‘Sharknado Live’ Set to Rain Musical Mayhem on Las Vegas

Posted on: August 8, 2017, 02:30h. 

Last updated on: August 8, 2017, 01:57h.

Casino.org Staff Writer Read More
Expertise: Commercial Gaming.

Sharknado Live is going to be swimming into a Caesars resort in Las Vegas sometime next year. Following a viewing party for the premiere of Sharknado 5: Global Swarming, producers confirmed rumors that a live stage musical adaptation based on the popular Syfy made-for-TV movie series was in the works.

Sharknado Live Caesars SyFy
The closest ocean to Las Vegas may be 150 miles away (as the crow-shark flies), but Sharknado Live still sees promise in a Sin City stage show based on the cult TV movie hit. (Image: Sharknado)

Celebrities including lead actors Ian Ziering and Tara Reid attended the premiere event on August 6 at The LINQ, a casino resort on the Las Vegas Strip owned by Caesars Entertainment. The casino empire confirmed that Sharknado Live was indeed coming in a press release:

“The multisensory show will be a musical journey featuring humor and intrigue as well as the characters that tens of millions of fans have loved through five films,” the Caesars statement said. “The live spectacle will bring the Sharknado move franchise to life on the Las Vegas Strip.”

Caesars didn’t reveal which resort would house the performance. It’s also keeping secret who might potentially star in the show, and when Sharknado Live will debut. But be warned, it’s coming.

Setting the Stage

Las Vegas Review-Journal columnist John Katsilometes thinks Harrah’s is the most likely candidate to host Sharknado Live. The Strip property currently has the Righteous Brothers headlining in its showroom, with Menopause: The Musical playing in the cabaret.

Producers of the show will hope to avoid becoming the next Duck Commander Musical, the short-lived stage show at the Rio based on the A&E series Duck Dynasty.

Another recent sci-fi film that was trying to take its show to the stage was never able to take flight. In 2015, the original developers of Back to the Future, Robert Zemeckis and Bob Gale, tried to make the trilogy into a musical. But creative differences among the producers and director Jamie Lloyd (no relation to Christopher Lloyd who played Doc Brown in the movies) ultimately led to the show’s being abandoned.

When Sharknado’s first installment aired on Syfy in 2013, few could have envisioned the massive fan following the comical “horror” film would attract. But after five films and tons of laughs later, producers and Caesars apparently believe the series is ready for Las Vegas, and are betting that it might prove particularly appealing to millennials.

Jumping the Sharknado?

Sharknado may be no Lion King nor The Producers, but a stream of plot lines about tornados snatching up sharks from the ocean and raining them onto land where they attack humans stands to go down as something special in entertainment history.

However, fans of the franchise might also be ready to sink their teeth into something a little a different. Ratings for Sunday’s Global Swarming premiere were the lowest since the first film four years ago.

Sharknado 5 attracted 1.88 million viewers, less than what HGTV’s Beachfront Bargain Hunt garnered two hours later at 10 pm.

Sharknado 2 pulled in 3.87 million televisions in the US in 2014, while the third and fourth installments were watched by 2.81 million and 2.77 million viewers.

The big Sunday winner was once again Game of Thrones, which had the eyes and ears of over 10.1 million people.