld’s first Vegas-exclusive production), is that it’s so audacious it won’t be limited to a single narrative, nightly performance or room.
If that lacks clarity, well, it mirrors the venue itself, which defies easy descriptors just looking at it. The first of 10 rooms is a decor-free, hexagon-shaped chamber with no obvious doors. Dining-area walls rise and fall according to the performance schedule; traditional cocktails are spun like a theme-park tea cup; live and DJ programming may veer toward jazz and classical; and there’s a pool-themed room sans an actual pool—all to be linked to Mollison’s production and vision for the space.
It’s all promising, especially for a scene that, while lucrative, needs an infusion of creativity and spontaneity. Mollison aims to recalibrate what guests anticipate—which is why he’s our best bet to begin the next chapter of Vegas nightlife.
