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V: The Ultimate Variety Show: Fast Facts

Planet Hollywood
3663 Las Vegas Blvd. S.
Las Vegas, NV 89109
702-892-7790
website

Price:

  • $60-90
  • Show Times:

  • Nightly 7 & 8:30pm
  • Vegas4Visitors Rating: B

    [ Yahoo! Maps ]

    V: The Ultimate Variety Show: The Low Down
    What Is It?
    As its name would imply, a variety show featuring everything from magicians to singers to acrobats and dog acts depending on when you visit.
    Where Is It?
    At the V Theater in the Miracle Mile Shops at Planet Hollywood on the Center Strip.
    Is it Worth the Cost?
    It may not be high art, but it is fun so yes.
    Why Should I See This Show?
    Because you miss the old-school variety shows of days gone by.
    What Else Do I Need To Know?
    The theater isn't exactly what you might call comfortable.
    What's the Bottom Line?
    This is an enjoyable show if you go in with your expectations firmly in check.
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    V: The Ultimate Variety Show: Review
    The variety revue has been a staple in Las Vegas since the first neon lights began twinkling decades ago. Usually you'd find miscellaneous acts like jugglers, magicians, and maybe a trained dog or two in between the main event, whether that be a singer or a dozen showgirls, but today Cirque du Spectacles rule the Strip, so what is a good comic juggler or magician without a white tiger to do? Inquire with the good folks at "V: The Ultimate Variety Show," which takes the best of these variety acts and puts them into one tidy package at their own theater in the Miracle Mile Shops at Planet Hollywood.

    The acts themselves run the variety gamut. Although they change regularly, it's a fair bet to say that what I saw will be a fair representation of what will be there if you decide to see the show. In fact a couple of the acts were the same both times I saw the show.

    There was a drummer suspended by wires on the wall, a really good juggler, a Russian hand balancing/strength act, an aerial act that sent two performers flying out over the audience, an illusionist, and an impersonator/performance artist. All of them were quite entertaining except for perhaps the impersonator who was just odd.

    On their own, these acts amount to nothing more than pleasant diversions - entertaining in their own way but not something you'd go out of your way to see. Put them together in one big package though and the overall effect is satisfying, if not particularly groundbreaking.

    Then again, maybe turning the spotlight on these overlooked variety style acts is groundbreaking enough. It certainly is entertaining.

    There are one downside to this bit of variety: the theater. Originally designed as a nightclub/restaurant (it was Sevilla, where Charo performed for awhile), the room is not the optimum setting for seeing a show. The flat floor is packed with banquet style chairs and small tables leaving little room for anything even remotely resembling personal space and the sightlines, both over the head of the person sitting in front of you and around the support pillars, is terrible. The show deserves better.

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