For months the cast of Cirque du Soleil’s hit Zumanity had hoped Covid restrictions would eventually be lifted enough to return to their Las Vegas show at New York-New York.
It was not to be. The show is ending its run after 17 years. According to the comic actor Christopher Kenney, who played Edie in the show for almost 13 years, “There was a tiny glimmer of hope that we would go back to work in these horrible times,” Kenney, who appeared in more than 5,500 performances, said Monday. “To have had that yanked out from under us is pretty shocking. But the outpouring of love is overwhelming right now. I have cried a lot.”
Zumanity is the first Cirque show to announce it will close permanently since it stopped performances on March 14. It was the company’s only adult-themed show and was performed 7,700 times.
Cirque plans to continue stage productions in the city, but on a smaller scale. Its primary partner in Las Vegas is MGM Resorts International. They plan to eventually reopen O at the Bellagio, Beatles Love at the Mirage, KA at the MGM Grand and Michael Jackson ONE at the Mandalay Bay. The Treasure Island casino has committed to continue to host Mystère by Cirque du Soleil.
Replacing Zumanity will be new show by ventriloquist Terry Fator called Who’s the Dummy Now? Fator spent a decade at MGM’s Mirage after being discovered on a television talent show.
