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.

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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.

* This article was originally published here

As we enter this new phase of living with COVID-19, myths persist. One false rumor is that people can contract COVID through the blood supply.

According to researcher Sonia Bakkour, in a press release promoting her research study “[o]ther studies have shown that in rare cases where a blood sample tested positive, transmission by blood transfusion has not occurred…Therefore, it appears safe to receive blood as a transfusion recipient and to keep donating blood, without fear of transmitting COVID-19 as long as current screenings are used.” 

According to the press release: “Researchers concluded the likelihood of a transfusion recipient receiving blood with trace amounts of SARS-CoV-2 was approximately .001% – a little over 1 in 100,000 – and that the likelihood of SARS-CoV-2 transmission by blood transfusion was insignificant compared to airborne transmission.”

Dr. Sachais of the New York Blood Center (NYBC) adds to this, telling the AmNews “COVID is not transmitted via blood . . . that’s not a way that people get this or other respiratory viruses.” Sachais continues, saying that individuals contract COVID-19 “ through the breathing in of the droplets, being exposed to those droplets that contain the virus and the blood is not infected.”

The Canadian Blood Services supports this conclusion, explaining in the article, “Why you won’t get COVID-19 from a blood transfusion” that “[v]iruses rely on ‘binding sites’ on their host cells. . . The binding sites for COVID-19 are located in the respiratory tract, especially the lower lung, and the digestive system. There is no evidence this coronavirus targets blood cells, or even uses plasma to move around and invade other organs…Blood cells don’t have the binding sites COVID-19 is looking for. The virus is focused on attacking the respiratory and digestive systems.”

As to concerns that individuals may have regarding the safety of blood donation centers, Andrea Cefarelli, Senior Vice President of NYBC, spoke to the AmNews about the safety measures that were taken to safeguard individuals at the height of the COVID pandemic: “[we] implemented several . . . practices . . .  both our staff and our donors were safe and these were very similar to other practices for frontline staff. . . we increased the distance between our donor beds [and] some similar precautions that other organizations were following.”

In January of this year, the New York State Department of Health issued a statement for Blood Donor Month encouraging individuals to donate  blood and stating that “the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic continues to have an enormous effect on supply and the need for donations.” In March of 2023, the NYBC declared a blood emergency citing several contributing factors, and the summer has seen nationwide calls for blood donations. COVID’s impact not only translated to myths around blood transfusions but blood donations as well. 

“I would just add that the pandemic sort of devastated the foundation on which we collect blood so pre-pandemic about 25 [percent] of our blood supply came from young donors who donated at high school or a college among their peers . . . having a fun experience for their first donation among friends and then the work from home, which is kind of here to stay or a blended work schedule is making corporate blood drives different and so, the need for blood and disaster preparedness was really heightened coming out of the Pandemic,” Cefarelli said.

For additional resources about Blood Donations in NYC, visit https://portal.311.nyc.gov/article/?kanumber=KA-01419.For additional resources about COVID-19, visit www1.nyc.gov/site/coronavirus/index.page or call 311. COVID-19 testing, masks, and vaccination resources can also be accessed on the AmNews COVID-19 page: www.amsterdamnews.com/covid/.

The post Factcheck: False: People routinely contract COVID through blood transfusions appeared first on New York Amsterdam News.

* This article was originally published here