"JUBILEE" LAS VEGAS
Today, the show "Jubilee" encompasses seven acts in 90 minutes, a bit shorter than when it opened 31 years ago but still an effective tribute to the type of Vegas show Steve Martin was referring to on “Let’s Get Small” when he observed, “There’s a million people onstage, and everything’s moving really fast, and you can’t understand a word they’re saying, but it doesn’t matter, and you’re just sitting there going, ‘Wow! Look at the (breasts)! I’ll bet there’s … 57 breasts up there!”
Since “Folies Bergere,” similar in style but comparatively scaled back, closed in 2009, “Jubilee!” stands alone as the traditional showgirl production in Las Vegas. Many strode from the stage before then, including Arden’s “Hallejulah Hollywood,” “Lido de Paris” at Stardust, “Casino de Paris” at the Dunes and “Hello America” and “Pzazz,” both at Desert Inn.
“Folies” was a particularly difficult closing for many in the “Jubilee!” family to observe. Having turned “moldy,” to use the parlance of the industry, the production at Tiffany Theater at the Tropicana collapsed just before its 50th birthday.
“We were the last two shows that were all about showgirls and big production numbers, with the guys as singers and the whole nine yards,” LeCoque recalls. “ ‘Folies’ was timeless in Europe and here. But
you see, many times in shows, when the spark just isn’t there anymore.”
The flame in “Jubilee!” remains ignited largely because the cast must consent to an onstage review every six months, when producers hold auditions for fresh performers. The more than 1,000 costumes are meticulously cleaned and repaired. Upgrades are frequent. This weekend, a new set of costumes for the brazen “Titanic” number are being unveiled. That number and the tale of Samson and Delilah have been signature scenes since the show began.
In pure numbers, “Jubilee!” still rivals the grandest Las Vegas spectacles.
Its stage is 90 feet high and the width of half a football field. The cast has been drawn down some from the original 126, but there are still 85 cast members, and Team Jubilee numbers 165.
More than 8,000 miles of sequins have been used in the production, and the famous boast is there was a worldwide shortage of Swarovski crystals in 1981 because so many were being used to create “Jubilee!” costumes.
Many of those lavish garments, with headdresses nearly as large as baby cribs and weighing as much as 22 pounds, have been designed by Bob Mackie and today are the creation of Pete Menefee. A total of 18 staffers in the show’s wardrobe department keep the “Jubilee!” costumes in top condition.
The show’s cost, originally, was a then-unheard-of $10 million, and it is still a very expensive show to stage. The cost of each of the showgirl costumes in the “Red Feather” scene that closes the show, set to a medley of Cole Porter standards, is $7,000 apiece. The rhinestone-studded tuxedos worn by the men are $10,000 each.
Thus, the costume outlay alone in “Jubilee!” runs in the millions.
As you watch “Jubilee!” unfold, probably at the point that the sinking of Titanic is re-enacted to a splashy climax, you wonder how this show can possibly remain financially viable. It does not sell out every performance, certainly, but has the power of volume with performances each evening (including a “covered” performance Saturdays at 7:30 p.m.). Also, “Jubilee!” is the rare show that is not four-walled, where the hotel space is leased by an independent company that puts on the production. The show is owned by the hotel, so Bally’s -- and, at the top, Caesars Entertainment -- is literally invested in what is unfurled onstage.
Donn Arden's "JUBILEE"
Jubilee Theatre
Bally's Las Vegas USA
