Matt and Angela Stabile have been producing shows in Las Vegas for more than 20 years, but rebuilding their company’s portfolio of casino entertainment options through the pandemic has been their greatest challenge.
In October 2020, the couple’s X Country burlesque show at Harrah’s was the first Strip casino production to reopen after the shutdowns imposed by COVID. Their flagship X Burlesque at the Flamingo followed months later, but a third revue, X Rocks, finally returned to the stage this week.
Right when the pandemic took hold of the Strip, X Rocks was getting ready to reopen in a renovated showroom at what was then Bally’s.
“We were two weeks away from reopening a brand-new version of X Rocks when everything shut down, and when shows came back, [the casino] decided they didn’t want to use that theater for the show. It never actually opened,” explains Angela Stabile, a dancer and showgirl in iconic Vegas productions like Lido de Paris and Crazy Girls before she stepped behind the scenes to create her own shows.
But X Rocks is back at that same property, now Horseshoe Las Vegas, in the second-floor Imagine Theater, which also houses the Potted Potter comedy parody and the long-running Paranomal mentalism show starring Frederic Da Silva.
“It’s a great little room and it’s going to scale up the show a lot from what it was before,” says Matt Stabile. “This stage gives us more room for bigger props, bigger sets and more costumes. We took it to another level.”
X Rocks is a quintessential sexy revue set to a soundtrack of hard rock, heavy metal and classic rock—think Metallica, Van Halen, Guns N’ Roses and Aerosmith. The musical theme is what sets the show apart, according to Angela.
“We’ve changed some songs and added new songs, but a lot of what people love most is that old-school classic rock,” she says. “One big set piece we added is sort of a tribute to ‘Here I Go Again’ by Whitesnake, and we actually have the front of a Jaguar onstage to [duplicate] that classic video with the girl on the car.”
Other new elements include a laser show, a tribute to Alice Cooper featuring an oversized monster, a bit of magic and an homage to the casino’s most famous show, Jubilee, set to the sounds of Queen’s “The Show Must Go On”—including three classic costumes from Jubilee.
Another musical addition is a song by Mammoth WVH, the band fronted by Wolfgang Van Halen that includes Las Vegas guitarist Frank Sidoris—Angela’s son.
X Rocks returns with a cast of five dancers and a comedian, and “a lot of surprises,” Angela says. “We’re just excited it’s reopening.”
And in the comfortable confines of the casino where it rocked before. “It’s ironic we did end up here of all places, but it’s a great hotel and we love the changes that have come as the Horseshoe,” she says.
“It seems newer, and there’s a more vibrant customer. It’s busier now,” Matt says. “To actually be on that big new vertical marquee board on the Strip out front, it’s huge for us.”
X ROCKS Wednesday-Saturday, 9:30 p.m., $49-$107. Imagine Theater at Horseshoe Las Vegas, ticketmaster.com.
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