All Access Staging Had Five Weeks to Design its Biggest Las Vegas Residency Stage Yet
For casinos hoping to draw large crowds with big-name acts, the ante for artist residencies in Las Vegas keeps getting higher, whether the music genres represented is EDM, classic rock, country, heavy metal or pop.
In the latter category, the biggest development in recent years was Britney Spears’ multi-year contract to perform her show, A Piece of Me, at Planet Hollywood. That show launched in late 2013, and Ms. Spears recently signed a contract to continue through 2017.
For in 2016, Jennifer Lopez’s first Las Vegas residency, All I Have, is in the spotlight. And J. Lo’s show is being staged in the same venue hosting A Piece of Me — Planet Hollywood’s 4,600-capacity AXIS theater.
All I Have premiered on Jan. 20, ran through Feb. 9, and picks up again with three more multi-week slots (May 22-June 12; July 20-Aug. 13; and Dec. 9-17). During the weeks J. Lo is off, other acts move in. Britney Spear’s show dates for 2016 are April 6-22, June 17-July 13, and Aug. 17-Sept. 10.
Far from an empty stage and solo microphone, All I Have is a celebration of everything associated with Jennifer Lopez, with glitter, glamor, male dancers on hoverboards and, of course, a sexy custom set.
Good News/Not So Good News
The good news for All Access, when they got the assignment to build the set in late 2015, working with set designer Cory FitzGerald and production manager Chris Lamb, was that it would be their biggest, most elaborate project for a Las Vegas residency show.
The not-so-good news was that, instead of the usual 16-week turn-around to finesse all the staging details, they had only five weeks to get all the construction and fabrication done. But despite that tall order, All Access president Erik Eastland and his team collaborated with FitzGerald, Lamb and choreographer Napoleon D’umo so that the show could open on schedule.
The finished show has no shortage of special set and staging elements. The first thing audiences are likely to notice, even before the show starts, is the distinctive stage thrust, in the shape of the artist’s nickname, “J. Lo.” The thrust is multifaceted and outlined in RGB tape light embedded under white UHMW, which glows when lit.
Staircase, Chaise Lounge and Crescent Moon
Along with the custom thrust, All Access built the sparkling grand staircase, the chaise lounge prop, and the rotating crescent moon seen as part of the show’s grand finale.
While All Access’ ability to safely execute the sheer volume of tasks that needed to be done for this show within the five-week time frame is impressive, another challenge was to have the whole thing designed to be able to be broken down, packed into trucks, stored, and then be loaded in again for the next multi-week string of show dates.
Along with the custom thrust, one of the production’s visual centerpieces, which helps kick off the show, is the sparkly grand staircase. It measures 21 feet tall and is 14 feet wide at the base.
An important design consideration was the need for the staircase to taper off at the top, appearing to vanish into the video wall. And although the structure was broken into nine sections, it would need to appear seamless. Toward that end, more than 38,000 glass crystals cover the fascia.
Another distinctive feature of the set design appears during the old school hip-hop “Jenny from the Block” portion of the show. There, Jennifer goes back in time to her NYC days with a tribute to the Bronx and the New York Yankees. All Access fabricated the set pieces, including a subway station and two giant Yankees baseball caps.
The show’s vibe then shifts to present a more sophisticated Vegas vibe, the Chaise Lounge scene. When the production team couldn’t find a lounge to accommodate the performance requirements, they turned to All Access.
Their team fabricated a performance-worthy aluminum frame to make it lightweight, durable, and easy to deploy, and they integrated RGB LED accent lighting. The lounge tracked 75 feet downstage on a custom riser based off the All Access mobilator automation system.
For another memorable moment during the show, All Access worked with wardrobe designer to Perry Meeks to design a “mile-high” green-screen gown, which made Jennifer look 20 feet tall, thanks to an All Access ribbon lift.
To close the show, the team built a sparkling, rotating crescent moon, which included risers, ramps and icicles. The team fabricated the moon out of fiberglass, which made it lightweight and kept it as one unit, and applied one-inch mirror sections to make it sparkle. The custom cradle allows the moon to move seamlessly from the truck to the stage before being flown to the automated Rotex rotator.
Lauded in the Las Vegas Review Journal as a “gorgeous diva showcase,” the multi-faceted set keeps up with the multi-faceted star as she keeps the production moving through nearly two dozen songs from her ample catalog of hits.
