No more Moat: Vegas shows can go on
THE Moat is being eliminated. Good riddance, we say.
The 25-foot distance between spectators and entertainers at Las Vegas ticketed shows is part of our pandemic past. Gov. Steve Sisolak has signed off on a provision that erases the distance requirement that has undercut several Vegas stage shows and headliners.
From the state’s news release announcing the decision:
“The recommendations include a minimum separation of at least 6 feet for all live entertainment and performances only if artists and performers wear a mask or face covering at all times throughout the performance, or a minimum separation of at least 12 feet for all live entertainment and performances when artists and performers are unmasked or temporarily and intermittently remove their masks or face coverings during performances.”
The changes are effective immediately.
The chief complaint about The Moat has been its inconsistencies. Entertainment professionals did not understand how the 25-foot distance was necessary for ticketed shows yet not required for live “ambient” entertainment in such hybrid dinner/entertainment clubs as Mayfair Supper Club at the Bellagio, Rose. Rabbit. Lie. at The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas, and The Vegas Room at Commercial Center.
Producers were uniformly happy with Friday afternoon’s news.
“The governor will be carried through the streets on the shoulders of Spiegelworld acrobats,” Spiegelworld founder Ross Mollison said. “I am overjoyed.”
His was a sentiment shared by entertainment professionals across the city.
“This is fantastic; this is what we have been waiting for,” SPI Entertainment CEO Adam Steck said. “It’s another step in getting Vegas back to Vegas.”
“That 25-foot moat is gigantic for us. It separates our cast from the audience,” said “Fantasy” producer Anita Mann, who expects that her show will remain in the Luxor Theater along with Carrot Top’s headlining production until restrictions are further lifted. “This is such shocking, exciting news.”
Sisolak is acting on advice from the state’s epidemiologist and public health experts. The Las Vegas Covid-19 Events Committee and the Las Vegas Entertainment Creators Council have pushed for these changes. So have Clark County Commissioner Marilyn Kirkpatrick and Nevada Resorts Association President Virginia Valentine.
Simply, the adjusted distance requirements allow many smaller-venue shows on and off the Strip to return to the stage, or move from vast facilities back into their original facilities.
Mollison’s hit show “Absinthe” has performed with that 25-foot distance at its Spiegeltent at Caesars Palace since the provision was added to the state’s pandemic directives in October. Under the rules, ticketed shows have been allowed to reopen for crowds of up to 250, then back to 50 during the statewide “pause,” and currently 100 audience members. But those crowds have been required to sit 25 feet from the stage.
Among the shows and headliners who could not return largely because of The Moat’s restrictions are Spiegelworld’s “Atomic Saloon Show” at The Venetian’s Grand Canal Shoppes and “Opium” at The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas; all of David Saxe Production’s shows at Miracle Mile Shops at Planet Hollywood Resort; the Righteous Brothers and Bronx Wanderers at Harrah’s Showroom; “Menopause the Musical” at Harrah’s Cabaret; and the headlining shows at Cleopatra’s Barge at Caesars Palace, including Wayne Newton and Dionne Warwick.
Saxe said Friday afternoon that he can now reopen such small-scale shows as Gerry Mccambridge’s “The Mentalist,” the Elvis tribute “All Shook Up” and the Las Vegas Live comedy club in his V2 Theater on April 2.
“This is great,” Saxe said.
“We were looking at about 40 seats in our bigger theaters, and none in our V2 theater, so we can get more now. I’m happy. It’s a step in the right direction.”
Several shows had announced they were already planning to return after public gathering limits move to 250 people on or after March 15. David Copperfield at his theater at the MGM Grand, Terry Fator at the former Zumanity Theater at New York-new York, the Australian Bee Gees at Thunderland at Excalibur, and “MJ Live” at The Strat are among the shows ramping up this month.
And, many productions have adjusted to The Moat, showing a uniquely Las Vegas ingenuity. Comic mime Tape Face, forced to move from his House of Tape at Caesars Palace into Harrah’s Showroom, has filled The Moat with 100 mannequins. MGM Resorts International has relocated Carrot Top and and “Fantasy” to Luxor Theater, as the distance at the Atrium Showroom was untenable. Brad Garrett’s Comedy Club moved to the larger Studio A & B Ballroom space at the MGM Grand Garden.
The MGM Grand production Jabbawockeez had, for a time, performed at the Grand Garden. Attempting to install The Moat on its casino-level theater would have pushed some of the seats outside the venue. “X Country” at Harrah’s Cabaret and “X Burlesque” at Flamingo have performed to limited audiences at their original venues.
Producers Matt and Angela Stabile said Friday they could increase capacity for all of their shows while reducing the distance and are also bringing “X Rocks” back to a new venue at Bally’s in May.
The Review-journal is owned by the family of Sheldon Adelson, the late CEO and chairman of Las Vegas Sands Corp., which owns The Venetian.