Las Vegas Weekly

May 14, 2009 · 1:53 PM

TLK Interview: Musical is Bill Hornbuckle’s 12-year dream come true

By Robin Leach

The Lion King at Mandalay Bay.

Photo: Tom Donoghue/www.donoghuephotography.com

Mandalay Bay President Bill Hornbuckle gave the green light for the new, multi-million-dollar musical The Lion King that premieres tomorrow night at his resort casino. He first tried to get Disney Theatrical to stage it here 12 years ago when he was across the strip at MGM Grand.

Disney wasn’t really interested in Las Vegas having the show back then, but times have changed, and over the years, Bill continued to push Disney to bring The Lion King to Sin City. His diligence and dedication finally paid off, even though in the meantime he nearly lost the project to a rival, neighboring hotel!

I talked with Bill this week ahead of TLK premiere:

Robin Leach: So, Bill, the show you’ve been interested in all these years across the street at MGM finally makes it to Vegas. In gambling terms, how do you feel the bet is riding for tomorrow night?

BH: You know Las Vegas has seen so many entertainment offerings, and we’ve gotten to a point where the investment on some of these is stratospheric. When we took a look at what was possibly out there and when we took a look at entertainment specifically, there are maybe a handful of projects that make sense. We approached Disney, and when they came back to us, it became the easiest “yes” I’ve had in a decade. Because where we started from, we started in terms of production, the one you see here today is bigger than anything that had been done.

At the time, it was going to be grandiose, and at the time, we had talked about changing the format of the show to make it even more grandiose. The budget was $100 million in today’s dollars. So, other than going through the motions to get the deal done, it was a 10-minute discussion from my perspective.

For the first time, I came last night with my family and watched in its entirety. It’s just a piece of magic. It’s just at the right time for us, the right time for the community, the right time for the economy: The message is right, it feels right, so everything about it, I couldn’t be more positive about.

RL: So, the perfect medicine for doom and gloom?

BH: I hope so. I think that the circle of life starts and ends with The Lion King. You know Las Vegas over the last six weeks has started to see resurgence. We’ve actually felt it. We’ve proven a couple things: We’ve proven at a price, we can motivate travel to this destination. Now we are a long way from reaching home base. We are a long way away from where we were. The summer is approaching, but there is general consensus that consumer confidence is rising, that people are prepared to travel.

Las Vegas is still a great one-off quick escape, and now with the value propositions that we present, and frankly all of our competitors present, there has never been a better time in the last 15 years to come to Las Vegas than now. And with a show like this, geared toward family, coming into summer, I feel really good about that.

RL: So, address two points. One, Broadway shows have had a tough time coming to Vegas, and secondly The Lion King is a show that’s already been out on a national tour. Is it sort of late in its life?

BH: Broadway, the key thing is really about time. Vegas on the weekend, you are compressed to two, 2 1/2 days, so you have to ask yourself if you’re going to sit in a theater for three hours. And I think it depends on the product. You know, Mamma Mia! was here for a six-year-plus run, and it had massive success. The issue that we have as hotel operators is that most productions get two turns a night, so you get to do 10 shows, with a show like The Lion King, we’re going to have a matinee on Saturdays and Sundays, so we’re getting in eight shows.

I don’t want to downplay that this obviously appeals to the entire family. I think that part of it is more important to locals than to tourists. It’s both a family show and a show for visitors. It’s everything a Broadway show has and more. It’s bigger and grander than anything in its entire life. And I think with a lot of great shows, people will come to it many times and still enjoy it differently each visit. We’ve priced it recognizing the economy, and it’s only $53 for general tickets.

RL: : One question to wrap this up. The story of The Lion King is a traditional piece of show business magic, in a completely different setting. Is it the magic of the story that makes this show work forever and ever, or is it something else?

BH: I think from a personal perspective, it’s the magic of the story and about how we all come full circle, and I think that the music is fantastic. Music has become such a part of our culture over the last decade or so, that when you finally get a chance to refresh with the show, it is just uplifting and the whole spirit of everything. You walk out of here feeling rejuvenated and feeling great. It’s the same feeling that you walked out of from Mamma Mia! but a little more artistic. Yes, the same good feeling. I think this is all about that feeling, and more now particularly because of the times we’re in.

When Bill first tried to move TLK to Mandalay Bay, it proved impossible because of the contract with Mamma Mia! So TLK was destined to go to the Luxor, and Cirque du Soleil’s Believe was penciled for Mandalay when Mamma Mia! completed its contractual run. As things often go in show business, the dates didn’t jibe, and Believe with Criss Angel wound up at the Luxor, and Mandalay Bay waited patiently for Mamma Mia! to run its term, and they got the The Lion King!

Robin Leach has been a journalist for more than 50 years and has spent the past decade giving readers the inside scoop on Las Vegas, the world’s premier platinum playground.

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