Opening night for The Lion King is three days away. Which means the New York Times is right on schedule with another hand-wringing piece about whether Broadway-style shows can succeed in Las Vegas. By now it should be obvious that it’s a strictly case-by-case proposition. In the instance of Spamalot, Steve Wynn maintained that the show was profitable; he just wanted more profit. (Enter Danny Gans … briefly.)
Could six — soon to be seven — Cirque du Soleil shows coexist on B’way? Most Vegas shows certainly wouldn’t last there. Comparisons of the Strip and the Great White Way are apples and oranges, and always will be. At least the NYT piece has a colorful slide show. That Mel B. has quite the gams, doesn’t she?
Ticker symbol: BHO. Even if Donald Trump couldn’t keep pace with the casino industry and can’t get anyone to buy his condos anymore, he’ll always have the Miss USA pageant, over which he presides in a manner best described as “papal.” He’s also sufficiently astute to know that when your own brand equity is in the tank, latch onto a stronger brand, specifically President Obama’s. The full video of the press conference is not for the squeamish, mainly because very unfortunate lighting made it seem as though Trump’s hair color had leached into his skin, turning him completely orange.
Since what happened at Planet Hollywood didn’t stay there and simply refuses to go away — has, in fact, turn into the PR equivalent of a Megabucks jackpot — it’s time to roll out the heavy artillery. Ladies and gentlemen, I yield the floor to Mr. Keith Olbermann …*
* — including an extra-special cameo appearances by anti-casino nabob Dr. James Dobson and even Satan, disguised (?) as Perez Hilton.
