AR-News: (US-NV) Beatles show may replace Siegfried & Roy in Vegas

[Bob Chorush]

Thursday January 29, 5:09 AM



Beatles show may replace Siegfried & Roy in Vegas

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By Steve Friess

LAS VEGAS (Reuters) - The "Yellow Submarine" soon may sail into the Mirage 
casino in Las Vegas, replacing the closed "Siegfried & Roy" show with a 
Beatles-scored Cirque du Soleil spectacle, people familiar with the 
discussions said on Wednesday.

The move at MGM Mirage's signature resort would mark the next wave of a new 
British invasion of the desert entertainment capital.

Caesars Entertainment Inc's Paris Hotel & Casino is expected to announce 
next month that it will open by the end of the year a $13 million edition 
of the Queen-scored musical "We Will Rock You" as its resident show, other 
people familiar with those plans said..

Elton John begins a three-year, 75-show contract on Feb. 13 to fill in for 
Celine Dion at Caesars Palace, another Caesars property, and London-based 
"Mamma Mia" has been a hit for Mandalay Resort Group's Mandalay Bay resort 
since opening about a year ago.

The Venetian Hotel & Casino, owned by Las Vegas Sands, Inc., is in talks to 
install a permanent "Phantom of the Opera" show in 2005, a source close to 
the hotel said.

Beatles' company, Apple Corp. Inc., confirmed in 2001 that a Cirque show in 
London was under consideration, but Beatle George Harrison, who was friends 
with Cirque Chief Executive Guy Laliberte, died shortly after that 
announcement and the show never materialized.

Cirque said there was no deal for a Las Vegas Beatles show and declined to 
comment further.

'FAIRLY CERTAIN'

It's unclear whether the Mirage show would stick to the 1968 "Yellow 
Submarine" psychedelic cartoon film's soundtrack or use other Beatles music 
as well, the sources said.

MGM Mirage spokesman Alan Feldman said it was "fairly likely" that Cirque 
would fill the showroom left vacant when an on-stage tiger mauling in 
October critically injured illusionist Roy Horn and forced the permanent 
closure of the "Siegfried & Roy" magic show.

MGM and Cirque have a joint venture agreement and the "Yellow Submarine" 
show would become the fifth concurrent Cirque production on the Las Vegas 
Strip.

"O" and "Mystere" are long-time hits, "Zumanity" has just opened at New 
York, New York and another show debuts this summer at the MGM Grand hotel.

"The Cirque shows all stand on their own," said Feldman, who said other 
possibilities were still being considered for the Mirage.

The gambling and resort giant also has been mulling a Cirque-themed casino 
on the Las Vegas Strip, and Feldman said there was no limit. "How many 
great Irving Berlin songs are there? Are we ever concerned that we have too 
many?"

The Queen show at Paris Las Vegas began in London and has done well 
internationally. It strings together 25 Queen hits into a futuristic 
narrative about a rebellion against a world where music is outlawed.

The show has is being produced in the United States by Tribeca 
Entertainment, the New York-based company founded by actor Robert DeNiro. A 
Tribeca spokeswoman said it was premature to discuss the Las Vegas deal.
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