Insurgo Theater Movement‘s residency at the Plaza Las Vegas ended not with a bang but a Facebook whimper five hours ago: “Greetings mes braves! Insurgo is no longer producing at The Plaza. We want to thank them for a great run and wonderful hospitality! If you’re looking for live theatre, check out The Onyx [Theatre], Las Vegas Little Theatre, Sirc Michaels Productions, Cockroach Theatre, and Atlas Theatre. It’s been a pleasure to perform for you.” (The inclusion of Atlas is odd; it hasn’t produced in over a year.)
One of the few people who saw this coming was LVA‘s own Tanya Maynard, who had received an advance, official tip that Cannibal! The Musical was closing July 14. Attempting to present Serious Theatuh at a Downtown casino-hotel was a risky venture from the get-go, and both Insurgo and the Plaza made their share of goofs. Since Insurgo had plans at the Plaza at least through the end of 2012 and had just held auditions for a new show, the Plaza’s axe obviously fell quite suddenly. At this point, those who know what went down aren’t talking. However, the long-term consequence is clear: Casinos operate by herd mentality and it’ll be a cold day in Hades before an operator takes the chance of playing bingo in one room and Shakespeare in the next.
Hey, but you left out they are putting up a big screen TV on the front of the building. THAT will fix all their problems. David you called it at the time, the remodel will hasten their bankruptcy, not prevent it.