The Empire Strips Back Celebrates First Anniversary of Las Vegas Show

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A burlesque parody show performed in a galaxy far, far away at the Rio Hotel and Casino.

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Las Vegas lights up the night, and inside the Rio Hotel and Casino, The Empire Strips Back turns sci-fi into a wild burlesque party. Classic characters from that famous galaxy far, far away wink at Star Wars. It throws in cheeky humor, seriously bold costumes, and a vibe that grabs everyone’s attention. The crowd’s loud—cheering, laughing and definitely outrageous. It’s ridiculous, it’s glamorous, and it makes geek culture feel frisky and fun.

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The Empire Strips Back celebrated its first anniversary in Las Vegas on May 4, better known as "May The Fourth Be with You" day. T he show began about 15 years ago in Sydney, Australia, in a tiny music venue. It was an instant hit and was soon playing large venues in Australia. The show's director, Russell Beatty, was its key creator, and David J. Foster , the producer , licensed it from him three years ago. He launched it in San Francisco three summers ago, and it did amazingly well. Touring productions were launched with performances on Off-Broadway, New York City, Denver, London, Paris and Mexico City.

Max Francisco, dance captain and one of the principal dancers, is Australian. “I actually saw the show when I was back in Australia quite a few years ago. I wasn't part of it, but my friends were in the show, so I watched it and thought it was hilarious. I then moved to Las Vegas 10 years ago, and I have been with the company for over two years.” Francisco is also proud that “I've been in the industry for 20 plus years. Honestly, I didn't even think I would still be on stage at age 40.”

She loves that it's a parody, a comedic burlesque show, and sensual and sexy. Francisco also admits that, “ I may disappoint some people because I became a fan of the movies because I work in a show about it.”

“The great thing about the show is that the audience on a Tuesday night is as loud as the audience on a Saturday night. There is something about the show that people just love, and it just always gets an insane reaction, and it's a very general audience. We get the Star Wars fans; we get the sci-fi fans; maybe the nerdy end of the spectrum, but it's not exclusively for that audience, but a broad audience,” added Foster. “Just something about the show really works. People really connect to it, and there is always a great reaction in Las Vegas every night.”

“Las Vegas is such a tourist-driven city, and our audiences are people from all over the world . People might go to watch the show because they like Star Wars, only to realize they really love a burlesque parody. You don't even have to like Star Wars to enjoy the show as well, which I think is absolutely great,” said Francisco.

The Empire Strips Back is performed at the Rio Hotel & Casino, 3700 W. Flamingo Road. Showtimes are Monday, Wednesday and Thursday: 8 p.m., 7 p.m. and 9:30 p.m. Friday and Saturday and 7 p.m. Sundays. For more info, visit theempirestripsback.com/las-vegas and riolasvegas.com/shows/the-empire-strips-back . Follow on Facebook @theempirestripsback and @riovegas and Instagram @theempirestripsback and @riovegas .

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_Originally reported by [BroadwayWorld](https://www.broadwayworld.com/las-vegas/article/Feature-THE-EMPIRE-STRIPS-BACK-LAS-VEGAS-CELEBRATES-1ST-ANNIVERSARY-20260527)._