Million Dollar Quartet @Harrah's Fall 2013

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Sun Studios in Memphis, Tennessee is famous for being the studio that brought Rock n Roll & subsequently Rockabilly, to the masses.  In the 50s, Sam Phillips recorded such iconic artists as Johnny Cash, Elvis Presley Carl Perkins, Roy Orbison, Jerry Lee Lewis and more.  To grow Sun Studio, Sam had to realizing at one point, that he’d taken Elvis as far as he could and sold Elvis’ contract Colonel Tom Parker.  It’s reported that Elvis didn’t want to leave but understood it was necessary to further his career.  He would remain close with Sam and Sun throughout his career, especially considering they were both located in his hometown.

On Dec 4^th, 1956, Elvis decided to pop into Sun studios to pay a visit to Sam.  While there, he had a chance to check out the latest recording from Carl Perkins, who happened to have a new kid by the name of Jerry Lee Lewis playing piano for him during the sessions.  After chatting for a while, an impromptu jam session began between the 3.  At some point during the fun, John Cash stopped by and joined in. Fortunately for the world, the sound engineer thought it would be a good idea to record the session. Sam Phillips realized the opportunity for some press and called the Memphis paper.  The next day, the paper released the iconic photo of the 4 playing together and dubbed the jam session the Million Dollar Quartet.

In 2007, Million Dollar Quartet the musical came to stages and was a huge success, breaking box office records in some theatres.  It spent over a year on Broadway and has recently taken up residency at Harrah’s.

Details

Location - Harrah's

Run Time - 90 minutes

Performance Times -

• Mon & Thurs - 5:30 pm & 8 pm
• Tues, Wed, Fri & Sun - 7 pm

Ticket Cost -

• $72-97
• Tickets available at Tix for Tonight

Restrictions - Family Friendly

Plot

• It’s a theatrical telling of the real life jam session with Elvis Presley, Jerry Lee Lewis, Johnny Cash and Carl Perkins at Sun Studios in Memphis Tennessee
• The music played during the show consists of some of the greatest hits from each artist, although the set list isn’t factually accurate.
• Songs like Johnny Cash’s Folsom Prison Blues & I Walk the Line or Jerry Lee Lewis’ Great Balls of Fire and a Whole Lotta Shakin’ Goin’ On were not performed during this session. In fact, none of these songs were even released until 1957.

Vegas Mate Rating - 4/5 chips

Mark and Keren Rating - 3/5 chips

Crazy Horse Paris @MGM Grand Fall 2012

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Many consider the opening title sequences of James Bond movies to be some of the sexiest in the history of cinema.  The female form bathed in color, painted, reflected and projected upon. These sequences are provocative without being obscene and erotic without being vulgar.  However, more than 10 years before filming began on the first Bond film, in May of 1951, Crazy Horse Saloon opened in Paris France with a show that gave a theatrical take on sensuality with a mix of Avant garde.

From the beginning, the concept was to celebrate the female body by showcasing it like the work or art it is. This was done by using lighting and shade, then with color and eventually incorporated choreography.  The shows were not a collective narrative but more of a collection of intimate individual vignettes.  As times changes and evolved, so did the show.  It’s focus on theatricality allowed it to continue to stand apart from other shows featuring nudity and remain, if not become regarded more, as performance art.

La Femme opened up a residency at the MGM Grand in June 0f 2001 in a space designed to match nearly every inch of the original Crazy Horse Theatre.  Six years into a popular residency, MGM renamed the show Crazy Horse Paris.  In 2011, MGM began the “Grand Renovation” to their resort, retooling and updating virtually everything in the resort from the rooms to the dining options and entertainment.  In 2012, Crazy Horse Paris became a casualty of the renovation.  Rumors began almost immediately of relocation to another Vegas property, but to day, the show has not reopened.

Location

• Formerly at the MGM Grand, about a third of the way into the casino if you are entering from the Las Vegas Blvd entrance, in the middle of the casino floor

Run time

• 90 minutes, 1 intermission

Performance Times

• 8pm & 10:30pm Wed-Mon's

Ticket Cost

• $35-90

Restrictions

• Must be 21 or older

Theatre capacity & configuration

• 322 seats, burlesque club

Refreshments

• Drinks
• Drinks served during the show, inside the theatre
• Food
• None Available

Cast

• All of the cast are genuine Parisian females and are all natural.
• To focus on the show being about the female form, producers intentionally cast women with similar body type, shape, height and breast size.

Theme/Music

• Some modern music, some French language

Mark and Keren Rate - 5/5 chips