Summer Nights was a concert residency by Australian recording artist Olivia Newton-John. The residency took place in the Donny & Marie Showroom at the Flamingo Las Vegas. It began April 2014 and ended December 2016. Her three-year run even prompted a live album entitled Summer Nights: Live in Las Vegas (2015).
Background and development Rumours of a Vegas residency were first reported in June 2012. Initially, Newton-John was to perform in the middle of 2013. However, her sister's brain cancer and death postponed the residency indefinitely. On 4 February 2014, the residency was officially announced/resumed for 45 shows beginning April 2014. Entitled, "Summer Nights", the shows were intended to be intimate, not the usual Vegas-style spectacular. Newton-John performed with an eight-piece band and simple staging. She performed her greatest hits, including songs from hit films Grease and Xanadu. During an interview with Closer Weekly, Newton John revealed with former co-star, John Travolta was to come to a show, she would try to get him onstage for a duet. In July 2014, Newton-John confirmed the extension of Summer Nights, with twenty-four additional dates which ran until January 2015. The show was subsequently extended throughout 2015 and 2016.
When asked on her decision to perform in Vegas, Newton-John explained that her previous tours of the United States included performing in casinos in small towns, outside of the metro area. She was told many fans were not willing to travel to the towns however some would travel to Vegas for the Vegas experience. She also stated the comfort of performing at one venue for the tenure. Speaking of the concerts, Newton-John stated: "I am thrilled to be able to call Las Vegas home for a while. I have performed here many times through the years and have had nothing but wonderful memories and I look forward to even more fun at the Flamingo. I am especially thrilled that a portion of every ticket sold will benefit the Olivia Newton-John Cancer and Wellness Centre".
Critical reception Mike Weatherford of Las Vegas Review-Journal stated that "Newton-John said herself in an interview that she’s not a 'razzmatazz' performer. But not long into this by-the-numbers retrospective, I realized she is an entertainer" and "If you expect anything more ambitious from the forever 'nice girl' at this point, well that would just be mean". Steve Bornfeld of Vegas Seven described Summer Nights as a show which "reflects what [Newton-John] has always been: a lovely woman with a pretty voice singing sweet ballads and catchy pop tunes without an ounce of artifice or affectation". Sam Masseur of Vegas Chatter wrote: "For anyone who’s ever enjoyed an Olivia Newton-John song, Summer Nights will be a perfect evening of entertainment".
Set list This set list is representative of the show on 8 April 2014. It does not represent all concerts for the duration of the residency.
"Pearls on a Chain" "Have You Never Been Mellow" "Xanadu" "Magic" "Suddenly" "A Little More Love" "Sam" "If Not for You" "Let Me Be There" "Please Mr. Please" "Take Me Home, Country Roads" "If You Love Me (Let Me Know)" "Physical" "Cry Me a River" "Send in the Clowns" "Not Gonna Give Into It" "Look at Me, I'm Sandra Dee (Reprise)" "You're the One That I Want" "Hopelessly Devoted to You" "Summer Nights" "We Go Together" "I Honestly Love You" "Over the Rainbow"
Shows Date Attendance Revenue Leg 1 8 April 2014 5,234 / 6,933 (75%) $594,888 9 April 2014 10 April 2014 11 April 2014 12 April 2014 6 May 2014 7 May 2014 8 May 2014 9 May 2014 10 May 2014 Leg 2 27 May 2014 3,071 / 3,570 (86%) $365,935 28 May 2014 29 May 2014 30 May 2014 31 May 2014 Leg 3 1 July 2014 2,146 / 3,916 (55%) $264,924 2 July 2014 3 July 2014 4 July 2014 5 July 2014 Leg 4Leg 4 box score: 29 July 2014 11,589 / 17,770 (65%) $1,345,415 30 July 2014 31 July 2014 1 August 2014 2 August 2014 5 August 2014 6 August 2014 7 August 2014 8 August 2014 9 August 2014 12 August 2014 13 August 2014 14 August 2014 15 August 2014 16 August 2014 19 August 2014 20 August 2014 21 August 2014 22 August 2014 23 August 2014 26 August 2014 27 August 2014 28 August 2014 29 August 2014 30 August 2014 Leg 5 7 October 2014 2,126 / 3,859 (55%) $239,558 8 October 2014 9 October 2014 10 October 2014 11 October 2014 Leg 6 11 November 2014 2,360 / 3,805 (62%) $266,769 12 November 2014 13 November 2014 14 November 2014 15 November 2014 Leg 7Leg 7 box score: 2 December 2014 5,993 / 10,720 (56%) $705,782 3 December 2014 4 December 2014 5 December 2014 6 December 2014 9 December 2014 10 December 2014 11 December 2014 12 December 2014 13 December 2014 30 December 2014 31 December 2014 1 January 2015 2 January 2015 3 January 2015 Leg 8 3 March 2015 4,969 / 10,490 (47%) $491,143 4 March 2015 5 March 2015 6 March 2015 7 March 2015 10 March 2015 11 March 2015 12 March 2015 13 March 2015 14 March 2015 17 March 2015 18 March 2015 19 March 2015 20 March 2015 21 March 2015 Leg 9 26 May 2015 5,317 / 11,005 (48%) $485,182 27 May 2015 28 Nay 2015 29 May 2015 30 May 2015 2 June 2015 3 June 2015 4 June 2015 5 June 2015 6 June 2015 9 June 2015 10 June 2015 11 June 2015 12 June 2015 13 June 2015 Leg 10Leg 11 box score: 7 July 2015 9,369 / 21,960 (43%) $884,835 8 July 2015 9 July 2015 10 July 2015 11 July 2015 14 July 2015 15 July 2015 16 July 2015 17 July 2015 18 July 2015 21 July 2015 22 July 2015 23 July 2015 24 July 2015 25 July 2015 4 August 2015 5 August 2015 6 August 2015 7 August 2015 8 August 2015 11 August 2015 12 August 2015 13 August 2015 14 August 2015 15 August 2015 18 August 2015 19 August 2015 20 August 2015 21 August 2015 22 August 2015 Leg 11 1 September 2015 3,179 / 6,940 (46%) $305,095 2 September 2015 3 September 2015 4 September 2015 5 September 2015 8 September 2015 9 September 2015 10 September 2015 11 September 2015 12 September 2015 Leg 12 5 July 2016 3,277 / 7,224 (45%) $331,0576 July 20167 July 20168 July 20169 July 201612 July 201613 July 201614 July 201615 July 201616 July 2016 Leg 13 9 August 2016 3,070 / 7,212 (43%) $289,312 10 August 2016 11 August 2016 12 August 2016 13 August 2016 16 August 2016 17 August 2016 18 August 2016 19 August 2016 20 August 2016Leg 14 18 October 2016 4,967 / 7,183 (69%) $476,890 19 October 2016 20 October 2016 21 October 2016 22 October 2016 25 October 2016 26 October 2016 27 October 2016 28 October 2016 29 October 2016Leg 15 22 November 2016 N/A N/A 23 November 2016 24 November 2016 25 November 2016 26 November 2016 29 November 2016 1,930 / 3,570 (54%) $201,421 30 November 2016 1 December 2016 2 December 2016 3 December 2016 Total 68,597 / 126,157 (54%) $7,248,206
References
External links The Official Olivia Newton-John Website Olivia Newton-John: Summer Nights