Are Las Vegas’ Broadway-style shows losing their luster? Robin Leach thinks so

The number of Las Vegas visitors may be at an all-time high – more than 42 million came last year — but fewer of them are taking in a show during their stay.

Several big-name shows have already closed this year. They include “Jersey Boys” at Paris, “Jubilee!” at Bally’s, “Raiding the Rock Vault” at Tropicana and Cirque du Soleil’s “Zarkana” at Aria.

The bad news continues for what the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority describes as Broadway-style or production shows that typically have large casts and crews as opposed to single-person shows.

Just last week, Harrah’s announced it will soon pull the plug on “Million Dollar Quartet,” a musical that opened in February 2013. The show tells the story of the night on which iconic musicians Johnny Cash, Jerry Lee Lewis, Carl Perkins and Elvis Presley gathered for a jam session at Sun Records in Memphis. The curtain will fall for the final time on Dec. 4, the 60th anniversary of that famous get-together.

“We actually have, when you think about it … too many shows, too many choices,” TV personality and entertainment columnist Robin Leach says. “There aren’t enough bums to go into the seats.”

Leach said he thinks there are more “diversions” competing for visitors’ time and money. He included dinners at restaurants run by celebrity chefs, performances by big-name headliners such as Celine Dion and Britney Spears and the increasingly popular nightclub scene.

The tourism agency’s 2015 visitor profile shows the overall number of people attending shows is down from 72% in 2013 to 61% last year. However, that figure includes not only the big names, but magic shows, tribute artists and free lounge acts as well. The statistics show that a growing number of people are attending production shows and headliner concerts.

And ticket prices have increased too. The 2015 average price per person was $61.95, up from $47.52 in 2011.

Courtney Fitzgerald, the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors communications manager, says she’s not concerned about this year’s show closings. She says shows are in “constant refresh” mode, which means some will disappear with new ones often arriving to take their place.

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