Vegas Bright Looks Back: The Worst Shows of 2016
Vegas Bright writers look back on the year and give their picks for the Worst Shows of 2016
Editor’s note: We’ve asked our writers and contributors for their opinions on the best/worst and noteworthy of all things Vegas for 2016 if they had time. Unlike other sites, a list of options to choose from was not given. Instead, a list of categories was presented letting our staff write their answers freely. With that, here are their answers for Vegas’ Worst Shows of 2016
Street Magicians – If I’ve heard the schtick once, I’ve heard it a thousand times. And stop yelling at me, I’m just trying to walk by. –Michele Di Palma
Zumanity– While it may be tough to follow the storyline in most of the Cirque Du Soleil, Zumanity is just a mess. It’s a sad attempt to try to make sex sell in a city where that theory tends to work. –Fisherman
I’m going to go with the over hyped Zowie Bowie…did they even have one live show? -Matty Ice
There is no worst show for me. I like them all, big or small…hey that rhymes! The only kind of show I have bad feelings about are the one that involves animals. –Blonde4ever
Harrah’s Improv, really it was just that bad…only 2 comedians and the MC was better than both for some reason. Probably why it closed up in 2016. –BigAzMarty
Hands-down, the Criss Angel slop-fest Mindfreak Live. A collection of stolen illusions and tired gags carried out by a charisma-free egomaniac and his two idiotic sidekicks. Please bury this mess, Luxor…it’s got more rotting flesh than the Bodies Exhibition. –Sammasseur
I haven’t actually seen a show that I have hated. Based on past reviews I’ve read, the “new and improved” Criss Angel show at Luxor (used to be called “Believe”) may be “new” but hardly “improved” as it’s just packaged differently. I hesitate to criticize what I have not seen, however, as it unfair to do so. –Greg C
Anything at the Tropicana. They’ve had more shows close there this year than they’ve had shows. And it’s too bad, as I saw Raiding the Rock Vault in April and thought it was dynamite. –Michael James
Nathan Burton’s Comedy Magic managed to turn both descriptors into lies. Repetitive magic, hackneyed sentimentality in its patter, and a comedy bit that’s like a frat revue after last call. -Kelly Lamrock
[All photos in this article appeared in previous VB articles this year]
Michael Movestro founded Vegas Bright to continue the tradition when Vegas Chatter cashed out. Michael pays the bills, maintains the site, writes articles, hosts VBN – Vegas Bright Newscast.
8 thoughts on “Vegas Bright Looks Back: The Worst Shows of 2016”
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Couldn’t disagree more with Fisherman on his pick of Zumanity. It’s an avante garde sexually provocative version of Cirque acrobatics. Story line? What? This isn’t Mystere nor was it ever envisioned to be, It’s a show that meant to make you uncomfortable seeing other peoples fetishes. Amazing in its acrobatic feats
and sexually implicit in its cast interactions on stage. Oh Yeah also lots of nudity without being on of ‘those’ Vegas late night nudie shows. Having seen all those Cirque shows, I was blown away with how risque this particular one was. My wife and I saw it on Valentines day and everything from the interior of the theater to the costumes exuded sexuality. This show was hardly an attempt to sell sexuality in the form of hey look at those @#$%, but rather it’s a show to evoke a much deeper reaction on human sexuality set in the Cirque universe which must have been missed on Fisherman.
…plus one, especially with the new acts and recent revamps. The aerial chain sequence by Brandon Pereyda (Mr. Mohawk) was gulp-inducing and heart-stopping, which isn’t easy to accomplish in the seen-it-all world of Cirque. The lush venue and detailed characterizations evoke a night at Moulin Rouge, and tickets are surprisingly affordable.
Penn & Teller, sorry to say it as I know they are fan darlings thanks to the meet and greet they do after every show, but the show itself lacked any kind of “Wow” factor and dragged. Most of what they did simply failed to land, especially the “Smoking” scene and the “Barrel vs Balloon”. It was really $110 wasted, unfortunately.
Sad to say, because everyone raves about how lovely they are.
I was one of about 14 people ever to have seen “Spoofical” at the V/Saxe theater complex, a sketch comedy/musical revue that was a satire of many things Vegas. I really wanted to like it, and I think it might have worked if they had marketed it differently. The problem is that it was all inside jokes – that only readers (or, more likely, writers) of this web site, who live and breathe the details, personalities, and ins and outs of Las Vegas, would appreciate. However, the V/Saxe theater mostly fills its seats with the freebie tickets given to timeshare presentation attendees, who clearly had no idea for the most part what the actors were talking about. Even when they passed out free shots of liquor to the audience (Free Shots!) the apparently teetotaling-dominant crowd demurred. Oh, and a Hillary-Donald bit that was cringe-inducing.
Geez, I forgot about this one. A friend (Vegas local) went to see it with freebie tickets and was absolutely furious over the show….said it was the worst crap she’d ever seen and that David Saxe should be ashamed for spearheading such an awful mess. She still brings it up from time to time. Even Saxe said he was uncomfortable with people seeing it.
The worse show I ever saw was Popovich’s at Planet Hollywood. He would try juggling and balancing tricks but kept dropping them. The animals were cute, but didn’t do anything I hadn’t seen at the San Diego Zoo shows.
Fantasy at Luxor. This show is way past its expiration. Looks like a bad late night HBO softcore film from 1991.
I also really liked Zumanity ( having seen all Cirque shows, including Viva Elvis & Zarkana ), and would put it in the top 5. I believe the worst currently running show ( thank god Bite closed) I’ve seen was the “Sin City Comedy Burlesque”. As a fan of both comedy & burlesque, they did neither very well.