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(This show was reviewed in the September 2021 LVA; some of the information contained in the review may no longer be accurate.)
Extravaganza at Bally’s has an interesting storyline. It opened on March 14, 2020, and closed the same night when the pandemic shut down the Strip. It was among the first to reopen in November, playing to the limit of 50 people, then 100 in February, 250 in March, and now to as many people as buy tickets. That’s sticking in there!
Appearing in the venerable Jubilee Theater, Extravaganza pays homage to the “golden age” of Vegas entertainment, while the backdrop is high tech. After the leading man gets fired, dumped by his girlfriend, and drenched in a downpour, all in the first few minutes, he offers his umbrella to a man who, in return, gives him a one-way ticket to Las Vegas. It launches a high-speed cross-country bus trip that showcases the interplay between the stage action and the giant backing screen.
The multimedia spectacle includes neon nights, Vegas landscapes, casino scenes, fireworks, even holograms of Elvis, Sinatra, Marilyn Monroe, and Michael Jackson; the segment with the leading man running along roller-coaster tracks is breathtaking. The production numbers range from fifties’ hop and a showgirl parade to mobsters and Latin. The soundtrack, likewise, spans the decades, from “Blue Suede Shoes” to “Rich Man’s World.” The Globe of Death with its three motorcyclists is a Vegas classic and the variety acts when we attended were the best ones from WOW—The Vegas Spectacular, the show at the Rio from the same producer—a fast juggler with Frisbee-like hats, an Italian “chef” keeping 10 dinner plates spinning to “That’s Amore,” a roller-skating duo on a tiny round platform doing spectacular stunts, and “America’s Got Talent” semifinalist Sylvia Sylvia performing various tricks with crossbows (WOW has reopened at the Rio, so some of these may have been swapped out).
It’s a thoroughly enjoyable 85 minutes from start to finish, as it should be with tickets starting at $106. The Jubilee Theater is well known for having all good seats and the show is so big that you can go for the cheapest ticket you can find without negative effect.