This fall, megastar Céline Dion is set to make her comeback in Las Vegas, the city that hosted her residence for a decade and a half until 2019.
The singer and Montreal-based Cirque du Soleil are two Quebec brands that have made their stamp on that city over the years.
But recently, other Quebec companies, too, have also been quietly making their presence felt.
A new theatre will soon be opened at Resorts World Las Vegas, a new 3,500-room luxury hotel. The Theatre, as it’s called, will have a 5,000-seat capacity over three floors. According to the company, it will be the largest and tallest performance stage in the city.
The whole space, from top to bottom, was designed by Scéno Plus, a theatre design company based in Montreal.
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According to the company’s president and CEO Olivier Berthiaume-Bergé, much of the design was done during the pandemic.
“It was really quite a challenge but I think it really speaks to resilience and hope,” he said during an interview at the company’s office on de Lorimier Avenue near Masson Street.
Scéno Plus has been designing theatres for more than 20 years and The Theatre isn’t the first one the company has designed in Vegas.
“Actually, it’s the seventh theatre that we’re designing in Vegas,” Berthiaume-Bergé told Global News. “We did original Colosseum for Céline Dion and we did also the first two permanent venues for Cirque du Soleil.”
This time, though, Scéno Plus will be sharing the stage with another Montreal company.
Sièges Ducharme, a company that builds custom-designed seating for large venues, won the bid to design and build all the seats for the current space.
It’s been around since 1959.
“It’s really a great achievement for us,” company president Eric Rocheleau said of the new contract.
He explained that the company has recently been making inroads into the U.S. market and has tackled larger venues, but this its first contract in Las Vegas.
Production of the seats has already begun.
“We start delivering in early July,” executive vice-president Frédéric Dionne said, “and the expected date for installing everything is mid-August.”
When it opens Nov. 5, Quebec’s presence will be felt even more — it’s where Dion will launch her Las Vegas return.
Other Quebec companies have also done work in the city over the years and Berthiaume-Bergé is proud of the mark Quebec is making on the city.
“When you go to theatres in Vegas, sometimes you hear people speaking French,” he smiled.
He said he hopes the trend continues.
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