From the Las Vegas Sun:
Take these broken wings …: The one segment that has made me grimace in “Love” at the Mirage is the “Blackbird” scene, the stupid slapstick comedy interlude that is all spoken-word and no music. The scene’s original centerpiece (who played Dr. Robert in the production), Fabio Esposito De Castro, left the show in November to be with his family in Brazil. He has since been replaced with another Brazilian performer, Claudio Carniero, who is a lot less heavy-handed, and, thus, funnier in that scene. The segment has also been shortened, and the moment where one of the costumed blackbird characters poops on Dr. Robert’s face has been mercifully removed. …
More hijinks from Cirque: Empire Ballroom comic hypnotist Michael Johns, who fronts “Hypnosis Gone Wild” nightly at 11, was in the audience Saturday night at “O” at the Bellagio and found himself in a bit of role reversal. As the show opened, the dancing clown character (insert your own Bush Administration joke here) pulled Johns onstage and coerced him into dancing for the audience. “It wouldn’t have been so bad if it had been a showgirl,” said Johns, whose show is built on such audience participation. …
