shows I went to in Vegas

This year in Vegas I went to three and a half(!) shows.  I saw Celine Dion at Caesar's Palace.  The stage was soooooo wide, and went sooooo far back.  She had a 36-piece orchestra on stage with her.  The show was crammed choc-full of special effects, lasers, holograms, screens, cranes lifting her up and down, mist, etc.  No doubt about it, Celine is a good singer, but would everyone have come out of the theatre on such a high if it had just been her on the stage without all the added effects. Mind you, on that huge stage, just by herself, she would have been lost.   She wore tight sheath glitter dresses with split leg or one shoulder look, changing several times during the hour and a half show.  This show was real Vegas and as such truly worth a look.
When I got back home again, there was an email from her thanking me for attending the show, and also a one-only-look video of her also thanking me (well, thanking a show attendee, not me by name).  A very good publicity touch.  I appreciated this.
The second show I saw was "Surf - the Musical", at the Planet Hollywood theatre.   A brand spanking new show with  a story centred around The Beach Boys' music.  I loved-adored-fell-in-love-with-this-show!   I think it is also the way shows will be in the future.  The scenery background is a bank of screens:  the beach, sea, trees, apartments, fairground.   I will repeat what most reviewers have mentioned - the ferris wheel scene was spectacular!  The theatre-goer is truly made to believe the 'lovers' are on a real ferris wheel.   The dancer/actor/singer who played 'Rhonda' was truly a stand-out, as was the young actor who played 'the young brother'.  Everyone in the cast acted with enthusiasm.   There is not enough publcity for this show, and I'm scared it may be taken off.  It deserves to go to Broadway. Probably twenty or so in the cast.

I also saw David Spade, the comedian from '8 Simple Rules', 'Just Shoot Me', and other tv shows.  He was at the Venetian Showroom, a small, intimate theatre, maybe seating about 500.  I didn't particularly care for his intro stand-up comedians, but Spade, himself, was truly good.  I enjoyed him.
Here is a view taken from the Venetian Casino &; Hotel balcony.  As you can see, they are really trying for the 'Venice look'.

I decided to go to see Penn and Teller (at the Rio), the magicians who expose other magicians' tricks.  They were also in "Neverwhere", the fantastic British tv series.  Penn has been host on several tv shows (I think he was on the American show where one has to guess people's jobs.  I think he was also on that guess-the-tune show).  Anyway, within half an hour, the lighting blew in the theatre and there was a power cut.  Penn and Teller gamely tried to carry on (the ushers  crouched down low at the front of the stalls  shining  torches up to the stage).  While Penn was trying to perform a stunt that was highly visable, Teller ran off stage to try to locate another trick that would be okay for a power cut.  After about half-an-hour, the pair gave up.  The show was stopped, and our money was refunded.  Penn and Teller do go into the lobby at the end of a show to talk to attendees.

Oh, P.S.:  J and I have managed to cram in another two swims this month.