How do you pack up a 20-pound, ostrich-feather-and-rhinestone headdress? How do you store it, so that if someday you pull it from the proverbial attic, the lavish crown will burst and sparkle with the proper radiance? How do you put something so over-the-top ... away?
That's the question that Caesars Entertainment will face come next month, when long-running showgirl spectacular "Jubilee" closes at Bally's. Created by Donn Arden, the adults-only show opened at the then-MGM Grand in 1981 and has run for the last 35 years, wowing audiences with its leggy cast, enduring kitsch and elaborate wardrobe. Bally's has announced that it will keep the production's beloved Peter Menefee- and Bob Mackie-designed costumes at the theater after the final curtain in hopes that they might be revived sometime in the future.
"While 'Jubilee' in its current form is expected to close as of Feb. 11, the opening of a new showgirl production at Bally's is currently being explored," Caesars Entertainment said in a statement last month.
However, the closing of "Jubilee" doesn't simply mark the end of a show that has spanned three decades on the Strip and survived various eras of Las Vegas entertainment trends. After "Les Folies Bergere" ended its nearly 50-year run in 2009, "Jubilee" has been the last remaining showgirl revue in Las Vegas, a vestige of a bygone era and the only true representation of a cherished city icon. While models will still don the attire to pose for tourist photos on the Strip or walk the red carpet, when the "Jubilee" ladies take their final bows next month, the Vegas showgirl as we know her will cease to exist.
Bally’s said it would keep the production’s costumes at the theater in hopes of a future revival. Photo Credit: Denise Truscello
"Jubilee" is "the last showgirl show," said Sabina Kelley, a Vegas-based model and performer who recently appeared in Pin Up at the Stratosphere. "Vegas is going to be losing a big part of history."
Kelley was cast in "Jubilee" in 1998 when she was 18 years old and performed with the show for just under two years. Though she had trained in numerous styles of dance, she had to learn to inhabit the iconic showgirl. The "Jubilee" woman has evolved from being simply a mannequin onstage, draped in jewels and fishnet, to a true performer. Today, she's a regal presence: proud, graceful, athletic and perfectly synchronized with her fellow dancers.
"There's so much to it. Even the poses and the walk and the way you carry yourself, it's such a unique style," Kelley said. "Unless you've done it, you'll never know."
Simply walking under the weight of the production's famous costumes is a crucial skill and a serious workout, but the "Jubilee" cast must navigate flights of backstage stairs for quick changes as well as the multilevel sets onstage. The showgirl never looks at her feet. She walks with eyes up, confident and poised at all times.
"I've seen many people tumble," Kelley said.
Performing in the show taught her discipline, Kelley added, the choreography and styling drilled into her night after night, the exacting physical standards "Jubilee" showgirls must embody. "If you gain or lose two pounds you get pulled right off stage."
Now that she has danced in other shows, Kelley said, people can always spot that she's a former "Jubilee" dancer. "It's really recognizable, the way you carry yourself."
While the core of "Jubilee" has remained consistent -- large-scale musical numbers and scenes like the sinking of the Titanic -- the show did evolve in recent years as entertainment executives sought to refresh the production, modernizing it to draw new audiences while remaining faithful to the original vision.
An image from a “Jubilee” production in 2014, when the show underwent a revamp.
An early evening covered show was made full topless, and in 2013, Beyonce's creative director, Frank Gatson Jr., was brought in for a much-touted revamp. However, when his makeover debuted in 2014 the changes were poorly received, their style clashing with the classic production in places. Further revisions were implemented during the last year, but patience for updating the revue seems to have finally run short.
Kelley said that many former dancers have taken to Facebook to mourn the show, posting pictures of their "Jubilee" days and remembering their time in the iconic headdresses.
"It made me so sad," said Kelley of her reaction upon hearing the news of the show's imminent end. Though it's been years since she went to Bally's to watch the production where she once floated across the stage, Kelley vows that she'll go see it one last time before the curtain falls for good on the glittering spectacle.
"I never thought 'Jubilee' would close," Kelley said. "It meant a lot more to me than I ever realized."
Tickets for the remaining performances of "Jubilee" range from $55 to $113 and can be purchased at caesars.com/ballys-las-vegas/shows/jubilee.