Las Vegas Weekly

October 8, 2008 · 5:29 PM

Turmoil at Point Break LIVE!: Performances postponed and the production leaves V Theater

By Robin Leach

Moments ago, producers of the new "Point Break LIVE!" show, starting its second week at the V Theater, decided to quit the V Theater and search for a new venue. The stage adaptation of the 1992 Keanu Reeves/Patrick Swayze extreme-sports blockbuster, which began performances at the Miracle Mile's Variety Theater one week ago tonight, has temporarily postponed performances. There will be no show this evening as producers look for more intimate accommodations that "will be more conducive to the full-immersion characteristics that the play requires."

Since its Seattle debut in 2003, "Point Break LIVE!" has performed to sell-out crowds and rave reviews in Seattle, Minneapolis, New York City, Los Angeles and San Francisco -- the latter receiving a city proclamation from Mayor Gavin Newsom -- while garnering international acclaim. Described by Australia's PopMag.com, as "a cross between reality TV, a play, and the all-time classic film Point Break, every show features a new unrehearsed actor (selected from the audience), playing Johnny Utah with the lines read from cue-cards so as to capture Keanu Reeves raw acting talent."

Producer Eve Hars stated this afternoon: "The V Theater, although great for the purposes it usually serves, is not appropriate for an intimate and immersive punk rock theater experience like Point Break LIVE! Distracting aesthetic issues, combined with unforeseen and irreparable audio and lighting issues, broke up the continuity and intimacy of the performance, thereby leading us to decide the V Theater was not fitting for Point Break LIVE!"

"We can't fault the theater for any of the issues, and I cannot begin to express our gratitude to David Saxe and his V staff in assisting us with trying to correct and compensate for the issues we encountered. Everyone gave it their best effort to make the production work. We're confident that Point Break LIVE!, with its armed robbery, big-wave surfing, car chases, explosions, two extended skydiving sequences and its indoor monsoon will be back to its best production value once it has quickly relocated to a new venue."

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