Las Vegas Shows Reviews

By DW Grant

Follow Magician Rick Thomas to the edge of his dreams just for the thrill of it. Its more fun than just another magic show. It’s a trip into a world of imagination and the very art of dreaming itself.

First there are white 500 pound tigers roaring across the stage, birds appearing as singles and doubling into pairs before your eyes, napkins turning into birds, and girls turning into tigers. It’s a classic show full of disappearing motorcycles, beautiful women being levitated and sawn in half, old silver ring tricks, and even some great card tricks. But wait, there’s more!

Suddenly the music comes up and Rick is ballroom dancing with his assistants. Wait, I thought Rick Thomas was just a magician? Well, why not dance since his mother and father spent their lives as dancers and Ballroom dance judges? Rick started his dance career at 5 and was twice crowned US Junior Ball Room champion. It’s a strange mix of two worlds, but somehow it works with the magic, like when he plops a blond wig on a microphone stand, levitates it, and waltzes ‘her’ around his dance floor.

Then he brings children into his dream world and on to the stage. A boy levitates a female assistance he has just hypnotized, and then is offered a DVD teaching him how to make is parents disappear. A little girl flies a table around the stage and then is told “The future belongs to those who believe in the strength of dreams.” Rick gives her a small round box to store the magic and her dreams in.

Oh yes, and don’t miss Rick’s “Amazing Shrinking Tiger” trick. It’s how magic should be done.

The show lasts more than a hour but really, like most great adventures, it’s over too soon. Rick tells me after the show, while greeting his guests, “The audience has to find out who I am in only an hour.” I think he accomplished that trick. Rick Thomas is a charming, classic and imaginative magician offering an original program well worth the time and the moderate price of admission demanded by the Hotel. His show is worthy of any Las Vegas theater and one you may not soon forget, especially in your dreams.

Comments Off

By Erika Bayer-Polak

It may not seem likely that a show which features three blue, mute men can provide not only live music, skillful comedy, more than a few tidbits of interesting information, and social commentary regarding contemporary issues, but it is true, and can be found in the Blue Man Group at The Venetian.

The show begins once you enter the theater, with the stylishly cool atmosphere and the sardonic yet humorous disclaimers. Before the Blue Men come out, the audience is instructed to follow a few verbal cues to get everyone in an appropriate state of mind. And, if you happen to be one of the rather late arrivals, you may end up blushing a bit.

One may well marvel at the visual and auditory aspects of the show. On top of that, the Blue Men are in fact talented percussionists and physical comedians. While there are plenty of shows that tout themselves as being family-friendly on the Strip, this is a rare gem that nearly anybody could enjoy, even if they are foreign-speaking tourists, seeing that the show is almost exclusively nonverbal.

The show is pure fun, marshmallows are made into art, messiness ensues – the first several rows are given ponchos to prevent their clothing from being splattered with paint, pudding or other such muddle – PVC tubes are turned into musical instruments, the chewing of cereal even becomes a three-part harmony. Audience participation is a necessity with such a performance, while only a couple of audience members are brought onto the stage, all audience members become involved at one point or another.

It proves difficult to describe a show with performers who don’t speak, yet at the same time, it’s easier than summarizing a tedious plot. Expect a lot of props, a moving sea of paper, curious blue men who may or may not be aliens, and sit back and enjoy, surely, you will have fun.

Comments Off