Can Dragone fill big shoes?
Can Dragone fill big shoes? Three years ago, I asked Franco Dragone what he remembered from a pitch meeting now infamous in casino circles. It’s the one where Caesars Palace executives considered — and later rejected — the Cirque du Soleil show that later became “Mystere.” His answer was memorable and typically left field: “They all had big feet.” Now it’s Dragone who wields the big shoes in Las Vegas entertainment. He has directed, as he says, “four shows in 500 meters,” a description that inadvertently describes the French-speaking takeover of the Strip. Saturday’s scheduled unveiling of “Le Reve” was Dragone’s third show with Steve Wynn, who recognized Cirque’s potential after Caesars management of 1990 passed. Dragone directed Cirque’s “Mystere” at Treasure Island and “O” at Bellagio before staging Celine Dion’s show as a freelancer. Now the two are forging on as they probably would have if Wynn had not sold Mirage Resorts and Dragone had not left Cirque. But show folk wonder if
