On Anthem of the Seas, a cabaret is more than just people singing on a stage. Thanks to the sprawling, seamless, floor-to-ceiling video screens and the floating Roboscreens in the Two70 theater, this late-night show presents a combination of live musical and dance performances and video projections. The proceedings are commanded by Spectra — a dramatic if dutiful emcee — both in the flesh and on screen. He’s decked out in gold-glitter fringe, but the show as a whole never sparkles quite as brightly as his costume.
Is it amusing to watch a singer in a neon wig perform a Janet Jackson song while fake-playing a see-through plexiglass keytar? Possibly, if the rest of the show includes more substantive scenes, but this one really doesn’t. There is some lip service paid to passion and romance throughout, and the aerialists perform moves that would have most people in traction for the better part of a year. But beyond that, "Spectra’s Cabaret" leaves the odd sensation that there’s something missing. Maybe it’s nudity, or the small pile of drugs necessary to enjoy something this abstract. Whatever it is, you can’t help but think this show could have been both edgier and sexier — even without all of the digital flash.
Insider Tip: Catch the early show if you can, and watch the performance with a cocktail in hand.
On Anthem of the Seas, a cabaret is more than just people singing on a stage. Thanks to the sprawling, seamless, floor-to-ceiling video screens and the floating Roboscreens in the Two70 theater, this late-night show presents a combination of live musical and dance performances and video projections. The proceedings are commanded by Spectra — a dramatic if dutiful emcee — both in the flesh and on screen. He’s decked out in gold-glitter fringe, but the show as a whole never sparkles quite as brightly as his costume.
Is it amusing to watch a singer in a neon wig perform a Janet Jackson song while fake-playing a see-through plexiglass keytar? Possibly, if the rest of the show includes more substantive scenes, but this one really doesn’t. There is some lip service paid to passion and romance throughout, and the aerialists perform moves that would have most people in traction for the better part of a year. But beyond that, "Spectra’s Cabaret" leaves the odd sensation that there’s something missing. Maybe it’s nudity, or the small pile of drugs necessary to enjoy something this abstract. Whatever it is, you can’t help but think this show could have been both edgier and sexier — even without all of the digital flash.
Insider Tip: Catch the early show if you can, and watch the performance with a cocktail in hand.