The Encore Theater at Wynn Las Vegas
has, in recent history, been home to several award-winning productions and
one-night performances including Avenue Q, Spamalot, and Garth Brooks. But
beginning December 16, it will be home to a resident show that was conceived
and created in-house. Steve Wynn’s ShowStoppers
features a cast of 34 singers and dancers, backed by an on-stage 30-piece orchestra.
Showstoppers
will be a highlights show of some of the most celebrated composers and
lyricists that gave us Broadway’s biggest hits and memorable productions. The
grand production will include music from Cole Porter, Rodgers &
Hammerstein, Stephen Sondheim and Marvin Hamlish, and feature spectacular
scenery and costumes.
Chairman and CEO of Wynn Resorts,
Steve Wynn comments, “These show stopping numbers, they seem to have a power of
their own. The reason they’re showstoppers is that they touch some element of
human nature and human emotion that seems to resonate generation after
generation.”
Over the past few decades, Las Vegas
has seen an increasingly smaller number of productions using live musicians in
their productions due to cost, regulations, and logistics. Adding an orchestra
is all part of keeping the elegance, style and quality everything Wynn Las
Vegas produces. The power of a live orchestra onstage is incomparable and ShowStoppers will showcase it with an
on-stage presence. The 30-piece orchestra will feature a collection of more
than 20 songs from iconic musicals including “All That Jazz” from Chicago, “Cabaret”
from Cabaret, “You’re The Top” from Anything Goes, “Luck Be A
Lady” from Guys and Dolls, “Everything’s Coming Up Roses” from Gypsy,
and more.
Wynn assembled an all-star and
award-winning creative team to lead ShowStoppers including director Phil
McKinley, most recently with Broadway’s Spiderman: Turn off the Dark;
choreography by three-time Emmy Award-winner Marguerite Derricks;
costume designer Suzy Benzinger, recently the head costume designer for the
Oscar award-winning film Blue Jasmine; Emmy Award-winning musical
director David Loeb; and hair and makeup designer Luc Verschueren.
Ticket prices are set at $90 plus
Live Entertainment Tax (LET). They also plan to offer three all-inclusive
dinner and show packages at Allegro, Sinatra and Lakeside restaurants. ShowStoppers
schedule calls for 5 day weeks; eight shows per week, dark Sundays and Mondays.