Cirque’s Blue Man Group crew laid off
CIRQUE DU SOLEIL was thinking global when it acquired Blue Mangroup in July 2017. The artistic and business partnership was designed to deliver the Blue Men to international outposts where Cirque had toured, and add a hit show to its growing arsenal.
That concept and the show itself are among those halted by the coronavirus pandemic. Blue Man Group’s cast and crew were informed Monday they were being terminated, at least temporarily.
The show at Luxor remains indefinitely dark, but as a Cirque spokeswoman emphasized, “We have every intention of returning the show when guidelines allow.” The production company, and also MGM Resorts International officials, emphasize they want the Blue Men back.
For now, Cirque says 57 employees have been laid off from a show that has been a hit on the Strip for 20 years.
Marc Roberts, a member of the troupe at Luxor dating to 2004, said reality set in pretty quickly as the cast and crew were informed by Cirque corporate that the Blue Men and their support staff are in “call-back” mode.
“I am equal parts heartbroken and really proud,” Roberts said. “I’m thinking about how fortunate I’ve been to have been a Blue Man all these years. It’s hard to be too sad about that.”
The artists and technical staff are among the nearly 3,500 employees who have been let go as Cirque has cut its international touring productions. The company is sharpening its focus on its half-dozen Strip productions, and its new show in Orlando, Florida.
BMG employees are eligible for state unemployment insurance.
The silent, blue-painted troupe with the bald skull caps was created in 1987 by
New York performance artists Phil Stanton, Chris Wink and Matt Goldman. Wink left the company in 2018 to take on a lead creative role at the Area15 entertainment complex in Las Vegas.
The troupe is well-known for creating original music with PVC pipes while munching Cap’n Crunch. The Blue Men toss marshmallows across the stage into each other’s mouths, then spit the contents onto a canvas to create a white, global tower — as art. Those pieces will be a standing testament to Blue Man Group, until the troupe can return.
No funny business
Downtown Grand wanted to put on a comedy show. The state Gaming Control Board is not laughing.
The board has yanked the plug on Don Barnhart’s comedy show planned for this weekend at its “Delirious Comedy Club.” Downtown Grand had planned a ticketed show Thursday through Sunday, headlined by Barnhart, also the club’s operator.
Instead, the board sent word Monday afternoon to Downtown Grand general manager Kevin Glass that the shows were in violation of Section 22 of Phase Two emergency directive, prohibiting audiences at live events.
Only livestreaming of the show, with no audience, would be allowed. Going with an empty room is not in the plans.
“It’s safety first,” Barnhart said Tuesday. “If the powers that be say we can’t do it, we’re not going to push the wall.”
The show was to be a traditional comedy lineup in a venue presented as a standing bar with a stage, adhering to Phase Two reopening protocols. The venue, formerly known as The Mob Bar and Las Vegas Room, had been reconfigured to less-than-50-percent capacity seating, or 40 in a room seating 166.
Appropriate social distancing, following Phase Two reopening directives covering bars in Nevada, had been enacted. Face masks were required of staff and guests. Barnhart had even designed face shields for himself and fellow comics Guy Fessenden, Brandon James, Greg Vaccariello, Kathleen Dunbar, Derek Richards and Mark Pitta. He even joked of the “Covid Moat” creating a chasm between the audience and the comics.
But none of those measures budged the Gaming Control Board off its original ruling. The agency has not returned calls and emails asking for clarification as to how the “Delirious” show was not allowed in Phase Two, but live entertainment is being routinely presented at other Las Vegas hotel-casinos.
From the start, the attempt to return the club show to Downtown Grand was not universally appreciated. Las Vegas PR exec Kip Kelly, who represented the hotel and promoted the “Delirious” launch in May 2019, blasted the club’s return by retweeting my original column about the show: “Happy to hear GCB stepped in today and shut this down. Cheap stunts like this only hurt Las Vegas. Rookie move. Everyone involved should be ashamed.”
Undaunted, Barnhart is now looking for a home for his Church Of Ha Ministry of Laughter. He is indeed an ordained minister, with an online certificate and everything. The veteran stand-up is scouting for a venue to perform comedic, and legally binding, services — with guests.
John Katsilometes’ column runs daily in the A section. His Podkats! podcast can be found at reviewjournal.com/ podcasts. Contact him at jkatsilometes@reviewjournal. com. Follow @johnnykats on Twitter, @Johnnykats1 on Instagram.
As of 9 p.m. Tuesday:
1. Laughlin casino closing again after employees test positive
A Laughlin casino temporarily closed its doors once again after a number of workers tested positive for COVID-19.
2. Cirque du Soleil files for bankruptcy protection, terminates 3,500
Cirque du Soleil, the Las Vegas Strip’s preeminent production company for more than two decades, has filed for bankruptcy protection.
3. Cosmopolitan workers say resort isn’t disclosing spread of coronavirus among employees
“We’re all checking in with each other, asking, ‘Who has it now? Who’s out now?’ … It’s just snowballing,” a pit supervisor said.
4. Sisolak extends
Phase Two through July
Nevada will stay in
Phase Two of its COVID-19 recovery plan possibly until the end of the July under an extension announced Monday by Gov. Steve Sisolak.
5. Clark County records 488 new COVID-19 cases, two more deaths
New cases were lower than the totals reported over the past three days, when a major surge in infections occurred.
As of 9 p.m. Tuesday:
1. Laughlin casino closing again after employees test positive
Avi Resort & Casino plans to suspend all operations starting through July 10.
2. Cirque du Soleil files for bankruptcy
The company, which has six productions on the Strip, made the announcement on Monday morning from its headquarters in Montreal.
3. Do’s and don’ts of wearing face masks
Nevada has issued guidelines on when and where to wear face masks, along with exceptions to those rules, since Gov.
Steve Sisolak made them mandatory.