It was bound to happen, soon or later; holograms of our dearly-departed stars achieved residency on the Las Vegas Strip. The first hologram to star on the Strip is that of late superstar Whitney Houston; Houston was found unconscious, submerged in the bathtub in a suite at the Beverly Hilton Hotel on February 11, 2012. Her death was later deemed to be due to atherosclerotic heart disease and cocaine abuse.
Whitney’s hologram will star in “An Evening With Whitney: The Whitney Houston Hologram Concert,” premiering at the Flamingo Showroom on April 14, 2020. Houston’s estate has long desired to launch a hologram of the R&B legend. “An Evening With Whitney” has just finished a tour of Europe, before hitting the Strip.
Holograms are the Future of Entertainment
The Whitney Houston production is the first full-scale hologram show to hit the Las Vegas Strip. However, holograms have been used as part of existing shows on the Strip, such as in “Michael Jackson One” playing at Mandalay Bay. Holograms could be the future of Las Vegas entertainment, potentially resurrecting Elvis, the Rat Pack and other legends of the Las Vegas Strip.
The Whitney Houston Show at the Flamingo guarantees a live-concert experience, with not only a Houston singing her greatest hits, but also a five-piece band with backup singers and dancers. The songs include the hits, “I Will Always Love You,” “The Greatest Love of All,” I Wanna Dance with Somebody,” and “Higher Love.”
About the Whitney Houston Hologram Show
The hologram show is produced by the Estate of Whitney E. Houston, along with Base Hologram. Base Hologram is a division of the Las Vegas entertainment company Base Entertainment, which has been serving the Strip for a very long time. Also involved is GFour Productions, which stages “Menopause The Musical” at Harrah’s.
While Whitney’s vocals have been digitally enhanced and the backing music is live onstage, Whitney’s hologram figure was modeled by an actress who practiced performing Houston’s stage moves for more than two months.
The Brains Behind Whitney’s Resurrection
Brian Becker, Base Entertainment and Base Hologram’s chairman and CEO explained that CGI technology has converted the actress’s video image “to look exactly like Whitney Houston, or as close to her as possible.”
“First of all, the reason we did it this way is, we wanted to have Whitney’s actual vocals, originally sung by her,” Becker explained recently. “This is a scripted show, and that was the only way to accomplish that, and control the interaction and have the hologram do what we wanted it to do. Employing an actress to play her allowed us to create the show.”
To further the realism, Fatima Robinson, who directed Whitney in her “My Name’s Not Susan” and “I’m Every Woman” videos, choreographed the stage show. Robinson is a veteran choreographer, who has also worked on the film, “Dreamgirls” Super Bowl halftime shows, the Grammys and the Oscars, and videos by Kanye West, Rihanna, and Mary J. Blige.
“Before her death, Whitney and I talked about her idea of performing an intimate, unplugged concert tour. It was something we called ‘An Evening with Whitney, or ‘Whitney Unplugged’” said Pat Houston, Whitney’s former manager and CEO and president of the Estate of Whitney E. Houston. “While she’s no longer with us, her legacy and her voice will live with us forever.”
Base Entertainment has been working with hologram technology for many years. Some of the prep work for the Whitney Houston show was done at the Criss Angel Mindfreak Theater at Planet Hollywood. Base Entertainment also produces a Buddy Holly/Roy Orbison hologram show, a solo Roy Orbison show, as well as a hologram production with opera legend Maria Callas. Those hologram productions were prepped at the Venetian’s Opaline Theater, where the Base’s “Rock of Ages” musical played.
The Ultimate Whitney Houston Experience
This new hologram production uses Whitney’s vast musical catalog, as well as her ever-lasting popularity.
“This is a way for her fans to experience her in concert. It’s a very authentic show, with fantastic music and special effects done in such a way to fully re-create the Whitney Houston experience,” Becker said. “If you walk in thinking, ‘I really want to suspend my belief, have a great evening and experience some fabulous music onstage,’ you’ll be blown away. You’re gonna love it.”
“Whitney” starts at 7 p.m. Tuesdays through Sundays (closed on Mondays). Currently, it’s an open-ended engagement, dividing its dates with “Ru Paul Drag Race Live!” which is currently playing, and Derek Hough’s production, which opens on June 2. Tickets for Whitney range from $39 to $99, which does not include fees. Tickets will be on sale starting at 10 a.m. March 6, 2020, at Ticketmaster.com, at the Flamingo Las Vegas box office, or WhitneyVegas.com, or by phone at 702-777-2783.
