Las Vegas Weekly

March 3, 2009 · 10:46 AM

Oscar designer David Rockwell spills secrets of Peep Show theater

By Robin Leach

Designer David Rockwell.

Photo: Todd Plitt

Designer David Rockwell is hailed as one of the very best, and he’s in huge demand for his amazing and innovative designs. His ultimate triumph was little more than a week ago when he should have won an Oscar for his makeover of the Academy Awards show.

Now the creative king, who brought us Nobu at the Hard Rock, Yellowtail at the Bellagio, BLT at The Mirage and Phantom -- The Las Vegas Spectacular’s jewel of a theater at The Venetian, has returned to Sin City to tackle a new look for burlesque!

Photo: Tom Donoghue/www.donoghuephotography.com

Kelly Monaco of Peep Show.

With 27 days to go, David is hard at work on the makeover of the Planet Hollywood mezzanine theater that housed Stomp until Jan. 1. Now he’s renovating it for Scary Spice Melanie Brown and former Playboy knockout Kelly Monaco and their new Peep Show -- an adult topless fairytale.

Mel B and Kelly arrived in Vegas over the weekend to start rehearsals yesterday for the show whose previews begin March 30. Click HERE for our previous interviews and photos with Mel, Kelly and director-choreographer Jerry Mitchell.

Photo: Tom Donoghue/www.donoghuephotography.com

Mel B, aka Scary Spice, of Peep Show.

Their show is described as a “highly stylized, full-throttle modern burlesque show that combines sexy striptease and celebrity with high-level production values and a dash of passion.” Peep Show is a collaboration between Tony Award-winning Jerry and BASE Entertainment, with David designing the lavish sets and showroom.

Peep Show will feature 20 stunning ladies: sexy dancers from film, video and Broadway and a powerhouse all-female band providing the contemporary soundtrack! Click HERE for our coverage last week of the start of rehearsals.

Photo: Tom Donoghue/www.donoghuephotography.com

Peep Show director and choreographer Jerry Mitchell.

David told me as he juggled a schedule of design projects here including new restaurants at the MGM CityCenter and Fontainebleau: “You can really push the envelope here and put real energy into the designs.

“For Peep Show, we will have three up-lit runways coming off the stage more than halfway deep into the theater. At the end of each one is a mini-stage performing area, so the audience is wrapped all around the dancers. Nobody has done that before: It’s a first! I’m enthralled with this show.

Photo: Tom Donoghue/www.donoghuephotography.com

Cast members of Peep Show.

“Rather than conventional theater seats in the front orchestra section, we’ve removed all of them and replaced them with intimate cabaret seating and plush banquettes. I’ve got this beautiful deep maroon burlesque curtain, and when it lifts up, it contrasts brilliantly with black mirrors behind it. The girls in the band are on their own elevated stage, and the whole look is totally different from any other theater. Very warm, sensual and seductive.

“We’ve been able to include and marry a lot of elements that previously would have been off limits, and that’s the extraordinary extravagance of Vegas.” David said he’s also installed two LED panels in the new showroom to add to the voyeuristic experience for the audience.

I talked with him just hours after he’d wrapped the Oscar show with Australian director Baz Luhrmann. “That was four days and nights without sleep. By the end, it was like an out-of-body experience. But I was very happy with how it all turned out. It was like being at the most amazing party of a lifetime.

Photo: ABC TV

Previous Best Actor winners at the 2009 Academy Awards.

Photo: ABC TV

Previous Best Actress winners at the 2009 Academy Awards.

Photo: ABC TV

Slumdog Millionaire wins Best Picture at the 2009 Academy Awards.

“Everybody loved the stage, the sets, the designs, the lighting, the approach, but it wasn’t until I looked back at the entire show on my TiVo that I was finally happy and convinced we’d done something never attempted or achieved before.”

David told me that he’s worked previously with Jerry -- interestingly, on the JetBlue air terminal at New York’s JFK Airport. He explained: “I wanted to understand the way people moved in a crowded building. Jerry is all about movement on stage with patterns and formations. He knew flow and pace of people, so his contribution was unique and invaluable in designing an airline terminal.

“We have the greatest respect for each other’s talents, and it was wonderful to combine them out at Kennedy Airport. It really worked, and it’s great to be working with him as a friend and expert here in Vegas on a modern burlesque show. What a great world!”

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