Resorts World Theatre going dark; Celine Dion’s status unclear
In live entertainment, GA stands for general admission. But for Resorts World Theatre, it can also mean gradual assessment. Meaning, an indication that Celine Dion is no closer to returning to live performance than she was in November 2021, when she stepped away from the stage after being diagnosed with Stiff Person Syndrome.
The venue is just four years old and in fine condition, But it is going dark after Janet Jackson’s show on May 31. No shows are on sale after. Officials from AEG Presents, which is in an exclusive booking partnership with the resort, say the goal is a late-summer reopening. The pause is for clearing out the fixed seats near the front of the stage for a standing GA section.
Resorts World CEO Jim Murren confirmed the theater’s plans at Thursday night’s UNLV Lee Business School Nevada Business Hall of Fame event at Encore, honoring Top Rank Boxing founder Bob Arum, resort exec Jim Stuart, restaurateur Elizabeth Blau and the late Elaine Wynn.
Earlier Thursday, the hotel announced Carlos Castro was supplanting Alex Dixon as president and chief financial officer. It was the latest in a series of changes in the resort’s leadership. Murren, a former MGM Resorts International official, was appointed in December.
The work at Resorts World Theatre is similar to the revamp of the Colosseum at Caesars Palace about five years ago, and the design strategies at Dolby Live at Park MGM and PH Live at Planet Hollywood. Long-established theater design company Scéno Plus of Montreal has designed the Colosseum and Resorts World Theatre, along with the original Park Theater/Dolby Live.
The lengthy renovation does not instill confidence that Dion will play Resorts World this year. The theater’s configuration was to give her the same atmosphere she was accustomed to at the original Colosseum. That venue’s renovation to add GA was enacted after she announced she was leaving in 2019. Headliners ranging from Keith Urban, Usher and The Killers have opted for GA.
Murren said Resorts World was losing competition for headliners to the new Colosseum and Dolby Live, because those theaters have a GA option. But whether the hotel keeps Dion as a headliner is still an open question, one that the hotel chairman said is still undetermined.
John Katsilometes’ column runs daily in the A section. Contact him at jkatsilometes@reviewjournal.com. Follow @johnnykats on X, @JohnnyKats1 on Instagram.