While the Broadway West debate is acted out in Vegas theaters, a new show is quietly moving in at the Venetian. The Fine Theater—so named after two principal investors—is recruiting staff and actors for not one but three shows to be presented in the 9,000-square-foot space that housed the Vivid nightclub.
The producers are businessmen Jeffrey and Jonathan Fine, co-producers Jeff Pollack of Handprint Entertainment, executive producer Randy Weiner and modern-day P.T. Barnum and comedian Jeff Beacher of Beacher's Madhouse and soon Beacher's Rockhouse Bar. Weiner was credited by New York Magazine as creating "club theater," a type of entertainment combining nightclub and theater settings which he proclaims as his "thing."
A series of three 90-minute shows will run six nights a week at 8 and 10 p.m. and midnight, beginning with Totally Rad 80's Prom, an homage to the trials of becoming prom king or queen. "It's everyone's chance to get their prom right," says Weiner. A school bus will cruise the Strip, picking up patrons who will be offered circa-'80s costumes to wear over their clothes, though they'll also be encouraged to come in their own duds.
When the prom lets out, a new crowd will be ushered in to buy togas, wreaths and pledge pins for the National Lampoon's Double-Secret Probation Toga Party, which will cast them as fraternity and sorority pledges. Thanks to National Lampoon's involvement, there's a chance original Animal House cast members, including Otis Day and the Knights, might drop by.
Once the new fraternity is secure, a new group will file in for an abridged midnight performance of the Rocky Horror Picture Show, complete with party hats, bags of toast and rice.
The grueling itinerary of herding guests in, entertaining them, making a mess, cleaning up the mess, and doing it all over again two more times a night, six nights a week is ambitious. The plan is to launch the shows one at a time, beginning with a premiere September 1. The decision of which will go first has yet to be made. Tickets will be $49.99.
"It's a new form of theater for Vegas," says Weiner. "It's going to change people's perception of what theater can be. ... At the end of the day, it will appeal to everyone, people who are looking to have a fun night going to a party they absolute know is going to be great."
From high atop the Palms' Fantasy Tower, the three-acre pool complex has long resembled a quarry during its construction. But tons of slate and glass have been put to good use as the new Palms Pool and Bungalows will be presented to the public Friday.
Days before the opening weekend's concerts, parties, and fashion shows, furniture is still being dropped off. N9NE Group co-owner Scott DeGraff is most taken with the colorful furniture he unpacks as he gives the Weekly an exclusive first look. "All the background is done in very muted earth tones: the browns, the greens, the creams, the ambers. Then we let the happiness of the furniture shine though in the colors and the fabrics we used," he says.
With a price tag of over $30 million, the complex is broken down into three areas with a total capacity of 2,700. Pool One stretches out in front of the restaurant terrace—due to open in two weeks—and is ringed by six woven-metal, cylindrical cabanas with sophisticated custom interiors. "When you design round cabanas, you really can't go into a store and ask for round couches," says DeGraff.
An ankle-deep wading area gives way to Pool Two that will hold up to eight floating tables with their own umbrellas, attended to by swimming cocktail servers. To the right, three two-story bungalows—each with its own pool, double-sided fireplace, lawn and bedroom—are set to open in late July. To the left, round, canvas cabanas flank a concert stage. Ikea-style, canvas-topped teepees with Astroturf occupy a terrace above three stone cabanas, with a waterfall flowing from the second floor to shield a bar.
In the space between Pools One and Two, a triangular glass bar and six blackjack tables are set beneath the tiny glass-bottomed Pool Three, with two more waterfalls feeding the wading areas.
The complex will operate seven days a week, with Ditch Fridays opening to non-guests July 7. Local ladies will be able to register for Palms Pool Girl Passes and more days will open to the public based on capacity. DJs will spin Thursday through Sunday, with DJ Twin serving as resident. The sound system is by Infinite Audio of Club Space and Pacha fame.
Nothing remains of the original Skin Pool Lounge. "Skin was great; it served a purpose. But this pool moves more in the direction of the new tower, which is extremely high-end," DeGraff says, adding "You can be exclusive and sophisticated without being snobby."