''Absinthe'' is a live show that premiered in 2006 and is playing on the forecourt of

Caesars Palace Caesars Palace is a luxury hotel and casino in Paradise, Nevada, United States. The hotel is situated on the west side of the Las Vegas Strip between Bellagio and The Mirage. It is one of Las Vegas's largest and best known landmarks. Caesar ...

, Las Vegas, after opening on April 1, 2011. Paul Carr of ''

The Huffington Post ''HuffPost'' (''The Huffington Post'' until 2017, itself often abbreviated as ''HPo'') is an American progressive news website, with localized and international editions. The site offers news, satire, blogs, and original content, and covers p ...

'', proclaimed "If I could only see one show my entire life," he said, "I'd want it to be that." It was also called "The Greatest Show In Vegas History" by ''

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''. The show is hosted by the character The Gazillionaire, originally played by former

Cirque du Soleil Cirque du Soleil (, ; ) is a Canadian entertainment company and the largest contemporary circus producer in the world. Located in the inner-city area of Saint-Michel, Montreal, Saint-Michel, Montreal, it was founded in Baie-Saint-Paul on 16 Jun ...

clown Voki Kalfayan. His original assistant (2006-2015), Penny Pibbets was portrayed by actress Anais Thomassian. In 2015 the character Joy Jenkins was introduced, "a kewpie doll-goofy sidekick inspired by Moe of The Three Stooges." Developed and played by the American clown Jet Eveleth, "who masterminds the show. Joy is truly the heart of the show."

Background

Originally, ''Absinthe'' was supposed to open at the

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, a proposed resort which was later postponed due to financial problems. Instead, the show opened at

, which allowed the producers to set up a temporary

tent A tent is a shelter consisting of sheets of fabric or other material draped over or attached to a frame of poles or a supporting rope. While smaller tents may be free-standing or attached to the ground, large tents are usually anchored using g ...

at the Roman Plaza. Within 90 days of performances, after inspections by Las Vegas Fire & Rescue, the organizers were told to shut down production. Due to the success of the shows within those 90 days, Gary Selesner, president of Caesars Palace, purchased a

Spiegeltent A spiegeltent (Dutch language, Dutch for "mirror tent", from ''wikt:spiegel#Dutch, spiegel''+''wikt:tent#Dutch, tent'') is a large travelling tent, constructed from wood and canvas and decorated with mirrors and stained glass, intended as an ent ...

. The show is directed by Wayne Harrison with original choreography by Lucas Newland. It is produced by Ross Mollison and owned by Spiegelworld. Performances are 90 minutes long and take place in a 750 capacity spiegeltent on a stage that is only nine feet in diameter. Audience members sit in a circle around the stage.

Reception

In 2011, it was named "Best New Show" by ''Vegas Seven Magazine''. ''Absinthe'' has been described as part of the burlesque revival in Las Vegas by ''

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''. '' Northwest Indiana Times'' writer Philip Potempa acknowledges the "all-so-amazing" performers, comparing Melody Sweets to the character of the Green Fairy played by

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in the 2001 film ''

Moulin Rouge! ''Moulin Rouge!'' (, ) is a 2001 jukebox musical romantic drama film directed, produced, and co-written by Baz Luhrmann. It follows an English poet, Christian, who falls in love with the star of the Moulin Rouge, cabaret actress and courtesan ...

'' A

contemporary circus Contemporary circus (or ''cirque contemporain'' in French-speaking countries) is a contested term in circus studies. In this article, it is used in contrast to the term 'traditional circus', combining with the genre elsewhere disambiguated as ne ...

, the show is described by Stage and Cinema as a "cross between terrific variety acts and a stag party." Celebrities who have attended performances of ''Absinthe include''

Gerard Butler Gerard James Butler (born 13 November 1969) is a Scottish actor and film producer. After studying law, he turned to acting in the mid-1990s with small roles in productions such as '' Mrs Brown'' (1997), the James Bond film ''Tomorrow Never ...

Daniel Radcliffe Daniel Jacob Radcliffe (born 23 July 1989) is an English actor. Radcliffe rose to fame at age twelve for portraying the title character in the ''Harry Potter'' film series. He starred in all eight films in the series, from '' Harry Potter a ...

, Lacey Chabert,

Kaley Cuoco Kaley Christine Cuoco ( ; born November 30, 1985) is an American actress. She starred as Bridget Hennessy on the ABC sitcom '' 8 Simple Rules'' (2002–2005), Penny on the CBS sitcom ''The Big Bang Theory'' (2007–2019), and as the title ch ...

Channing Tatum Channing Matthew Tatum (born April 26, 1980) is an American actor and producer. He made his film debut in the drama ''Coach Carter'' (2005), and had his Breakthrough role, breakthrough with the sports comedy film ''She's the Man'' (2006) and t ...

James Franco James Edward Franco (born April 19, 1978) is an American actor and filmmaker. He has starred in numerous films, including Sam Raimi's Spider-Man (2002 film series), ''Spider-Man'' trilogy (2002–2007), ''Milk (2008 American film), Milk'' (200 ...

, Giada De Laurentiis,

Neil Patrick Harris Neil Patrick Harris (born June 15, 1973) is an American actor, singer, writer, producer, and television host. Primarily known for his comedic television roles and dramatic and musical stage roles, he has received List of awards and nominations ...

and

Olivia Newton-John Dame Olivia Newton-John (26 September 1948 – 8 August 2022) was a British and Australian singer and actress. With over 100 million records sold, Newton-John was one of the List of best-selling music artists#100 million to 119 million record ...

References

External links

*{{official website, http://www.absinthevegas.com/ 2006 establishments in the United States American circuses Production shows in the Las Vegas Valley Events at Caesars Palace Las Vegas shows