DREAM SHOW'S CREATOR GETS LITTLE REST.

Byline: Rob Lowman Entertainment Editor

Franco Dragone knows that ``Le Reve'' needs some work.

The reviews for the director's water extravaganza, subtitled ``A small collection of imperfect dreams,'' which opened at a new $70 million theater at the Wynn hotel, have not necessarily been kind.

That the show bears a resemblance to a Cirque du Soleil show is not unexpected since Dragone created ``O'' and ``Mystere,'' which also play in Vegas, as well as other Cirque shows such as ``Quidam'' and ``Alegria'' and another Cirque-like show in Vegas, ``Celine Dion: A New Day.''

``The show's taken more of a hit than anything,'' says Anthony Curtis, who runs a Las Vegas newsletter. ``How many ways can you take a Cirque-like thing and make it a different Cirque-like thing?''

Expectations for ``Le Reve'' were high, especially coming on the heels of ``KA,'' which debuted at the MGM Grand a few months ago. Still, you wonder if reaction to ``Le Reve'' (French for ``The Dream'') is partly based on Cirque fatigue or a hangover from the dazzling ``KA.''

``You are condemned to do a spectacular show,'' sighs the 50-ish Dragone as he sits in a conference room in the bowels of the theater surrounded by sketches of the performers on the walls.

He is referring to the pressures of working in Vegas for the demanding Steve Wynn, the man who writes the checks. A short time before the show's opening, a key scene was cut, which forced Dragone to come up with a replacement. He hopes to bring the scene back when it's ``more solid.'' Rumor is, it was cut because of objections by Wynn's wife, Elaine, over its content, although no one with the company is saying.

``You have to be careful not to go too far too fast (in Vegas),'' says Dragone, who describes the city as a place ``between what it was and what it's becoming.'' ``Le Reve,'' a dreamscape like most Cirques, offers its own fascinations - jaw-dropping acrobatic acts, humor and compelling, at times edgy, images.

There is a pregnant woman with a whip, and other pregnant women in white held by their hands by men who are pulled up by wires toward the 80-foot-high dome, where about 60 nude life-size mannequins are reaching out. When the women are dropped into the pool of water below, the crowd gasps.

There is another scene in which two identical-looking men grapple with each other. Eventually one walks off with the other balanced atop him - upside-down, shoulder to shoulder and facing the other way. At other points during the show a bald man (all the men are bald) does a flip, slamming so hard into a few inches of water that you wonder how he survives. One scene has a treelike structure emerging from the water; a man precariously balances on it while others dive from it in chaotic fashion.

There is a rainstorm, hundreds of homing pigeons released, a sensational acrobatic dance by shirtless men dressed in red pants - followed by a woman doing a solo version in the same outfit - and a sexy dance of legs with bright red shoes protruding from the pool.

Designed by Claude Santerre, the intimate $70 million theater in the round (the seats only go back 14 rows - about 42 feet) also has a series of panels just below the dome where images related to the action are shown. The pool, fitted with complex lifts to create islands, contains 400 lighting instruments.

But what's it all supposed to mean?

Dragone, who was born in Italy, grew up in Belgium and has his headquarters there, isn't concerned with giving an answer.

``It's not true I don't know what it means, but it is true I can't control the different interpretations of it.''

That's why he wanted a round theater - so audiences would have different entrances into the dream.

``Why give to everybody the same thing? Everybody can have a different point of view.''

Putting the show together is a very organic process, says Dragone. It involves working with the artists, seeing what their strengths and specialties are and using them. He admits he doesn't have an exact idea, necessarily, of want he wants when he starts creating a scene.

``I want to surprise myself,'' he says.

But for ``Le Reve,'' Dragone says he was pushed to make the story clear.

``I did not want to tell a story at the beginning - then people asked what it is about. So we had to put in a guy having a dream.''

Composer and music director Benoit Jutras, who has worked with Dragone on a number of shows, including ``O'' and ``Mystere,'' knows there are always last-minute changes in any show, but ``Le Reve'' proved especially hectic.

``At the premiere, I was working with the musicians, telling them, 'We're playing a different song in the last act, and you have five minutes to learn it.' ''

Jutras' score for ``Le Reve'' contains something new for a Cirque-like show: pop songs in English, which prove to be a lot of fun and give the show a different feel. The composer thinks ``Le Reve,'' which is expected to run for five years, is ``going to change a lot, I think, over the next month.''

Dragone says that when he opened ``Mystere,'' ``Steve told me my show was beautiful but boring - like a German opera.'' ``Mystere'' has endured for more than a decade; so Dragone knows about perseverance.

``I'm proud of what I've done,'' says Dragone, ``visually and aesthetically. And, of course, it's imperfect and that's why I'm still working on it. It will improve ... . It's really a work in progress. I think live shows are always a work in progress or they die.''

IF YOU GO

LE REVE: Wynn Theatre, 3131 Las Vegas Blvd, Las Vegas. Shows at 7:30 p.m. Thursday through Monday. Some additional shows at 10:30 p.m. Tickets: $121. You will get wet if you are seated in rows A through C of any section. Children younger than 5 not admitted. [phone] or [phone]; ticketmaster.com.

CAPTION(S):

4 photos, box

Photo:

(1 -- color) One could not have a splashier first show for the $70 million theater at the Wynn Las Vegas than ``Le Reve,'' a spectacular Cirque du Soleil-style extravaganza from Franco Dragone.

(2 -- 4) The physical feats performed by the cast of "Le Reve" include hanging from the 80-foot-high ceiling, top left, and diving chaotically into a pool, top right. The show's creator Franco Dragone, above, says he doesn't want to spell out its meaning: "I can't control the different interpretations of it."

Gene Blevins/Special to Great Escapes

Laura Rauch/Associated Press

Box:

IF YOU GO (see text)