"Wondering if Vegas as Broadway West is a concept that can become a reality in Sin City"

By JOHN KATSILOMETES

A story in the upcoming issue of Newsweek magazine, and posted today on newsweek.com by Las Vegas freelance journalist Steve Friess (host of interview show The Strip at podcasts.lvrocks.com), casts doubt on whether our city can fulfill the dreams of such resort moguls as Steve Wynn to become Broadway West.

Four-time Tony Award winner Harvey Fierstein, playing Edna Turnblad (and rumored to be receiving a seven-figure salary) for three months in the 90-minute Vegas version of "Hairspray," which opens Feb. 6 for previews at the Luxor, told Friess: "Las Vegas could be like the old Vaudeville circuit, a place where lighter entertainment could find a home. To the people who say that's a bastardization of Broadway: We're in the entertainment business. That's what we do."

Vaudeville? Maybe. Also quoted in the story is former "Avenue Q" cast member John Tartaglia, who finished his run in the musical at Wynn Las Vegas last month, and came away confounded by Vegas audiences. "I'd think to myself, 'What is wrong with these people?' " Tartaglia said, referring to material that drew laughs on Broadway but sank here. "Then I'd realize, these people may never have seen a Broadway show before. They don't know how to react."

The story notes something a friend of mine who saw "Avenue Q" last week also reported: The show, which is terrific, has sadly been playing to half-empty houses in its $40 million theater at the Wynn. So far, the only Broadway musical that has truly taken hold here is "Mamma Mia!" at Mandalay Bay.

Producers are watching with great interest how the next wave of Broadway-styled productions -- cleaved versions of "Hairspray," "Phantom of the Opera" (opening in May at the Venetian) and "Spamalot" (opening in early 2007 at Wynn) -- will be received.

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