Welcome to the Lord Vampire's Gothic nightly party. Enjoy dance, music, magic and live-forever fantasy.
The Stratosphere has added a late-night, topless show to their lineup.
"BITE is not about the blood, guts and gore of vampire lore, but rather the power and sexual mysticism that make vampires so feared and loved. BITE seduces the mortal with the promise of immortality," says Tim Molyneux, BITE producer and president of Molyneux Entertainment.
It's also a lot of fun. Appealing to a Gen-X audience, The vampire-themed, sin and seduciton frolic is set to rather short sound bites of notable rock 'n' roll songs. Among them: Cat Scratch Fever, Hot Blooded, Heartbreaker, Cold as Ice, Welcome to the Jungle, All Night Long, Moon Dance, Queen of the Night, Symphony for The Devil, Stairway To Heaven, Born to Be Wild, Bite the Dust, Man Eater, and Walk This Way.
The constant music gives the show a dance club flavor, perfectly fitting for a vampire party. The scenery is great Gothic and well designed to offer visual changes without hauling flats or equipment on and off stage. Lighting works wonders.
There are six high-energy young vampires with names like Fire, Ice, Tush and Cat dancing up a blood-stirring storm. Vanessa Bader, Kelly Jo Millaudon (also an aerial acrobat), Jennifer Vitello, Tara Palsha, Kymberly Clifton, and Jennifer Harvey are hard-working women. However, the choreography produced dance scenes that were more aerobic than erotic. Their attitude was more aggressive than seductive.
In fact, the most sensual element of the very-Vegas show was the aerial acrobatic team of Cees De Kok (honest!) and Catie Perquin. They flew gracefully in the air, sometimes solo, sometimes entwined but always great to watch. Dancer Millaudon did her part high above the audience too, wrapped in yards of silk, caught suddenly as she unraveled toward the floor. More flying vampires would have been a plus.
Producing this show was a challenge for Molyneux who is the writer, director, producer and music arranger of BITE. His Tennessee-based Molyneux Entertainment has produced over a dozen cruise line shows, and worked with Elton John and the Walt Disney company. This is his first Las Vegas venture.
Since BITE is performed on the same stage as the long-running American Superstars revue, there's only 30 minutes to transform the theater between that show and the start of BITE.
It's impossible to be certain if less is more. It would have been interesting to see the production performed as planned, before cuts. To accommodate the venue, the Molyneux had to downsize. The cast of 25 was cut to 11; forget about 14 vampires flying above the stage. The live band and an 18-foot set that would've been the Vampire Lord's air were axed. The overall size of the original stage set was reduced. But the large screens on either side of the stage compensated for the streamlining.
Jimmy Bryant was the only live voice heard all evening. Those fangs must have been a challenge for the singer but he did a fine job and provided a welcomed interlude.
The Lord Vampire (Garin Bader) provided some variety with adequate magic tricks. At one point, his coven goes into the audience and chooses several men and women. He makes a final selection and two are initiated into the vampire world with the classic fang-bite to the neck It becomes apparent, however, that the two were never real audience members. His Queen of the Night joins the dancers; the new male vampire challenges the ruler to a duel. Frankly, as the bare-chested interloper and master vampire fought, there were some sporadic cheers for the newcomer. But Lord Vampire won, of course.
Brief scenes of angel-winged, and later, tutu tushed dancers provided several other fetish elements. A visually very satisfying number entailed some black light effects that produced a jungle motif on the scenery and impressive snakes wrapped around the dancers. Maybe the timing was off this night, but seeing the "snakes" shed their outer skin on stage only seemed like a costume-change glitch.
BITE is nothing to chew on, but does offer a fun late-night snack with just enough spice to get your blood moving. It's entertaining and that's what it's all about.
Showtime is 10:30 p.m. nightly, except Thursday, in the Stratosphere's Theater of the Stars Showroom. The show is dark on Thursday. Tickets are $34.95, plus tax and handling fee. Guests must be 18 years-old or older to attend. Cocktails may be purchased prior to entering the showroom at the Theater of the Stars Bar. For tickets or more information, call (702) 380-7711 or (800) 99-TOWER. After the show, stop by the Crazy Armadillo Oyster Bar for some BITE-themed drinks. Don't expect anything to eat. The kitchen closes at 11 p.m. but the wait-staff and bartenders sing, dance and otherwise keep patrons amused.