May 08, 2023
Visitors to the Jersey Shore this summer will have an exciting new nightlife option, as Atlantic City prepares to launch its first-ever permanent entertainment and dining residency on the boardwalk.
Spiegelworld, an entertainment company known for its live performances and culinary experiences in Las Vegas, is opening a new show at Caesars Atlantic City. Beginning June 30, "The Hook" will entertain visitors each week with an international cast of adult-comedy hosts, acrobats and variety artists from around the world, as well as a new restaurant and cocktail bars.
The show will take place in a custom-built venue that uses the preserved boardwalk-facing facade of Atlantic City's historic Warner Theatre, which opened in 1929.
“Going to Atlantic City is a homecoming for me because I grew up in New Jersey,” Cal McCrystal, director of "The Hook," said in a release. “It will be the most beautiful bespoke show in so many ways because we are building the venue and the show at the same time. Like all my shows, it will be breathtaking acrobatics, magnificent physiques on display, and powerful comedy.”
McCrystal, who is from Teaneck, Bergen County, has background training as a clown and theater actor, which led to his work as a as a comedy consultant for films like "The Nice Guys," "The Amazing Spider-Man 2" and the "Paddington" movies. The London-based comedy director has also previously worked on Spiegelworld shows in Las Vegas and abroad, and has directed several shows on London's West End.
The team behind "The Hook" also includes Tony-winning scenic designer Christine Jones — who has worked on Broadway’s "American Idiot" and "Harry Potter and the Cursed Child" — and costume designers, creative directors, choreographers and visual artists whose work can be seen in major venues around the world.
Organizers have remained fairly quiet about what crowds can expect specifically from the 75-minute show, besides comedy and jaw-dropping "superhuman" feats, but McCrystal did offer a tease: "The show’s beginning has something very particular that will make our audience drop their cocktails from sheer amazement."
Along with sipping cocktails from four bars in the venue, guests can dine before or after the show at Superfrico for a taste of the Las Vegas restaurant described as "Italian American Psychedelic." The restaurant serves reimagined classic Italian dishes and seasonal cocktails, with a DJ spinning vinyl to set the vibe.
Reserved seating tickets for "The Hook," which will have 7 p.m. and 9 p.m. showtimes on Wednesdays through Sundays, can be purchased for $60 online. Reservations are also being accepted for Superfrico. Both venues are located at Caesars Atlantic City, at 2100 Pacific Avenue.
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