When you walk around the Las Vegas Strip, you see women dressed as showgirls. They're usually somewhat cheekily attired and they work in pairs, trying to get tourists to pay for photos.
These women aren't actually showgirls, however, anymore than the shirtless men near them are firefighters or the people dressed as Batman/Superman/Captain America are superheroes.
Showgirls have a long tradition on the Las Vegas Strip, but they're actually no longer an active part of its present, according to Casino.org.
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"One important thing to know about real showgirls is that they are elite athletes trained in classical dance who perform nightly in Las Vegas Strip musical productions," the website reported.
"They don’t hang outside on the sidewalk waiting for photo ops. Another important thing to know about real showgirls is that they no longer exist. They haven’t since 2016. That’s when the last Vegas showgirl show, 'Jubilee!' at Bally’s, closed after 35 years,"
Now, along with showgirl shows being a thing of the past, another kind of Las Vegas show that has long been a staple on the Strip appears to be on its way out -- Broadway-style production shows.
A Number of Shows on the Vegas Strip Are Closing
Production shows used to be a major draw in Las Vegas but that appears to be changing.
A number of long-running shows have closed and a big-money attempt to launch a musical based on the very Vegas-like theatrical work of departed rock icon Meat Loaf, "Bat Out of Hell: The Musical," closed after barely three months at Caesar's Entertainment's (CZR) Paris Las Vegas.
The Meat Loaf musical is not alone.
"In the last quarter of 2022, five Las Vegas Strip shows failed to cross the threshold into 2023. 'Bat Out of Hell: The Musical' at Paris Las Vegas, Criss Angel’s 'Amystika' at Planet Hollywood, 'Extravaganza' at Horseshoe, 'Legends in Concert' at the Tropicana, and Xavier Mortimer’s magic show at The Strat all took an involuntary final curtain call.," Casino.org reported.
Even "Hamilton" creator Lin-Manuel Miranda's Broadway hit "Freestyle Love Supreme" failed at the Summit Showroom at the Venetian, running for less than three months. The show was scheduled to run until April but had its last performance at the end of January.
Big Name Headliners Rule the Las Vegas Strip
These big Broadway-style production shows have likely been failing simply because the Las Vegas Strip has so many big-name performers both in residency and playing a show or two.
It wasn't that long ago that performing a Las Vegas residency was seen as a sign that your career was dying.
Now, Las Vegas isn't just for Wayne Newton and Barry Manilow (even though both remain major draws). Caesars, MGM Resorts International (MGM), Resorts World Las Vegas, and other Strip casinos host or have recently hosted a stunning array of headliners including Adele, Katy Perry, Lady Gaga, Garth Brooks, Sting, Gwen Stefani, and many more.
Pretty much any touring act that still has a name -- or once was big -- plays Las Vegas for at least a few shows a year. And with Allegiant Stadium located just off the Strip, Las Vegas can also host major stadium acts like BTS, Taylor Swift, and others.
Add in the fact that Las Vegas now also serves as the home for pretty much every major name in electronic dance music, and music fans have more choices than they can possibly actually go to. That, of course, does not count the headliner comedians who play up and down the Strip or the National Football League and National Hockey League games Las Vegas now hosts.
“If you’re coming to town to see basketball or Nascar, you already paid a premium for both your tickets and your room rate,” Mike Weatherford, former theater reporter and critic for the Las Vegas Review-Journal, told Casino.org.
“If you have any money left over, and you can find the tickets, then Usher, Keith Urban, Katy Perry, and Adele are playing residencies, and you have two nights of Jimmy Buffett."
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