Touring ‘Fuerza Bruta’ to land at Excalibur
SUDDENLY, production-show competition on the Strip is in tents. The international production “Fuerza Bruta” is arriving at Excalibur on Feb. 9 for a six-month engagement. The show will perform in a tent on the property’s northwest corner of the Strip and Reno Avenue.
There will be 10 shows weekly — 7 and 9:30 p.m. Wednesdays through Sundays, dark Mondays and Tuesdays. Tickets are $72.50 (not including fees); the onsale date is to be announced.
“Fuerza Bruta” joins the long-running hit “Absinthe” at Caesars Palace, and the incoming “Celestia” at Stratosphere as acrobatics-tinged shows playing in tents on the Strip next year.
According to a news release formally announcing the production, “Fuerza Bruta” incorporates music and ample “kinetic” aerial imagery. The show debuted in Buenos Aires in 2003 by its creator and artistic director, Diqui James, and longtime musical director and composer Gaby Kerpel. The touring production has played to more than 6 million people in 34 countries and 58 cities over 15 years.
The show plays in the round, a 360-degree venue with performers working close to the crowd. Aerial effects are performed above a Lucite (or, translucent plastic) pool and while surrounded by Mylar (thin, durable polyester film used in photography and insulation). Celebrities who have visited the New York production have included Beyoncé, Justin Bieber, Jim Carrey, Bradley Cooper, Leonardo Dicaprio, John Legend, Madonna, Jimmy Page, Kanye West and Usher, who recorded the music video for his hit song “Scream” at the show, while he was a special guest performer in the NYC show.
“Fuerza Bruta” seems to remind one of Cirque du Soleil by its artistic tenor, and is loosely connected to the performance company for its production team. The show is co-produced by international operators Ozono Producciones, Fuerza Bruta and EMM Williams Productions, which is the principal promoter for Cirque, among other big production shows in South America and Lebanon.
Excalibur President and Chief Operating Officer Ann Hoff said in a statement, “On behalf of our employees, I’d like to welcome our new entertainment partners. ‘Fuerza Bruta’ has performed to extraordinary acclaim around the world, and we believe they will quickly become a mainstay on the Strip. We know Las Vegas audiences will fall in love with the spectacular production that must be seen to be believed.”
The show joins ongoing productions “Tournament of Kings,” Australian Bee Gees and “Thunder from Down Under,” and the incoming production of Dutch magic star Hans Klok, at the Excal in 2019.
Rockon
The cast of “X Rocks” never anticipated dancing to the karaoke dronings of comic Jim Breuer in front of 20,000 manic rock fans on a Las Vegas stage.
But that is what happened on Monday night. The performers in the Stabile Productions’ adult review at Bally’s shook and shimmied to help Breuer open Metallica’s sold-out concert at T-mobile Arena.
“I was super-nervous to the point of, ‘Is this really happening?’ ” dancer Briana Chance said in a phone chat Tuesday morning. “I’m still on a high from it.”
Breuer has served as Metallica’s opener during its ongoing “Worldwired” tour, and sings karaoke to a medley of heavy-metal anthems as part of his show-opening shtick. When he opened that segment, he called up the eight-woman troupe from “X Rocks,” which swung through such classics as “Crazy Train” by Ozzy Osbourne, “Highway to Hell” by AC/DC, and “You’ve Got Another Thing Coming” by Judas Priest and “Walk” by Pantera (during which, the late Vinnie Paul’s image was shown on the
LED screens, to the crowd’s delight).
“The hardest part was not to get too caught up in the emotion and just start going wild,” Chance said. “I keep saying wild. I don’t know what other word to use. It was wild.”
Producers Matt and Angela Stabile said many of the dancers were in tears as they left the stage. The entire moment was assembled through pure fate. The Stabiles also produce Piff the Magic Dragon, who headlines at Bugsy’s Cabaret at Flamingo Las Vegas, where “X Burlesque” is the Stabiles’ resident revue. Piff (legal name John van der Put) and Breuer share the same national publicist. Van der Put suggested one of the Stabiles’ dance troupes appear onstage with Breuer, and “X Rocks” was a tidy tie-in for its name and hard-rock theme.
The idea was hatched Wednesday. Two rehearsals with choreographers Anthony Cardella and Meeka Onstead sufficed as the dancers’ show prep.
Chance was not necessarily an avid Metallica fan going into the appearance (though she is big into the band now), but grew up in a rock environment as her father, David, is a former lighting director for the Grateful Dead through most of the band’s touring career.
But Chance, the daughter, had not been onstage in an arena rock show before Monday night.
“I’ve never done anything close to this,” she said. “It was so amazing. I want to do it again.”
John Katsilometes’ column runs daily in the A section. His Podkats podcast is posted on the R-J website. Contact him at jkatsilometes@reviewjournal. com. Follow @johnnykats on Twitter, @Johnnykats1 on Instagram. As of 9 p.m. Tuesday:
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