Play (concert residency) explained
Play was the first concert residency hosted by American singer Katy Perry. The first eight concerts were announced in May 2021, which ran at Resorts World Theatre from December 29, 2021, to January 15, 2022.[1] Eight more shows were added later that month in response to popular demand, extending the residency to March 2022.[2] Ticket sales became widely available to purchase on May 24 after a pre-sale for those with Citibank cards.[3] Perry announced in January 2022 that she had added 16 more shows for May through August. On June 1, 2022, she announced that a further eight shows were added for October due to increasing demand.
Perry opened Play to a sold-out crowd at Resorts World Theatre, with the furthest seat being only 150 feet away from the stage. In February 2022, the first set of boxscores were reported by Billboard. She earned $6.98 million from the eight reported dates and drew a total of 32,000 attendees in the timeframe.[4] From these earnings, she reached the top spot on the Artist Power Index (APX) chart by Pollstar.[5] On April 10, 2023, Perry announced that the final show of the residency would take place on November 4, 2023.[6] According to Billboard, the residency grossed $46.4 million, becoming the 8th highest grossing female residency in the history of Las Vegas and 18th overall.[7]
Background
The show draws influence from Honey, I Shrunk the Kids, Pee-wee's Playhouse, and Pee-wee's Big Adventure. Perry also stated, "It's just gonna be a feast for both the ears and the eyes and it is like the most laughter I've had in a rehearsal setting ever in my life. My co-creators and collaborators and the dancers and the band, everybody's just like, 'This is the kookiest idea.'"[8]
Production
Several parts of the show have been described by media outlets such as Vogue as "camp", such as Perry descending from the ceiling and being placed on a gigantic bed, interacting with a giant toilet and a giant face mask while performing, and a huge red rocking horse. Christian Allaire of Vogue called her the "Queen of Camp" for her approach to the show, saying: "Perry's playful, tongue-in-cheek approach to dressing really makes the show for us. More than a decade into her impressive career, she's clearly still a reigning queen of camp."[9] [10]
Critical response
Play received universal critical acclaim.[11] Mark Gray from Rolling Stone said that "the production was larger than life" for the residency's opening night, further adding: "the show is quintessential Perry, who indulged the emotional, the over-the-top, the whimsical, the psychedelic, and even the cheesy over the course of 95 minutes".[12] Melinda Sheckells of Billboard also gave the first show a positive review, stating that Perry "left another unforgettable mark on the Strip in front of a sold-out, all-ages crowd of 5,000 loudly purring KatyCats", further adding: "'Perry Playland' transports the audience into another dimension of rainbow fluff, heart-shaped confetti and larger-than-life anthropomorphic household objects — it's part fantasy, part hallucination and thoroughly high-camp Perry."[13] Yahoo! contributor Joyann Jeffrey felt Perry "perfectly wrapped up 2021 in a nutshell when she toasted a giant face mask onstage, and sang on top of some giant toilet paper rolls, which sat beside a huge bathtub and toilet" with Play and wrote the outfits used were "equally as amazing".[9]
Set list
Perry revealed the set list on December 28, 2021, a day before the first show was scheduled to start.[14]
- "E.T."
- "Chained to the Rhythm"
- "Dark Horse"
- "Not the End of the World"
- "California Gurls"
- "Hot n Cold" / "Last Friday Night (T.G.I.F.)"
- "Waking Up in Vegas" (Jazz version)
- "Bon Appétit"
- "Daisies" (Oliver Heldens remix)
- "I Kissed a Girl"
- "Lost" / "Part of Me" / "Wide Awake" (Acoustic)
- "Never Really Over"
- "Swish Swish"
- "When I'm Gone" / "Walking on Air"
- "Teenage Dream"
- "Smile"
- "Roar"
Encore
- "The Greatest Love of All"
- "Firework"
Shows
Date! scope="col"| Attendance | Revenue |
|---|
| Leg 1[15] |
|---|
| December 29, 2021 | 32,000 | $6,980,000 |
| December 31, 2021 |
| January 1, 2022 |
| January 7, 2022 |
| January 8, 2022 |
| January 12, 2022 |
| January 14, 2022 |
| January 15, 2022 |
| Leg 2[16] |
|---|
| March 2, 2022 | — | — |
| March 4, 2022 |
| March 5, 2022 |
| March 11, 2022 |
| March 12, 2022 |
| March 16, 2022 |
| March 18, 2022 |
| March 19, 2022 |
| Leg 3 |
|---|
| May 27, 2022 | — | — |
| May 28, 2022 |
| May 29, 2022 |
| June 3, 2022 |
| June 4, 2022 |
| June 8, 2022 |
| June 10, 2022 |
| June 11, 2022 |
| Leg 4 |
|---|
| July 29, 2022 | — | — |
| July 30, 2022 |
| August 3, 2022 |
| August 5, 2022 |
| August 6, 2022 |
| August 10, 2022 |
| August 12, 2022 |
| August 13, 2022 |
| Leg 5[17] |
|---|
| October 5, 2022 | — | — |
| October 7, 2022 |
| October 8, 2022 |
| October 14, 2022 |
| October 15, 2022 |
| October 19, 2022 |
| October 21, 2022 |
| October 22, 2022 |
| Leg 6[18] |
|---|
| February 15, 2023 | — | — |
| February 17, 2023 |
| February 18, 2023 |
| February 22, 2023 |
| February 24, 2023 |
| February 25, 2023 |
| March 3, 2023 |
| March 4, 2023 |
| Leg 7 |
|---|
| April 5, 2023 | — |
| April 7, 2023 |
| April 8, 2023 |
| April 12, 2023 |
| April 14, 2023 |
| April 15, 2023 |
| Leg 8[19] |
|---|
| May 12, 2023 | — |
| May 13, 2023 |
| May 17, 2023 |
| May 19, 2023 |
| May 20, 2023 |
| May 24, 2023 |
| May 27, 2023 |
| May 28, 2023 |
| Leg 9 |
|---|
| July 28, 2023 | — |
| July 29, 2023 |
| August 2, 2023 |
| August 4, 2023 |
| August 5, 2023 |
| August 9, 2023 |
| August 11, 2023 |
| August 12, 2023 |
| Leg 10 |
|---|
| October 4, 2023 | — |
| October 6, 2023 |
| October 7, 2023 |
| October 11, 2023 |
| October 13, 2023 |
| October 14, 2023 |
| October 31, 2023 |
| November 1, 2023 |
| November 3, 2023 |
| November 4, 2023 |
|
Notes and References
- Brittany. Spanos. Brittany Spanos. Celine Dion, Katy Perry, Carrie Underwood, Luke Bryan Plot Las Vegas Residencies. May 12, 2021. May 12, 2021. Rolling Stone. May 12, 2021. https://web.archive.org/web/20210512143319/https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-news/resorts-world-vegas-residency-celine-dion-katy-perry-1167437/amp/. live.
- Web site: Christine. Hahn. May 24, 2021. Katy Perry adds eight dates to her Las Vegas residency showresidency show. December 27, 2021. WRMF. November 16, 2021. https://web.archive.org/web/20211116193919/https://www.wrmf.com/katy-perry-adds-eight-dates-to-her-las-vegas-residency-showresidency-show/. live.
- Resorts World Sets Dates for Vegas Mini-Residencies by Celine Dion, Carrie Underwood, Katy Perry and Luke Bryan. Chris. Willman. Variety. May 12, 2021. May 12, 2021. May 12, 2021. https://web.archive.org/web/20210512143049/https://variety.com/2021/music/news/resorts-world-celine-dion-carrie-underwood-katy-perry-luke-bryan-1234971241/. live.
- Frankenberg . Eric . February 11, 2022 . Katy Perry's Las Vegas Residency Has Already Earned Nearly $7 Million . Billboard . February 12, 2022 . February 12, 2022 . https://web.archive.org/web/20220212023727/https://www.billboard.com/pro/katy-perry-las-vegas-residency-earnings/ . live .
- Allen . Bob . February 11, 2022 . Katy Perry Powers Forward, Tops APX With Box-Office Boom From New Las Vegas Residency . . February 12, 2022 . February 11, 2022 . https://web.archive.org/web/20220211225206/https://www.pollstar.com/article/katy-perry-powers-forward-tops-apx-with-box-office-boom-from-new-las-vegas-residency-149665 . live .
- News: Katsilometes . John . April 10, 2023 . Katy Perry announces final 'Play' dates . April 10, 2023 . Las Vegas Review-Journal.
- Frankenberg . Eric . 25 Biggest Concert Residencies of All Time . Billboard . April 5, 2024 . April 6, 2024 . https://www.billboard.com/lists/top-grossing-concert-residencies-all-time/luke-bryan-luke-bryan-vegas-2022-present/.
- Taylor. Henderson. December 16, 2021. Katy Perry Knows She Helped Fans Explore Their Sexuality. live. December 17, 2021. Out. December 16, 2021. https://web.archive.org/web/20211216223912/https://www.out.com/music/2021/12/16/katy-perry-i-kissed-a-girl-helped-lgbtq-fans-explore-sexuality-play-las-vegas.
- Web site: Jeffrey. Joyann. December 30, 2021. Katy Perry sings next to a giant face mask and inside a toilet in Vegas residency. January 2, 2022. Yahoo!. January 1, 2022. https://web.archive.org/web/20220101180358/https://www.yahoo.com/now/katy-perry-sings-next-giant-194258640.html. live.
- Allaire. Christian. January 2, 2022. Katy Perry Is Still the Queen of Camp. live. Vogue. January 3, 2022. February 1, 2022. https://web.archive.org/web/20220201192353/https://www.vogue.com/slideshow/katy-perry-las-vegas-residency-camp-fashion.
- News: Katsilometes. John. January 27, 2022. Katy Perry adds more shows to 'Play' at Resorts World. Las Vegas Review-Journal. February 2, 2022. February 2, 2022. https://web.archive.org/web/20220202091428/https://www.reviewjournal.com/entertainment/entertainment-columns/kats/katy-perry-adds-more-shows-to-play-at-resorts-world-2519774/. live.
- Gray. Mark. December 30, 2021. Katy Perry Sings in a Toilet, Toasts a Giant Mask, and Plays the Hits at Vegas Residency. December 30, 2021. Rolling Stone. December 30, 2021. https://web.archive.org/web/20211230145927/https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-live-reviews/katy-perry-play-las-vegas-residency-1277175/. live.
- Sheckells. Melinda. December 30, 2021. Katy Perry Brings Dancing Mushrooms, A Giant Toilet & More to Wild Las Vegas Residency. December 31, 2021. Billboard. December 31, 2021. https://web.archive.org/web/20211231003629/https://www.billboard.com/music/pop/katy-perry-las-vegas-residency-play-resorts-world-1235014798/. live.
- TOMORROW you can officially come to PERRY PLAYLAND! Where you can come and sing along to so many of your favorite songs! #PLAY. katyperry. 1476034496440930305. December 28, 2021. December 29, 2021.
- Frankenberg . Eric . February 11, 2022 . Katy Perry's Las Vegas Residency Has Already Earned Nearly $7 Million . live . Billboard . https://web.archive.org/web/20220417015814/https://www.billboard.com/pro/katy-perry-las-vegas-residency-earnings/ . April 17, 2022 . April 23, 2022.
- Web site: Dresdale . Andrea . January 28, 2022 . New 'PLAY' dates: Katy Perry adds new summer shows to her Las Vegas residency . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20220129230739/https://www.goodmorningamerica.com/culture/story/play-dates-katy-perry-adds-summer-shows-las-82532709 . January 29, 2022 . January 30, 2022 . Good Morning America.
- katyperry . mark ur we gonna #play in October too babes AXS.com/katyinvegas . CeQ3mNslSj- . June 1, 2022 . June 1, 2022.
- 1585709277305372673 . katyperry . Welcoming all my #flatearthers #spaceisfakers #birdsarentrealers #skyisntbluers to come see my broken doll eye party trick IRL in Vegas next year!.
- 1625232747043377152. katyperry . . @lukebryan .
