"Peepshow" is playing inside the showroom at Planet Hollywood. The show is now starring Holly Madison of "The Girls Next Door" fame, and Shoshana Bean replaces Mel B as the lead guide through (what is supposed to be about) the sexy adventures of Bo Peep. It is well funded by Base Entertainment and features scores of beautiful dancers, and couple of nice acts, singers, sets; and sadly, a horribly conceived and produced show. Jerry Mitchell conceived, directed, and choreographed this production. How he got away with putting up such an incoherent, mediocre mess is beyond me. Did Base Entertainment just buy into the hype and never check up on him? This was billed as the production that would replace "Folies Bergere" and bring a new era of entertainment to the city...well, it seems that it was just more hype. It is not going to replace anything, nor usher in anything...the only thing it will have is Jerry Mitchell laughing his way to the bank as people buy into all of the advertising.
The production of Peepshow made me angry. Soooo much money was put into this show. You would think that a company like Base Entertainment would have access to brilliant and creative people, but instead they only seem to be interested in the hype that people generate...and then they don't follow up. You can see where some of the money was spent. The refurbished space and the set are really well done. The dancers and acts are all beautiful and talented, and the musicians are very accomplished. They have the right pieces...they are just put together very badly.
As I've always sad, shows are about expectation. With the company, the money, and the names that were brought in; I expected a lot. I was sorely disappointed. There is another show that also just opened at the Hilton, The Sin City Bad Girls. It's the same concept in that it is an adult dance review with singers and a live band. This show had maybe a hundredth of the budget, a third of the cast, and a quarter of the space; but it was so much better executed and conceived. This little show at the Shimmer Cabaret blew Peepshow out of the water. It was so much more complete and clever...I wish that they had the budget of Peepshow. They might have been able to really do something with all of that money.
I have never made flat out comparisons of shows in my reviews...it's just that these two shows opened at roughly the same time, with the same genre, seeking the same audience market.
Peepshow was an ill-conceived mess. It started out well. The first few numbers were really good, and the interpretation of "Peter, Peter Pumpkin eater" turning into a stripper pole number was the highlight of the show. That number was, in fact, rather brilliant, but after that the show went in a different direction...then only lip service was paid to the concept...then it became a mess.
Holly Madison now plays Bo Peep. It is sad. She looks very uncomfortable onstage...almost embarrassed to be there. She is pretty, but has no presence. Madison is quite stunning, but she doesn't really do anything. She is led around from place to place and shown different things...occasionally making some inane comment, but truly anyone could have done that part...and probably without any rehearsal. All she did was walk around the space, look pretty, and want to get laid. As if she would really have any problem finding a man that would have sex with her...but that is the concept. It certainly wasn't about finding anything noble, or something that we could actually believe she would have a problem finding.... and by the way...what is it with the dog of the video being brought to life? He serves no purpose. He dry humps Madison a couple of times, but other than that the part is a waste. (Another shame and waste of a person. This man does a couple of dance moves at the end of the show, and you realize that he is actually very talented. It is a shame that his talent wasn't utilized.)
Shoshana Bean is the leader of the production. She has wonderful charisma and is a good choice for an emcee. Here is someone with real talent. She can sing. She can carry a stage. She is a refreshing presence on the stage.
A couple of changes since the opening...at least now it can actually be called a topless show...before, there were all pasties, all the time, and it didn't work. Now we at least get some true topless numbers, and the pasties (finally) make sense as a part of an artistic choice.
The dancing was another odd element. There were so many talented dancers on the stage, but the choreography was boring. Every dance number had all of the dancers on one level doing unison movement...it got to be very repetitive, and it lost my interest.
By the way, the lead male singer, Konrad Brock, is outstanding.
There were a couple of nice moments...as I stated earlier, the stripper pole number was the highlight of the show. The man working the solo rope was great, and the milk bath number was cute. When the blindfolded blond first stood up on the suspended saddle, it was stunning. It was a shame that these moments were brief, separated, and not really connected through the show.
Peepshow will probably do fine for a while in the Vegas market. They have good marketing materials and plenty of advertising all over the city. It is a decent show that has decent moments, but it so shallow and thin that it could break any moment. It will be interesting to see if they continue to pay big bucks to keep bringing in "stars." The night I saw the show, it was less than half full. If that trend continues, they will noght be able to bring the names in. Jerry Mitchell's last show in Vegas was, "Hairspray," which closed only weeks after its star left after his three-month contract.
