By Don Chareunsy
Spiegelworld and Caesars Entertainment on Sept. 7 hosted a dusk-to-dawn party to celebrate the world premiere of “DiscoShow” and its adjoining restaurant Diner Ross at The Linq Hotel on the Las Vegas Strip.
The red carpet was rolled out along the Strip, leading hundreds of guests through the velvet rope to a small door and then a mirror-tiled entryway at the new address of disco heaven: 3535 Las Vegas Blvd. Guests dutifully dressed to party in “1970-fine,” and Sept. 7 was Gloria “I Will Survive” Gaynor’s 81st birthday.
Once inside the multilayered night world, “DiscoShow” offered two playful bars, Diner Ross and an interactive show in the main club that puts guests in the center of a disco celebration. “DiscoShow” attendees were catapulted into myriad itineraries through downtown New York City.
The night’s first stop was 99 Prince, a gritty New York subway platform where Spiegelworld Executive Beverage Director Niko Novick honors classic cocktails from New York’s greatest bars in the early 2000s. Upstairs, they entered Glitterloft, a raw industrial space inspired by the DIY, found-objects aesthetic of disco pioneer David Mancuso’s legendary parties at The Loft. More than 5,000 balloons filled the space in honor of Mancuso’s signature party décor.
Before and after the night’s two performances of “DiscoShow,” guests dined at Diner Ross. Spiegelworld Impresario Extraordinaire Ross Mollison said at the Saturday celebration, “This is the beginning of a Las Vegas party that will not only go all night long tonight, but also for years to come.
“In fact, it started in 1970, and we all simply fell in love with the idea of keeping it going. It’s disco. After years of development, months of construction, weeks of rehearsals and previews and many hours of kitchen and cocktail tastings, we are ready to share our love of disco with everybody. It’s what we all need right now.”
The 9:30 p.m., or second, show was led by “RuPaul’s Drag Race” star Eureka O’Hara, a drag queen who stands out at 6’4 without heels, as she ushered partygoers into the main club for 70 minutes of disco dancing, dance instructions, music and a colorful and diverse cast of characters who kept the party going.
(For “RuPaul’s Drag Race” fans, they’ll be excited to learn that Tamisha Iman and Las Vegas’s own Coco Montrese have been announced to alternate O’Hara’s party ringleader role.)
The audience is on its feet dancing the entire time as the center of a disco celebration. A return to “DiscoShow” three weeks later was even more fun because partygoers were ready to spread good vibes only, have a fun night out and dance without inhibitions – as if nobody was watching. Dance, dance, dance!
Spiegelworld brought together stage shape-makers for “DiscoShow”: Steven Hoggett, director; Yasmine Lee, choreographer + associate director; Michael Wynne, writer; David Zinn, set + costume design; Jamie Siegel, music production; Colle Bustin, sound design; Tom Gibbons, sound associate; Darrel Maloney, production + video design; and Brittany Hartman, hair + wig design.
As he had promised, Mollison was on hand at 4 a.m. to cook pancakes in Diner Ross. Saturday’s party officially added a third Las Vegas show to Spiegelworld’s lineup, joining “Absinthe” at Caesars Palace and “Atomic Saloon Show” at The Venetian, and its second restaurant after Superfrico at The Cosmopolitan.
Upcoming in Vegas Prime Magazine: A Q+A with Mollison and the 411 on Diner Ross. Now dance, I said: Dance!
More: Spiegelworld.com + Caesars.com
