Vegas Magazine - Niche Media - There is a place beyond the crowds, beyond the ropes, where dreams are realized and success is celebrated. You are invited.
Issue link: http://digital.greengale.com/i/332267
PHOTOGRAPHY BY TK; ILLUSTRATION BY TK act s feat u r ing t he music of M ichael Jackson and Justin Timberlake. Projection is used more prominently, and a 45 -foot pole is summoned to introduce Miss Jubilee to the audience. The response to this updated version of the last showgirl production in Vegas has not been universa lly posit ive, to put it cha r it ably, a nd Gat son lef t t he show just weeks a f ter it wa s relaunched. Members of t he Jubilee creat ive tea m, including Pa lm, empha size t hat t hey're still working on the show and will never become complacent. A nd t he element s t hat set Jubilee apart are still in place. "Jubilee will continue to evolve. We will keep it from being a museum piece," Pa lm says. "We will not box it up and put it away. It is still an entertaining show. But if you t r y to chase the market, it won't work. If you put on a good show, people will want to see it." Jubilee is the last of its kind simply because it is ver y expensive to ma int a in a nd because t he large number of high-caliber shows in Las Vegas has depleted the audience for a genuine showgirl production. "I don't think you'll see a show that uses showgirls the way Jubilee does ever again," declares LeCoque, who turns 91 in August. "T he at t ract ion of Cirque du Soleil ha s t a ken over. It used to be so many shows here were filled w it h wonder f ul da ncers a nd showg irls. Now almost all of the showgirls are in Jubilee. "Not everyone who is in a show is a showgirl," she adds. "Over the decades, they've changed from tall and glamorous mannequins to classi- cally trained dancers." Will there be another Lido, Folies, or Jubilee developed in Las Vegas? The expert in the field says it's not likely. "My sense is they will never produce a not her show like it ," says LeCoque. "You might have shows with four or six, but not the same show as we used to have, with dozens and dozens of showgirls." Her sage advice: Enjoy what's left. The show- girl is rare, but she is here. Come hell or high water, the showgirl will continue to grace the stage in Las Vegas. V "THEYWILLNEVER PRODUCEANOTHER SHOWLIKEIT." FLUFFLECOQUE VEGASMAGAZINE.COM 95