A recent guest on my Talk About Las Vegas podcast, Michael Shulman, talked about his recent article on the history of entertainment residencies. Most people think that it’s a contemporary phenomenon, with Adele, Bruno Mars and Garth Brooks coming to mind. But the practice actually goes back to 1944 (with a nod to Liberace and Elvis in the 70s).
The idea behind a residency is that an entertainer who primarily performs in Las Vegas, doesn’t worry about the stress of travel and the loading of equipment in different venues, and can enjoy a somewhat normal life.
But everything evolves in a corporate-dominated casino business. Even the big names have to be profitable to justify the expense of the star, the sets, the cast and the crew.
So, what happens if even the big names are not enough to justify the investment (fancy name for expense)? How would future residencies work in a new era of inflation, increasing consolidation and risk-averse entertainment executives? Why, it’s simple…just double the number of headliners on the stage. In other words, it’s two, two, two performers on one (with a nostalgic nod to the Certs commercial of yore).
While we’ve seen a few residencies with two entertainers (Penn & Teller, Siegfried & Roy) sharing the stage, Vegas economics may make it the norm. But the challenge will be to combine a headliner from one genre with another from a complementary genre.
Here are some possible duos:
- Adele with Carrot Top – Top talent with prop talent.
- Bruno Mars with Blue Man Group – Perfect asymmetry except they do share a color with “Liquor Store Blues.”
- Garth Brooks with an Elvis impersonator – Well, Elvis did sing some country, so there’s that.
- Jerry Seinfeld with a hologram of Liberace – Comedy legend and Las Vegas legend. Guaranteed Liberace brings it home.
- Donny Osmond with Andrew Dice Clay – A little bit rock ‘n roll, a little bit dirty.
- Santana and RuPaul’s Drag Race Live! – Riffing and dragging. Could work.
- The Killers and The Police. Book ’em, Danno.
- Katy Perry and Menopause The Musical – Enjoy a hot act and a hot flash.
There are certainly an unlimited number of potential pairings. And with all the benefits for the performer, audience and resort, a dual residency is not only a triple-threat, but certainly a winning pair.
