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Broadway's Latest Frontier: Las Vegas

A scene from 'Mamma Mia!'
A scene from 'Mamma Mia!'

Soon, Broadway won't be the only place to see the latest big musicals -- Las Vegas is fast becoming a second outlet for theater lovers.

The 2004 Tony Award-winning musical Avenue Q recently opened in a brand, spanking new $40 million theater at Wynn Las Vegas, where a high-end art gallery and upscale restaurants accompany the gambling opportunities.

For Wynn, the show is "a perfect counterpoint to all of the hydraulics and technology and the manufactured yahoo of Las Vegas," he tells Jeff Lunden. "This is simple theater."

An increasing amount of revenue in Las Vegas now comes from sources other than gambling. The musical Mamma Mia! has been a sold-out hit for the past two years at MGM Mirage's Mandalay Bay, and Cirque du Soleil's Ka draws audiences at the MGM Grand. Now other shows are planning to hit the strip, including Hairspray, Monty Python's Spamalot and Phantom of the Opera.

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