If you so desire the flesh, long for sexy females in various states of undress, lust after beauty and crave the sexual, it’s time for you to spend 75 minutes in heaven with the ladies of Sydney After Dark. The talent from halfway around the world translates perfectly for the adults-only audience, with a level of international charm that sets it apart from other revues.
The idea for the show began with one woman, Sydney After Dark’s creative director and costume designer, Belinda Chapple. It took her about four years to bring the show to fruition—with the help of SPI Entertainment’s founder and CEO Adam Steck, who now produces Sydney After Dark along with other Australian productions in Las Vegas including Thunder From Down Under, The Australian Bee Gees Show and Human Nature. “I saw a window for an all-female revue show in Las Vegas, with an all-Australian cast,” Chapple says. Oddly enough, topless shows like Sydney After Dark do not exist in Australia—there’s no market for it, Chapple says. “We’ve got so much talent, but we don’t have that type of culture for these (types of) shows set up in our country.” Luckily for Las Vegas audiences, Sydney After Dark recently took up residence at Planet Hollywood Resort.
The bevy of beauties is led by singer Natalie Conway, who serves as host of the show, but it’s her vocal talent that leaves the biggest impression, keeping you hooked from the first song, “Cream” by Prince, to the closing song, “I Was Made for Lovin’ You” by KISS.
“Natalie Conway, to me, is a true star,” Chapple says. “She’s an undiscovered star; that’s one of the reasons why I brought her out here. People might not be expecting to get that caliber of a singer—and ... she’s so beautiful and just so talented.”
Conway, along with the sexy dancers in the show, takes the audience through a series of bedroom fantasies that includes a heart-pounding nurse-and-patient number where one lucky audience member gets to join two “nurses” onstage whose bedside manner turns naughty. Another number finds three private school girls playing in a classroom setting, ,stripping to INXS’ “Need You Tonight,” followed by an enchanting period piece and Chapple’s favorite scene, inspired by the musical Les Misérables, where the ladies sensually strip to the sounds of Australian pop icon Tina Arena’s “Je m’appelle Bagdad.”
In fact, many Australian musical hits and some Australian culture is woven into the show, including a burlesque number set to a cabaret-style rendition of Kylie Minogue’s “Locomotion,” and a sexy vignette that takes the audience deep into the outback, where modern dance creatively blends with traditional Aboriginal dance moves and music.
For Chapple, mixing both topless and covered scenes, soundtracked by hits from Janet Jackson, Madonna, AC/DC and Lady Gaga, was an important aspect for setting Sydney After Dark apart from other revues.
“Not every single scene is topless; creatively, it’s a nice contrast,” Chapple says. “It’s not giving everything away; you don’t get complacent. Instead, there’s these beautiful, special moments.”
Special moments, indeed, as the cast of Sydney After Dark raises the bar when it comes to sharp, sensual and provocative choreography.
When blended with creative costuming and set design, and Conway’s stunning renditions of popular songs, these beauties from down under are brilliantly elevating the art of tease.
Planet Hollywood Resort 9:30 p.m. Thurs.-Tues., $39-$79 plus tax and fee, $99 VIP meet and greet, 18+. 800.745.3000 Ticketmaster
