La Reve

After attending the impressive Fab Four concert and then enjoying an excellent meal at Tao, our Saturday night in Vegas was topped off with a visit to the Wynn casino to see "La Reve." I had wanted to go to this show last year, but it had just opened and was sold out. "La Reve" is a creation of Franco Dragone, who also produced Celine Dion's "A New Day" concert that's been running for years at Caesar's Palace and is now in its final days. I went to that show last year despite the fact that I cannot stand Celine. I knew it was going to be much more than a concert, and it was - it was absolutely amazing. So I had high expectations for "La Reve," and it did not disappoint.

Like Cirque du Soleil's "O" (housed in the Bellagio), "La Reve" is a water-based performance. Whereas "O" has its stage at the front of the theater, "La Reve" has its focal point in the center of an auditorium, and all seats surround it. Its web site describes the show as an "intimate experience," and I definitely agree with that - there's not a bad seat in the house and it does not feel like you are in a gigantic theater. But looks can be deceiving, as the sets are wildly complicated -- the floors rise, the ceiling opens, and people (and doves) are flying all over the place. There are also huge video screens lining the uppermost part of the theater walls, which add to the effect of each act in the show. If there's one thing Dragone rocks at, it's his videos. At the Celine show, the entire wall behind Celine was a video screen, and it was utterly breath-taking -- at times it appeared that everything was floating in space, or that a huge tree was growing right on the stage.

With "La Reve," besides the fact that it is always cool (to me, at least), to see people flying around in the sky and then dropping from really high above your head into a gaping pool, I also liked that it had somewhat of a comprehensible story line. "La Reve" means "the dream" in French, and sure enough, the show started off with a couple ending a date, the woman went off to bed... and then a whole bunch of freaky people showed up and she was immersed in her dream for the rest of the time.

I enjoyed this show and would recommend it. I still think "Ka" is the best show I've seen in Vegas, and I think "O" is a bit more impressive than "La Reve," but I wouldn't necessarily say that it was better. The strange thing about going to "La Reve" was that only about half the theater was full, and it was a Saturday night?!? I've NEVER seen a not-full theater for any show I've been to in Vegas, so that isn't a good sign. They probably need to lower the prices...

The first two rows are the "splash zone," so take heed if you go. e's always lookin' out for ya!

- e