“DiscoShow” is one of the most-anticipated entertainment offerings in Las Vegas in recent memory. It’s a show, but a lot more, including a bar, lounge and restaurant, Diner Ross.
“DiscoShow” is being produced by Spiegelworld, the company behind “Absinthe” and “Atomic Saloon.” “DiscoShow” opens July 27, 2024.
We got an exclusive peek inside the $40 million, under-construction venue at Linq, so let’s take a look at what’s in store.
The “DiscoShow” theater is just one element of the down-to-the-bones demolition and build at Linq. The space sits in what was previously the long-abandoned Imperial Palace sportsbook.
The new venue spans multiple floors, and in a break with tradition, guests will be able to enter the bars and theater directly from Las Vegas Boulevard. In days past, a casino would never think of letting guests bypass slot machines, but this is not days past.
In fact, visitors may hit the bars at “DiscoShow” without even attending the show. That’s the case at “Absinthe,” where guests can visit a speakeasy (the Pier 17 Yacht Club), have an outstanding burger (at No Pants) or get a drink at the outdoor bars whether they have show tickets or not.
When guests arrive for “DiscoShow,” they’ll visit the 99 Prince bar first. The bar will start serving mid-day, long before the 7:00 p.m. and 9:30 p.m. showtimes. Why 99 Prince? You’ll quickly learn anything Spiegelworld does has a story behind it.
According to Spiegelworld, “DiscoShow” is inspired by “the spirit of David Mancuso’s legendary New York City loft parties at 99 Prince Street; a wild extension of the childhood parties the nuns used to throw at his orphanage.”
You’ll also quickly realize most of the time you’ll have no idea what Spiegelworld is talking about. We blame it all on Ross Mollison, the founder and self-proclaimed “Impresario Extraordinaire” of Spiegelworld. Mollison is a certified demented genius, so we give him a lot of creative leeway.
Yes, the restaurant at “DiscoShow,” Diner Ross, is named after Ross Mollison, but he says that wasn’t the intention, he just thought it was clever wordplay. They are not mutually exclusive.
We got our hands on a rendering of how Diner Ross will look when it’s done. Diner Ross will open at 5:00 p.m., Wednesday through Sunday.
Spiegelworld operates Superfrico at Cosmo, one of our favorite Las Vegas restaurants. Yes, despite the volume. If that menu is any indication, Diner Ross is going to satisfy those late night cravings in surroundings reminiscent of a 1970’s eatery in NYC. Or as a news release puts is, “Chef Anna Altieri, the Spiegelworld and Superfrico culinary star, has turned New York diner classics into disco-bistro-chic.”
Here’s a look at the space today. Or last week. Things are moving very quickly at “DiscoShow.”
There’s another lounge area outside the “DiscoShow” theater dubbed the Glitterloft, sort of a place to hang out for social lubrication and liquid courage prior to the theater doors officially opening and the dance party commencing.
The star of the show, of course, is the show.
Here’s a look inside the theater. The photo doesn’t do it justice, as the space will be filled with lots of high-tech video displays, from floor to ceiling. The stage (dance floor) was built on springs, and the floor will be fully programmable.
Here’s a photo of the springs under the floor. We stole it from Ross Mollison’s Facebook page.
Ross Mollison steadfastly refuses to call the theater “immersive,” but this might be the one case where that overused marketing term actually fits.
By the time we visited, the floor was already poured and the springs were covered. The next layer is LEDs.
The theater won’t have chairs, although, producer Ross Mollison says they can be provided upon request. We aren’t sure if he was kidding. The no seats thing is actually ingenious, as it means more tickets can be sold for each performance.
We’ve tried to get information about the story in “DiscoShow,” but we get the feeling it’s more experience-based than character arc-based. We’re up for anything, really.
The one thing you can be sure of is there’s going to be a lot of disco, the only music that ever needed to exist, in our humble opinion.
Ross Mollison has an eye for talent, and his “DiscoShow” team is hard to beat: Director, Steven Hoggett; Choreographer/Associate Director, Yasmine Lee; Writer, Michael Wynne; Set and costume design, David Zinn; Lighting design, Natasha Chivers; Sound design, Tom Gibbons; Projection and video design, Darrel Maloney. Let’s just say everyone involved has a list of credits longer than a Sunday morning walk of shame.
Big thanks to Ross Mollison for letting us sneak into the “DiscoShow” space. You know it was special because we wore a hard hat for the tour, and we don’t put things on our hair.
“DiscoShow” should fare well, as long as there are some variety acts in the mix. The jury’s still out on whether it will be awkward to just watch and not dance. Tourists are bound to love it.
Props to Caesars Entertainment for the vote of confidence in Spiegelworld and “DiscoShow,” footing a good part of the $40 million tab. “DiscoShow” is the house that “Absinthe” built, and we can’t wait to be immersed in disco again.
Here’s the official Web site, a thing that didn’t even exist in the disco era (Web sites, that is), if you can believe that, fellow youths.
