Grant
08-25-2003, 02:16 AM
Cirque du Soleil Hits Las Vegas With R-Rated `Zumanity' Show
Aug. 23 (Bloomberg) -- Drop the cotton candy, kid: You must be 18 or over to see Zumanity, the new show from Cirque du Soleil.
``It is an intense visit to a world where human inhibitions are both unveiled and discarded,'' the Montreal-based circus says of Zumanity, which opened on Aug. 14 at the New York-New York Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas. If glimpses of nudity and prosthetic genitals are too much for you, you can hit one of three bars.
It's not Ringling Brothers -- but then neither is Cirque du Soleil. Since fire-eater-turned-CEO Guy Lalibert, founded the Cirque in 1984, his troop of street performers has grown into a $500 million-a-year international entertainment empire.
The closely held company employs 2,500 people and operates five traveling shows and four permanent ones, including a G-rated version at Disney World in Orlando, Florida. Tickets typically cost $45-$150, and the company's profit margin is 20 percent to 40 percent, Cirque executives say.
Now, Cirque du Soleil is trying to expand its audience with Zumanity while pushing into television and retailing. It's already done a 13-week series for Chum Ltd.'s Bravo network.
``We are positioning ourselves as a content provider,'' says Cirque du Soleil President Daniel Lamarre. The company is also looking for partners to open hotels, spas or restaurants in London, New York and Tokyo.
Cirque du Soleil has three permanent shows at MGM Mirage hotels in Las Vegas, and it's talking with MGM Mirage about opening a Cirque-themed property on the Strip, Lamarre says.
He dismisses suggestions that the company is oversaturating Vegas and overextending itself even though an estimated 7 million people will see its performances this year. He could easily add three new shows a year and still not satisfy demand, he says. As for Zumanity, the circus is reaching out to children of all ages -- provided they're over 18, that is.
Source: Bloomberg
Aug. 23 (Bloomberg) -- Drop the cotton candy, kid: You must be 18 or over to see Zumanity, the new show from Cirque du Soleil.
``It is an intense visit to a world where human inhibitions are both unveiled and discarded,'' the Montreal-based circus says of Zumanity, which opened on Aug. 14 at the New York-New York Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas. If glimpses of nudity and prosthetic genitals are too much for you, you can hit one of three bars.
It's not Ringling Brothers -- but then neither is Cirque du Soleil. Since fire-eater-turned-CEO Guy Lalibert, founded the Cirque in 1984, his troop of street performers has grown into a $500 million-a-year international entertainment empire.
The closely held company employs 2,500 people and operates five traveling shows and four permanent ones, including a G-rated version at Disney World in Orlando, Florida. Tickets typically cost $45-$150, and the company's profit margin is 20 percent to 40 percent, Cirque executives say.
Now, Cirque du Soleil is trying to expand its audience with Zumanity while pushing into television and retailing. It's already done a 13-week series for Chum Ltd.'s Bravo network.
``We are positioning ourselves as a content provider,'' says Cirque du Soleil President Daniel Lamarre. The company is also looking for partners to open hotels, spas or restaurants in London, New York and Tokyo.
Cirque du Soleil has three permanent shows at MGM Mirage hotels in Las Vegas, and it's talking with MGM Mirage about opening a Cirque-themed property on the Strip, Lamarre says.
He dismisses suggestions that the company is oversaturating Vegas and overextending itself even though an estimated 7 million people will see its performances this year. He could easily add three new shows a year and still not satisfy demand, he says. As for Zumanity, the circus is reaching out to children of all ages -- provided they're over 18, that is.
Source: Bloomberg