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This item has ;iot been digitized in its entirety. The original item is available for research and handling at the UNLV University Libraries. Additional digitization is available upon request. Please contact Special Collections to request additional digitization or with any questions regarding access at special.collections@unlv.edu. The Biggest Show in Town Bally's Las Vegas plans new look for 12-yea r-old stage spectacular By Phil Hevener Donn Arden?╟╓s instructions of more than 20 years ago were just as clear as the thinking behind them. Create a stage spectacle... create a show that would be the brightest and biggest ever presented on a Las Vegas stage - in die world, for that matter. Fill it with singers, dancers and the special effects necessary to take audiences on a guided tour through movies and music as they used to be. Arden did his work well and the product of those labors became known as ?╟úHallelujah Hollywood.?╟Ñ The show with its more than 100 singers and dancers became the talk of Las Vegas, as was its ?╟úhome,?╟Ñ the MGM Grand Hotel and Casino which opened with 2,000 rooms and the biggest casino anyone had ever seen. Executives wanted a show to match the rest of their operation. But times change and keeping pace with changes in the competitive environment of the Las Vegas casino industry can cost millions and nearly full-time attention. Regular updates are necessary. ?╟úHallelujah Hollywood?╟Ñ gave way to ?╟úJubilee!,?╟Ñ a song and dance production crafted along a similarly giant scale, and the new show opened in 1981, as a means of showcasing the reborn MGM which was renovated and expanded following a 1979 fire. ?╟úJubilee!?╟Ñ recently completed its 7,000th performance and in toms of sheer sprawl, still remains the largest show in Las Vegas, probably the world because of the recent closing of the ?╟úFolies Bergere?╟Ñ in Paris. Bally Manufacturing bought the MGM Las Vegas resort in 1986 but quickly skidded into a morass of financial difficulties that made it difficult to give ?╟úJubilee!?╟╓?╟╓ the continuing close attention and?, regular overhauls that such productions require. But that has changed. Bally?╟╓s Las Vegas is in the final moments of a reorganization process. Most of the details will not mean a thing to its millions of annual visitors. What will make a difference is the new look now being put in place throughout the 18-acre complex at a cost of roughly $100 million. Most rooms will be restyled by the end of the year and improvements in the casino and public areas, improvements such as new restaurants, are on-going - even as this is written. Which brings us to ?╟úJubilee!?╟Ñ and the extensive modifications necessary to remain true to the vision of strategists who gave Arden his first instructions more than 20 years ago: make certain ?╟úJubilee!?╟Ñ retains its flavor as the biggest, freshestproduction show on the Las Vegas Strip. Give it that cutting-edge quality that is part of every must-see experience. In other words make certain the biggest show in Las Vegas stays that way. But Bally?╟╓s Las Vegas Entertainment VP Joel Fischman says his goal for the overhaul goes beyond the mere issue of size. ?╟úThe sets must be lavish and attractive, we want the best looking girls and the best dancers all as part of an experience that will make people go, Wow!?╟Ñ Toward that goal, Fischman has begun the shaping of ideas and concepts that will require the investment of millions. The number of singers, dancers and assorted other performers in ?╟úJubilee!?╟Ñ will be increased, to probably more than 100 again, up from the 76 who now appear during the six nights a week when there are performances. The greater number was once necessary when there were shows seven nights a week because of the necessity of giving everyone a night off. The showroom is now dark on Friday nights. Specialty acts are also being changed, costumes bought as necessary and new production numbers designed. Fischman intends to bring in a lighting designer to relight the show. Some of these steps will require far more time than others. For instance, new specialty acts are already being brought into ?╟úJubilee!?╟Ñ but in the case of major new production numbers, a year or more will be required to put them in place. The reason for this is clear to those who have seen it at least once. The sinking of the Titanic is a number that has earned rave reviews from audiences and critics. The same is true of Samson?╟╓s destruction of the temple. Developing new major numbers to replace these - if that is what happens - along with the special effects and scenery, requires work that cannot be accomplished in a few months. But Fischman says planning has not yet progressed to the point that there is agreement on ideas to be developed and put in the show. One thing is clear, the ?╟únew?╟Ñ ?╟úJubilee!,?╟Ñ perhaps with a revised story line will stress nostalgia. ?╟úEveryone is thinking nostalgia now,?╟Ñ he says. ?╟úRevivals are the biggest thing happening on Broadway. As far as we are concerned, the giant production numbers are going to stay, but my feeling is we want to put an emphasis on talent - the best singers and dancers, the most beautiful girls. We are just not ready to talk about specifics yet.?╟Ñ He adds, ?╟úThe end result will be a show that meshes well with the rest of our entertainment here at Bally?╟╓s while also remaining true to Donn?╟╓s vision.?╟Ñ If that?╟╓s the case, then the redefined ?╟úJubilee!?╟Ñ will probably continue to feature female nudity in some of the numbers because Arden has always used this to capture the essence of carefully calculated glamour (hat is a common thread linking his biggest-successes such as the Lido. ?╟úJubilee!?╟Ñ continues drawing well March 1993 Las Vegas style 11