Author: Site Adminstrator
A sizzling adult circus with a backstage restaurant is now open outside New York
A sexy, immersive show hailing from Las Vegas has made its way east!
Spiegelworld, which is known for its all-senses-overloaded, adult circus shows and culinary experiences, opened in Atlantic City late last month, bringing adult comedy, “sizzling” acrobats and variety performers from around the world to Jersey.
RECOMMENDED: The world’s largest indoor beachfront waterpark just opened in New Jersey
Dubbed “The Hook,” the show will go on every week at the newly renovated 1929 Warner Theatre right on the Atlantic City Boardwalk (the oldest and longest in the world), with “rousing comedy, dramatic hijinks, and exuberant spectacles,” according to reps.
“It will be the most beautiful bespoke show in so many ways because we are building the venue and the show at the same time,” said London-based director Cal McCrystal. “Like all my shows, it will be breathtaking acrobatics, magnificent physiques on display, and powerful comedy. That’s the idea.”
McCrystal has a background in clowning and theater, directing physical comedy. Most recently, he directed the 2022 West End smash-hit pantomime Mother Goose starring Sir Ian McKellan and One Man, Two Guvnors starring James Corden. He also works as a comedy consultant for the film industry with credits including The Dictator, The World’s End, Man Up, The Nice Guys, The Amazing Spider-Man 2, and Paddington 1 and 2. He has previously directed for Spiegelworld with OPM, and Atomic Saloon Show which debuted at Edinburgh Festival Fringe in 2019 before transferring to Las Vegas.
I took a behind-the-scenes tour of the space with McCrystal in June before it officially opened on June 30, and I got to see the historic theater’s new look, which includes detailed murals of past Spiegelworld shows around the mezzanine by Mark Ogge, a gorgeous sea creature-themed proscenium arch, new velvet seating and more.
We entered from the Boardwalk into a horse-racing and arcade-themed “dive” bar called Cheval De Plongée that opens to the ocean behind the box office (it’s also possible to enter from Wild Wild West at Caesar’s). From there, we made our way through a darkened hallway made to look like a bowling alley lane (calling back to what the building was used for at one point) with glow-in-the-dark carpeting, wooden slats and the sound of bowling balls falling. This space is meant to be a sort of “spiritual car wash,” according to McCrystal. “You wash all the casinos, beach and boardwalk off you,” he explained.
The 400-seat theater, accessed through a draped doorway, has another bar (“Our show is best enjoyed with a drink in hand,” McCrystal says) and a revolving stage that also lifts into the air. When we entered, an aerialist hanging by her hair was spinning around in circles. Tony Award-winning scenic designer Christine Jones and scenic designer Brett J. Banakis (Broadway’s American Idiot and Harry Potter and the Cursed Child) and associate scenic designer Matthew Buttrey are behind the theater’s luxe-vintage aesthetics.
Choreography and acrobatic design are headed by Spiegelworld’s resident creative-performance directors in Las Vegas, André Kasten and Leah Moyer. Their work can be seen on some of Las Vegas’s most prestigious stages including Spiegelworld’s three Las Vegas shows, Absinthe, OPM, and Atomic Saloon Show, in addition to Cirque du Soleil’s Mystère at Treasure Island and The Beatles LOVE at The Mirage.
What makes Spiegelworld even cooler is that its restaurant is hidden behind the stage! We entered through a door on the side of the stage marked “Office” and found ourselves in a multi-dining room Italian restaurant called Superfrico. Its decor keeps its backstage vibe in place by using old theater backdrops and props across the dining rooms, which include a dressing room and a prop room that performers will walk through on their way to their spots. There’s also an aviary-themed room and an all-vinyl DJ booth made from an old jukebox.
“This place is crazy … I wanted it to feel like a house party restaurant,” McCrystal says.
McCrystal is a funny guy, but he takes dining seriously. The menu is actually made with ingredients sourced from Italy, and its pasta is made fresh every day. There is even tableside mozzarella—a cart pulls up to tables and a staff member makes it for you right there.
There’s no doubt Spiegelworld is more than enough of a lure to Atlantic City, especially for those looking for something new, memorable and off-the-beaten-path.
Spiegelworld “The Hook” shows are on Wednesday – Sunday, at 7 and 9pm. Tickets start at $60.
NYC MTA Quietly Rolls Out AI Software To Track Subway Fare Evasion
From new high-tech customer service centers to R211 subway cars and everything in between, the NYC subway system has (finally) been getting with the times–and now they’re doing so in an even bigger way.
According to NBC and a recently released transit report, the MTA is now using Artificial Intelligence (AI) to track subway fare evasion.
The new surveillance software, created by the Spanish company AWAAIT, has already been rolled out to some of the city’s subway stations, with plans to introduce more by the end of this year, according to documents and government contracts obtained by NBC.
A report released by the MTA a few months back showed that fare evasion has officially reached crisis levels, with the MTA losing an estimated $690 million in unpaid fares and tolls in 2022. Though since having human checkers responsible for catching fare evasion across the city’s 472 stations would be too cost prohibitive, the MTA is now relying on AI to do the job.
The MTA also explained that another plus of the technology is that it’s able to operate 24/7, providing insightful information on what times fare evasion is at its highest.
The new technology has already been in use throughout seven subway stations since May, and it’s “slated to be expanded this year to approximately two dozen more stations, with more to follow,” says a report by the MTA.
NBC reports that MTA spokesperson Joana Flores said the AI system “doesn’t flag fare evaders to the police, but she declined to comment on whether that policy could change.”
Instead, it’s just being used as a “counting tool,” according to MTA communications director Tim Minton, to find out how many people are evading the fare and how.
Beyond the AI technology, the MTA is also proposing new glass door subway turnstiles and redesigned turnstile bars with plastic sleeves and metal fins along with the inability to turn the turnstile halfway and squeeze through it in the hopes that they’ll both aid in cracking down on subway fare evasion.
Implementing bars and fins to the turnstiles will cost the MTA roughly $2 million and take two years to update the remaining 3,500 turnstiles throughout the city’s 472 stations.
The full MTA report can be read here.
In other MTA news: NYC Subway Fare Will Rise A Whopping 15 Cents This August
The post NYC MTA Quietly Rolls Out AI Software To Track Subway Fare Evasion appeared first on Secret NYC.