V-The Ultimate Variety Show

V-The Ultimate Variety Show

The intro to this story will be shared in another blog post. Suffice it to say here, my connection, was able to get us comp tickets to the following shows. I am forever grateful for his offer and fitting around the schedule of my family. Here is the review of one show, to be followed with the other, and this same introduction.  

We did a double-feature: V-The Ultimate Variety Show first and then ran to catch Vegas! The Show. The theater for Vegas! was much larger than for Variety. Unfortunately, we had to step out to grab a quick bite (we both ran to the Strip after work and tried to find our way to the theaters after securing parking and crowd surfing across the street, flowing between vehicles stopped on a crosswalk, getting our tickets and then getting right in line at the other theater). This put us about halfway through the line to get in. This was not so hot, as all the seats were sold out, and we missed most of the fancy foot work floor show, just desserts is what we get for stopping off. So get in line early and wait, it is so worth it. As it turns out, our location put us in the perfect spot to talk to the cast! Not so bad, after all.

 But we will definitely be back!  And standing in line from the get go to get the best view.

On with the show!

The shows were both amazing! Absolutely amazing. Variety was hilarious and awe-inspiring. Vegas! was just over the top and perfectly a little bit of everything from old to new. Here is the review I sent, I hope it inspires you to see the shows also!

V The Ultimate Variety Show

This was a wonderful show in an intimate theater setting. We sat General Admission and were in the last row just before the sound and light booth but the view was spectacular given the size of the theater. We saw everything and could see each dancer and performer across the stage.

Wally Eastwood was a wonder to behold at juggling. He was the MC introducing each act and did his juggling gig in between. He had the entire crowd cheering “Faster, Wally, Faster,” and his skill was evident as the pins whirled and blurred from view. The funny anecdotes about his family kept the crowd laughing and his skill with the hats and the synthesizer had everyone in awe. The best was his completely believable chipper attitude throughout the show, culminating in the joke about having to be that happy two show a night for so many odd years. The crowd was rolling.

The show opened with an amazing hula-hoop act. The beatbox group, MO5AIC, was truly amazing. They did a variety of songs and medleys. The Skating Aratas is what I wanted to see from the get-go. They were phenomenal. I was so nervous they were going to skate right off the tiny platform. But just like figure skaters on ice, they seemed to be flawless. Sean and John, the tap dancing brothers, were so entertaining. The choreography brought me back to my childhood hearing stories of my father tap dancing, when it was the “in” thing to do. The surprising thing about the brothers dancing was that it just kept going. It wasn’t a short stint and done. It was all over the stage, all kinds of moves: sometimes just feet, sometimes with arms, sometimes whole body movements. They had parts together, pauses to showcase one then the other, or what seemed like different foot work that then came together.  

The First Lady of Magic had my full attention. Her story about her life touched me, being a woman, a wife, and trying to balance family and a career. It was so nice to hear a real life story about someone living in Vegas and what it means to be in show business, any business really, and how it doesn't always fit with family life. Now that I am a local, her story seemed more like reality than just something made up to tell the crowd. Having watched plenty of behind-the-magic shows I tried to find the secrets in hers, to see where they wanted our eyes to go and look elsewhere. But I didn't see any of it coming; the whole show was a total surprise. The best part was the box of swords. One dancer was in, then it was Melinda in her blue cape and blond long hair- but no! Once the sheets came down it was one of the male dancers, pulling off the wig and cape as he stepped out of the box! Amazing.

Crowd pleasing and nervous at the same time were the balancing duo, Aerial Expressions?. These guys had a great floor act on stage but then they were swinging out over the crowd! Everyone was turning in their seats to get a better view. They seemed to swing up so close to the stage ceiling and then so low the crowd got nervous, however those on the wings could see there was no danger at all. This was my husband’s favorite part. Amazing, astonishing, remarkable, and incredible.

I had read up on some comments available on the various travel and general review websites. The negatives were just that, negative, and even in some there was something great that they felt they had to share. Negatives included the price of a drink or lacking strength of the alcohol. Its Vegas, baby, you are going to pay for quality, deal with it.  One thing not lacking in quality was this show. Many commenters said kids from ages 6 to teens found a part of this show that was good- now that says something. A variety show is just that, a variety. There is something for everyone, so of course not everyone is going to be pleased with everything-some commenters even liked the show better than the Cirque shows. Woot woot! But we are both so glad we went and saw this show. 

We have both recommended it to anyone looking for options, especially family-friendly ones. One downside was the long lines for general admission, but it’s a price saver for sure. They take pictures of your family and have them available for purchase, at a pretty good price considering its Las Vegas (and yes, I do keep track-though we never buy them I might start since it is hard enough to get both of us in a picture at the same time). The coolest thing is that some of the performers are available after the show as a meet and greet and photo op. A great way to recap a great show. 

For pictures of the acts, theater location, and to purchase tickets visit http://www.vtheshow.com/