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‘Absinthe’ set for ‘green’ return on Las Vegas Strip

Updated February 22, 2021 - 1:29 pm

“Absinthe” is back, doing what it does best, which is perform raunchy comedy, expert acrobatics and leaving it to a fictional rich guy to do the talking.

“It’s time to make some green!” the show’s Gazillionaire is quoted as saying in a release announcing the show’s return on St. Patrick’s Day. That marks one year, nearly to the day, when entertainment was totally shut down on the Las Vegas Strip, and a little more than a year since “Absinthe” played to a full-capacity crowd at the Spiegeltent at Caesars Palace.

The show will be back in time for its 10th-anniversary on April 1, with shows at 7 p.m. and 9 p.m. Wednesdays through Sundays. As part of its return, the show is offering $1,000 tables in the Impresario’s Reserve section for parties of two, with a bottle of Dom Pérignon thrown in.

“Where else can you get free Dom on The Strip?” Gaz says, apparently not accounting for the $1,000 table fee.

No matter. The show, which already features a character in green (the Green Fairy) is back at $149, on sale at Spiegelworld.com. The show is still playing to a largely open floor for about 150 fans. The 25-foot expanse between the crowd and audience has prevented Spiegelworld’s other shows, “Opium” at the Cosmopolitan and “Atomic Saloon Show” at The Venetian’s Grand Canal Shoppes, from returning during the pandemic. Their venues are simply not suited for that distance.

But “Absinthe” remains the company’s leading production, and also an industry pacesetter on the Strip. The show had performed to sellouts during its original restart in October, before shutting down soon after public gatherings were dropped to 50 people.

“We just need to get our people back to work,” Spiegelworld founder Ross Mollison said this weekend. “We have proven we can do it safely and successfully. I want people to know there is no safer place to enjoy entertainment than our Spiegeltent.” Mollison has promoted the use of the “COVID-killer fog juice” Grignard Pure, which has been advertised to wipe out the virus within 10 seconds.

“If it is available in the state of Nevada by the time our show opens, we’ll use it,” Mollison said of the substance that creates theatrical haze for production shows. “It is a game-changer.”

John Katsilometes’ column runs daily in the A section. His “PodKats!” podcast can be found at reviewjournal.com/podcasts. Contact him at jkatsilometes@reviewjournal.com. Follow @johnnykats on Twitter, @JohnnyKats1 on Instagram.

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