Las Vegas Weekly, in naming ABSINTHE the #1 greatest show in Las Vegas history ever, said, “A performance of ABSINTHE is almost criminally fun. It is the domain of the Gazillionaire, the gold-toothed, foul-mouthed, lecherous dirtbag who runs the show. For the entirety of ABSINTHE’s 90 wildly entertaining minutes, you feel like you’ve discovered something new, or stumbled onto a secret meeting of acrobats, dancers and reprobates. And the first thing you want to do after is tell everyone you know.”
Spiegelworld’s Impresario Extraordinaire Ross Mollison said, “ABSINTHE is a rare opportunity to see extreme circus acts performed in an intimate environment by some of the world’s most sexy and talented artists. Given the ever growing demand for the production, we are delighted that The Gazillionaire has agreed to a limited run in Los Angeles,” said Mollison.
Celebrities regularly flock to join the audience and have included Britney Spears, James Franco, Neil Patrick Harris, Rebel Wilson, DJ Steve Aoki, Olivia Newton-John, Pink, Channing Tatum, Idina Menzel, Melissa McCarthy, Vince Young, Kaley Cuoco, Ice-T and Coco, David Copperfield, Tony Hawk and more.
For our interview Spiegelworld’s Impresario Extraordinaire Ross Mollison (RM) and the Gazillionaire (G) who runs the show responded to the following questions:
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| The Gazillionaire |
Describe Absinthe for our readers. How does the New York Times review do in their appraisal of your show? “Imagine Cirque du Soleil as channeled through The Rocky Horror Picture Show.”
RM: Channeling Cirque du Soleil through the Rocky Horror Picture Show sounds like a 1990s Haunted House in Montreal with fishnets instead of lycra. Jugglers. Lots of make up. Absinthe has no make up. Jugglers can f--- off. We hate silk acts. We really hate clowns and anyone whom speaks French or gibberish. And we hate that wailing music that emanated from Quebec in the late 80s and still wafts south of the border. We need a great big soundproof wall on the Northern Border.
G: It’s a sex fueled rock and roll circus filled with the greatest, hottest, most provocative talent in the world. And it’s hosted by me because anybody else would screw it up. I guess Cirque has done a big show or two so that’s good and Rocky Horror has a guy in drag so I’d say that’s appropriate.
Is this show adults only or are children encouraged to attend? What age specifically?
RM: This show is for children 18 and over. Adults will hate it and should check out Cirque du Soleil.
G: Adults only. Kids are disgusting.
How did the concept come about? What inspired you the most?
RM: The Gazillionaire likes Belgium beer and bought a brewery from a bunch of Monks to make even more money. When he got the business he realized it owned a 100 year old Belgium Spiegelzelt – an incredible antique theatre and bar. Ever the entrepreneur – he thought he could put a show in it to, and sell even more beer. He hired Neil Patrick Harris to be the emcee – and when Neil was cast in the Mother show, he had to host the show himself.
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| Ross Mollison |
G: Well I had all these foreign acrobats and circus performers owing me money so I figured I'd put them to work. And now with the whole immigration situation it was easier to just buy them.
The Vegas show has been an overwhelming success. Talk about this a little bit.
RM: The Gazillionaire is a winner. When he produced Absinthe in New York, he realized that there were so many great shows in NY that he could never compete. “Let’s face it. Some of the talent in NY is amazing. I need not tell Broadway World that I cried watching Wicked,” said the Gaz. “However, no self respecting theatre professional would consider landing their Gulfstream in Nevada. So – I thought – Absinthe is such a crappy show, it may just work in Vegas. If that failed – I was going to transfer it to Reno.”
G: Yeah it's been pretty good. There are a lot of tourists here getting drunk and losing their shit so it's nice to have a show that can take all their money.
Why LA? I know you talk about money in the press release, but there has to be more motivation than money for you to move the show to other venues. What might these be?
RM: “You clearly have no understanding of money. More money is usually the answer to every question a journalist asks in the USA. The other answer is sex. LA ticks that box as well.”
G: Money is about it. There are a lot of Hollywood types that are rich and stupid and in need of life direction. I can’t think of anything better for them to do with their time and money than coming to see the number one show in Las Vegas history in their own shiny backyard. Hell we might as well become the number one show in every city in the world. Also I’d like to f--- Helen Mirren.
Raunchy? You bet! Successful? The Gazllionaire has already collected dozens of trophies (he only keeps the platinum ones), awards, “Best Ofs” and “Top Tens” from Time Out.com, DailyStar.co.uk, Vegas Best of City Awards, Travel and Leisure, Thrillist.com, Fox News, Broadway World Awards, Trippy Awards, Las Vegas Digital Media Awards, and Vegas Chatter Awards, among others. It was voted Best Adult Show by readers and staff of the Las Vegas Review-Journal. Tickets, starting at $49, are now on sale at Abinsthela.com. The performance schedule is Tuesdays and Wednesdays at 7:30p; Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays at 7:30p and 9:30p; and Sundays at 5:30 and 7:30p. L.A. LIVE’s event deck is at 1005 Chick Hearn Ct., Los Angeles CA 90015.
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