Cirque’s stage shows opened 20 years ago in Las Vegas with “Mystere” at Treasure Island, and with the most recent activity on the Strip completed, there is a feeling the company has finally settled on the right amount of “content” (or, shows) in Vegas.
But don’t jump (to conclusions), says longtime Cirque Chief Executive Officer Daniel Lamarre. Lamarre has been around long enough to see the show blossom with, at its peak, eight shows running concurrently on the Strip. He’s seen a couple close, too, both at Aria — “Viva Elvis!” in 2012 and “Zarkana” this spring, as MGM Resorts opted to take apart the theater in favor of a $165 million convention buildout.
“We have a lot of ideas for Vegas, and where we want to be is to reach a younger crowd. We have a lot of ideas we are testing right now in order to remain a very important player in the market. We have shows like [The Beatles LOVE], that will last forever, but we have to bring in new types of shows.”
Trying to lock up millennials, the 18-34 age group Lamarre is referring to, is a maddening science. But Cirque has bolstered its social-media team and activity in a way that will grab that particular demographic as they arrive in Las Vegas. Often, millennials arrive in the city with no plan whatsoever; drawing them to something Cirque-like is challenging, but Lamarre is optimistic the company’s artistry appeals to a younger culture.
“One thing we noticed is millennials, when they see our shows, they love it,” he said. “We just are not talking the same language.”
Lamarre pointed to a new Cirque initiative, its partnership with the NFL in Times Square in New York opening in the fall of 2017. Titled, “NFL Times Square,” the project, which is also a partnership with AEG, once more shows Cirque expanding its reach.
The attraction will cover more than 40,000 square feet and include a 350-seat theater, all of which will present a new and unique view of NFL games in immersive high-definition and take part in a series of skills tests. Cirque artists are not going to be running plays — which I feel would not be good for anybody — but the idea is that Cirque is adding its creative production qualities to what is easily the most powerful sports brand in the country.
“This is new artistic content, and an equivalent of that type of content can be brought for the younger crowd in Las Vegas,” Lamarre said. “That is what we are exploring now.”
Generally, Lamarre said Cirque needs to return to the more underground sensibility it owned when the company was launched by the street performer Guy Laliberte.
“Cirque was very edgy 40 years ago,” he said. “Now we have to be edgy again with new types of shows.”
{ SOURCE: Las Vegas Sun | http://goo.gl/uWpdLe }
