Norm! column

July 7, 2003

In the News

Cirque du Soleil and its next Las Vegas production, "Zumanity," gets a long look in the latest Newsweek.

Described as "Cirque du Risque," the raciest of all Cirque shows, "Zumanity" opens at New York-New York in August.

Las Vegas-based Steve Friess of Newsweek addresses the question of whether Cirque's "real risk is overexposure of a different kind."

Not only will Las Vegas have four fixed shows, and one at Disney World in Orlando, Fla., but there are five touring productions, an IMAX movie and a new, one-hour variety show on the Bravo cable network.

MGM Mirage CEO Terry Lanni has a ready answer. "If it comes to a point where they all begin to look like one another, that will be a problem, but there's enough individual artistic capabilities at Cirque to avoid that. Nobody complains that there are too many Andrew Lloyd Webber musicals on Broadway."

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