FamilyTravelGurus

Review by Anne Larison

Want to know how to make your money last longer in Las Vegas? Get away from those slot machines and tables for a few hours and see a show.

On my recent business trip to Las Vegas I tore myself away from the gambling for a few hours to see Mystere by Cirque du Soliel.

This was my second Cirque show; the first being La Nouba in Downtown Disney at Disney World in Florida. The Cirque du Soliel shows are each unique with different acts, performers, music and themes. So if you have seen one Cirque show you definitely have not seen them all.

Mystere has an international cast of performers featuring dancers, singers, musicians and champion-caliber acrobats. It is hard to explain in a few words what the theme of Mystere is, but without giving anything away there is a very large baby involved…

The dancing, acrobatics and feats of strength are amazing and it is very funny too. Our seats were in section 101 of this horse-shoe shaped theater. We were located in the front section at the end of the half circle. These were very good seats and we were close to the action. The best seats are in the middle section because it was difficult to see some of the performers who ended up over our shoulders, as the performers use all parts of the theater.

Here is a tip – there is several instances of audience participation – especially for the folks in the seats front and center. Also, there is a ‘clown’ who starts picking on arriving guests as they enter the theater. Be prepared as you may become part of the show!

 by Tim Larison

I was in Las Vegas last week and saw a fun show - Fab Four Live at the V Theatre in the Planet Hollywood shopping mall.  The V Theatre is a simple one - when I entered I thought it looked more like a warehouse than a Vegas showroom.  Soon though an Ed Sullivan look-a-like appeared from behind the curtain and introduced the “Fab Four” just like the real Ed Sullivan did back in 1964 on his TV show.

The vocals were very good as the band played many familiar Beatles songs through a non-stop 75 minute show.  I sat next to a gentleman from Tampa who said “the concierge at my resort said to close your eyes, and these guys will sound just like the Beatles.”  He was right!

Songs for the early Beatles era were performed in addition to selections from the Sgt Pepper’ Lonely Hearts Club Band album.  I especially enjoyed the John Lennon tribute towards the end of the show.  The Lennon “look a like” stepped out of character for a minute and gave a sincere tribute to Lennon followed by a performance of “Let It Be”.  

With many Las Vegas shows pricing at over $100/ticket the Fab Four Live concert is a good value (general admission at $50/ticket as of December 2008).  If you enjoy the music of the Beatles I recommend this show!