By MARK KENNEDY AP Entertainment Writer
NEW YORK (AP) — Channing Tatum is bringing the stage spin-off of his wildly successful “Magic Mike” film franchise to New York City, promising to “turn up the gas” on a show that already generates plenty of heat.
“Magic Mike Live” — which offers plenty of chiseled abs and sex-positivity — will open its specially designed 425-seat immersive experience Oct. 8 at the onetime Copacabana nightclub on the corner of 47th Street and 8th Avenue.
“We’re going to turn the gas up a little bit and make it a little hotter, just pour some gasoline on it. It’s New York. So you’ve got to throw everything at it,” Tatum tells The Associated Press.
“Magic Like Live” flips the traditional, cheesy male review on its head, putting the women in the audience first at a time when toxic masculinity is under fire.
The show features 13 ripped male dancers and a female MC, combining songs, aerial acrobatics, comedy, plenty of drink service and audience participation, only if wanted.
“It’s kind of like a dance spectacular that has a sexy twist, and sexy for us is a lot of things. Sexy is funny. Sexy is athletic. Sexy is smart. So we try to approach the dance with all of those things in mind,” says Alison Faulk, co-director and choreographer.
“There’s very few spaces that are made with women in mind,” she adds. “This is made with the woman in mind and making her whole night happy and easier and fun, just to like to take a load off. There’s few places like that.”
Some of the songs will include Ginuwine’s “Pony,” which is featured in the films, 50 Cent’s “Candy Shop,” Gallant’s “Open Up,” James Brown’s “Get Up I Feel Like Being a Sex Machine” and Ro James’ “Permission,” as well as original music.
The creators say the new venue is a hybrid between a really beautiful nightclub and a theatrical space, with multiple bars and lounges and seating that ranges from couches to traditional theatrical seats, to bar stools, cabaret tables and banquets.
“What we really try to do is to create an evening of surprise and delight that gives you a bit of what you expect and then a whole bunch of things you never thought you’d ever get,” says Vincent Marini, creative director and executive producer. “What we did for the male revue is very similar to what Cirque du Soleil did to circus.”
Tatum, who spent time in a Chippendales-like revue as a young dancer before becoming a movie star, conceived of the nightclub-style shows but warns visitors not to expect a live version of the “Magic Mike” movies.
“One of the biggest reasons why I wanted to make this show was to kill that old version of male entertaining, because I’ve worked in that version and it’s misogynistic and degrading to women,” he says.
“It’s just gross a little bit. I ain’t gonna lie. Like, I did it for like about 10 months and I was like, ‘Wow, this is crazy. This is nuts,'” he adds. “Most of the people that end up loving our show, I think, the most are the people that kind of hate that type of thing the most.”
The success of the films first spawned a Las Vegas stage show in 2017 that now has outposts in London and Berlin and is touring Australia. The version that lands in New York will be tweaked to reflect the city and creators say they’ve fine-tuned the story.
Tatum says the creators have learned that audiences in different cities act differently — London’s were more staid than Vegas, for instance — and that whoever is the MC can really change the experience by setting the tone.
“This New York production is the culmination of 10 years of work and thought and watching millions of people, men and women go to this show,” says Marini. “We want to come to New York with the very best version of this that we’ve ever done.”