Anything lasting in Las Vegas for more than 10 years is a major feat; more than two decades is a crowning achievement; and then there’s three-plus decades, which includes company like Tournament of Kings. Today, the dinner show that opened at Excalibur in 1990 still packs in fans for medieval fun, food and drink. Las Vegas Magazine’s Kiko Miyasato recently spoke with Richard Sherman, director of entertainment for Excalibur and Tournament of Kings and chatted about one of the Strip’s longest-running shows.
In a nutshell, what is the show?
It’s a dinner show first off, and the storyline supports that. It’s a banquet that King Arthur has requested, (where) all the kings of the countries come and he’s introducing his son to the audience. There’s an unexpected visitor, which would be the villain in the show. It becomes a coming-of-age tale, where King Arthur’s son needs to earn a seat at the Round Table. … You’ll see dancing, jousting, javelin toss, a race, games that the kings do to prove who’s better.
Any new updates in the last year?
The biggest thing that is new is that we’ve been updating the lights. If you saw the show in December and came back today, you’d see the difference because we redid all of the lighting. We’ve updated to LED—those are doing the work of hundreds of lights. We have all this flexibility now to change what colors, when, the vibrancy of it, the brightness.
Any cool parts in the show that you love?
I love the kings’ entrances, with the new lighting especially. When they announce, say, Ireland, the room becomes green. It’s so vibrant. Of course, every king has his own color. When it’s Spain, the room is red, it just looks so good and so fresh.
There are pyrotechnics in the show, right?
Yes, there are. Whenever the Mordred character enters, there’s a flame burst or explosion; he has a staff he can shoot fire from, which is all incredible to watch. There are pillars of fire and fire is shooting up from the ground and there’s loud pyrotechnic explosions. We have rockets. It’s a lot of fun.
Where do the horses in the show live?
They do live here on property. We have a full stable right now—all 19 stalls are used. We’re only using 10-11 horses a show. About 10 come over a night; there’s a rotation. They’re always training. We have some horses that have been here over 10 years. The horses are the best trained and need the least amount of rehearsals.
How loud and involved can people get?
We encourage it. Be as loud as you want. They teach people how to bang on the tables, how to cheer, raise your hands and shout “Huzzah!” People come here to have a good time and be loud and rowdy. It’s almost like going to a football game that has eight teams, and you’re rooting for your country and booing everyone else.
Tell me about the food.
Utensils don’t even come out unless you ask for them. Encouraging people to eat with their hands is saying it lightly. The traditional meal is a Cornish game hen and potatoes or seasonal vegetable, dinner roll—all that you can eat with your hands, no problem. You can get a vegan, gluten-free, kid’s meal; there’s a number of different options in case you have dietary restrictions. There’s a cocktail list and beer, a bartender comes around and gets orders.
Why do you think this show has lasted so long?
It’s a family show, which you don’t get to see a lot in Las Vegas. We like to call this show the “crown jewel of our castle.” … If you have younger kids and you’re looking for a family outing this is an excellent thing to do. … It’s also a great show for people that are celebrating, anniversaries, we’ve done a number of proposals here. It’s a way to get out and do something with your friends and be loud and root for something and see something that you don’t get to see every day.
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