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FLASHBACK - When Nightclubs Tried To Be Showrooms

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FLASHBACK - When Nightclubs Tried To Be Showrooms

Nightclub productions tried to be "a thing". They never took off.

Cast members from 53X pose with actor Antonio Sabato Jr. (center)

Businesses can't generate income with the doors locked That's especially true for nightclubs, which are vacant most of the week. So why not capitalize on those off-hours with a show or two? Well, they gave it a try, but hardly anyone showed up! Why nightclub productions failed is anyone's guess. Was it a matter of confusion? A desire to see shows only in traditional theater settings? Perhaps the work involved in staging productions within atypical layouts proved too challenging. Most likely it was a combination of all those factors and more. [video width="1920" height="1080" mp4="https://vegas411-images.s3.eu-north-1.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/10172723/0331161923.mp4"][/video] Let's look at 53X, the "co-ed spinoff of Chippendales". Originally hosted by drag star Shangela (followed by Shannel), 53X featured super-attractive men and women in provocative dance numbers. It opened at Paris Hotel's Chateau Nightclub in March 2016 with a very splashy gala (above).

Despite a nationwide media blast, celebrity guests, and pedigree-level talent behind the scenes and onstage, 53X lasted less than one year. The writing was on the wall when discount tickets were dumped on Groupon (ouch). What went wrong after such a high-profile launch? Location location location. Everything about Chateau was wrong for a show. The "stage" was essentially a narrow ledge divided by a support beam in the middle. Performers had to hop around the pillar to get from one spot to the next. Seating was awkward, with VIP tables right up against the stage. General admission was clustered into a corridor-like arrangement behind the tables, or inside a little alcove to the left. So you were either too close, too far, or off to the side.

Since nightclub patrons were waiting to enter Chateau, 53X guests were required to exit through a rear emergency door. It dumped them onto the second-level dining area of Beer Park. Imagine leaving a burlesque show and suddenly face-to-face with dining families and boozy beer bros. Awkward!

The view when exiting 53X burlesque show at Paris Hotel

One summer before, LIGHT NIGHTCLUB (now closed) at Mandalay Bay tried a show. The multi-tiered party space launched For The Record: BAZ, a musical mash-up of films by Baz Lurhmann (Moulin Rouge, Romeo + Juliet, The Great Gatsby). [embed]https://youtu.be/fS2pHlFnT2Y?si=arTHuXbwhTwWu9ty[/embed] Performers crisscrossed the entire space, dancing, jumping, and singing from every corner (and the ceiling). Unfortunately, massive speakers and railings obstructed sight lines, while high-backed booths made it difficult to take everything in. Audience members often sat on seatbacks or attempted to stand in the aisles, where they'd collide with performers. Cast members stated it was difficult to keep everyone engaged with so much space to cover.

Backed by Cirque du Soleil and intended to be a new concept in Vegas entertainment, BAZ closed in about six weeks. Venetian Resort stepped in to save the show, building a custom stage at its Palazzo Theater...the type of arrangement it always deserved. After a gala premiere, a renamed BAZ: Star Crossed Love ran for two years and is still considered one of the greatest Vegas productions in recent decades. Remember 1 OAK, the nightclub that attracted tabloid trash like the Kardashians and Lindsay Lohan to Mirage? Operated by The Light Group, the former JET opened on New Year's Eve 2011. In 2019, 1 OAK tried to reinvigorate its business model by bringing in Scott Bradlee's classy POSTMODERN JUKEBOX.

Dancer Aaron Turner knocks 'em dead in Postmodern Jukebox

Similar to BAZ, Postmodern Jukebox reimagined current chart-toppers as period pieces. After successful performances in the much larger Mirage Theater, PMJ was downsized for 1 OAK. A sister venue to LIGHT Nightclub, 1 OAK offered the same logistical challenges that killed BAZ. Once a promising hit, POSTMODERN JUKEBOX resorted to seat-filling services before folding within two months.

It seemed like the shows-inside-clubs experiment was finished by 2019. Then last summer, Centerfolds Cabaret announced a full-on slate of three productions. Jennifer Romas would return with the award-winning EXXCITE, joined by the new MURRAY'S MISFITS and long-running A TOUCH OF BURLESQUE (see the VEGAS 411 coverage here). Both debuts held splashy premiere events with red carpets, media coverage, and celebs in attendance. But after just a couple of weeks....boom! Centerfolds simultaneously yanked EXXCITE and their own burlesque production. MURRAY'S MISFITS, however, was allowed to complete its run. This added credibility to a rumor that Centerfold's staff dancers objected to the arrangement, which reportedly created confusion and badly affected their tips. All evidence of the summer shows was erased, and the stripper poles are back in place, so to speak. While CENTERFOLDS CABARET is not a traditional nightclub, the story played out like BAZ and all the others. Don't expect it to happen again. The experiment is over.