[crowd cheering]
Producer: How's that crowd?
Jackson Williams: You can already hear them.
They're pretty hyped up. Thursday night.
It's going to be a good Thursday night.
Narrator: This is "Magic Mike Live,"
based on the movies starring Channing Tatum.
To perform in the cast,
it takes more than being a great dancer
and having a body that gets a reaction like this.
[crowd screaming]
Sharon delPilar: Our "Magic Mike Live" venue
is a 360 immersive experience.
No matter where you're sitting,
there's going to be a dancer interacting with you.
Narrator: One of the unseen elements
of being a performer in the show
is being able to read the body language of audience members.
Sharon: Not everybody wants to be involved.
So we look for cast members that can adjust
to people who want to be on stage
all the way down to people who want to merely watch.
Narrator: In this scene, two audience members
have been brought on stage for a dance.
Before proceeding with the routine,
the performer asks the audience member for consent.
Anton Engel: So, during the show, we have a safe word.
The safe word is unicorn.
And if the lady says unicorn,
we'll stop whatever we are doing.
Narrator: During rehearsals,
the cast and crew play the role of audience members
for scenes where there's interaction,
like in this number,
where the cast picks audience members
to join them in a partnered dance.
If you go up to a girl and she is like,
then we just go, OK.
Maybe you'll just touch their hand and say,
"Thanks for coming to the show," and move on.
Loudspeaker: If you scream loud enough,
they take off their pants!
[crowd screaming]
Producer: Is this a strip show?
It's a strip show in the sense that it is on the Strip.
I think most people, when they think "Magic Mike Live,"
they think of some of the other male revue shows,
but it's on a completely different level.
Narrator: The cast performs up to eight shows a week
at Sahara Las Vegas.
On some days, it's two shows in one night,
each with 16 different dance numbers
as well as rehearsals.
Sharon: Great! How do you feel about it?
Sharon: It looks so awesome,
because it's totally your flavor,
and it's got your energy.
Narrator: The cast doesn't just learn
their own choreography.
Each cast member is expected to cover
two or three roles, or tracks,
in addition to their primary role.
Ryan: I want to see how you're going to do it for real.
Narrator: For each track in the show,
there has to be at least one performer
who can swing, or cover, for that role.
What's your name?
Um, Mike.
That's convenient.
My name is Ryan Carlson. I play Magic Mike
in "Magic Mike Live."
Narrator: There are two cast members
who can cover the Magic Mike track.
At this rehearsal, Carlson shadows one of them,
cast member Shane Bruce,
who along with cast member Patrick Packing
must always be ready to cover the role of Mike.
Each number has a different dance style
that cast members must master.
Ryan: I'm a ballet dancer first,
and I'm here doing a strip-slash-dancing show.
It's very out of my element.
There's every style you can imagine, including breaking,
we do hip-hop, we dance in the water.
Then you have someone like Jackson.
He is our aerial specialist in the show.
Jackson: Aerial is something that
I had never done before.
Literally a week before I flew over from London,
they were like, "Hey, how is your aerial skills?"
And I was a bit like, "What?"
"Oh, can you get your hands ready?"
We use this for our hands.
Producer: What is it? Jackson: Rosin.
Producer: Ah, rosin, OK. What does that do?
Jackson: It just basically gives you grip.
Shoulders is really important.
So, it's a massive factor. Shoulders and grip.
This is our stretch area.
It's also a place that we can get ready for a show.
Lift up some weights.
Warm up the areas that need to be warmed up.
Anton: Obviously, with being in the show,
fitness is a big part of it.
Personally, I train about five times a week in the gym.
You want to keep your body flexible.
So a mixture of heavyweight training and light body weight.
Narrator: With up to eight performances a week,
the cast doesn't have much time to recover
from the physical demands of the show
before the cycle starts again.
Producer: How do you recover after a show?
Lately we've been doing ice baths.
When there's half an hour in between each show,
you know, it takes a toll.
Narrator: According to an industry source,
full-time "Magic Mike Live" performers
can make between about $54,000
and $91,000 per year, plus benefits.
About 75% of the show's cast members
have been with the production since it debuted in 2017.
Producer: That's crazy how little turnover there is.
Why is that?
Jackson: I think a lot of the time when you're performing,
you basically want some kind of reaction.
[crowd screaming]
I'd be worried if there wasn't.
When all the boys, 13 of you, are standing there,
and then you all start taking your tops off,
there's always a reaction. And it's electrifying.
You end up dancing harder, performing harder.
That's between just the boys.
That's not just for the audience.
The boys are hyped, jacked.
And then you remember how much you love your job.
Like, we love our job.