Shangri-La-La (comedy musical)
“Shangri-La-La” is a glitter-dusted comedy musical inspired by the real-life attorney who once went toe-to-toe with Las Vegas legends Siegfried & Roy. Tigers, sequins, courtroom chaos, and showbiz illusion collide as Joshua, a young dreamer from Germany, moves to Las Vegas and lands the impossible job: personal assistant to the world-famous magicians. But behind the white tigers and gold lamé, he discovers that in this desert paradise, nothing is what it seems.
Music from the show:
https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1ZkSA-6T3QfqxfzCbrqeXMjaapDpDjfOR?usp=sharing
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Mike MeierWriterJoinWith.Me, The Love Hex or Nicest Flings in Mexico
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Peter GiambalvoWriter
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Project Type:Stage Play
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Genres:comedy, musical
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Number of Pages:106
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Language:English
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First-time Screenwriter:No
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Student Project:No
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Oniros Film Awards New York (February 2025)New York
February 1, 2025
"Best musical script" (under prior name, All that Glitters) -
Official Selection – Back Door to Broadway Festival, New York CityNew York City
April 19, 2026
Show date April 19, 2026 -
Official Section - Midtown International Theater FestivalNew York City
July 25, 2026
Show dates July 25 & 26, 2026 -
Official Selection - Harrisburg Fringe FestivalHarrisburg, PA
July 19, 2026
Show date July, 2026 -
Official Selection - Philadelphia Fringe FestivalPhiladelphia, PA
September 27, 2026
Show date September 27, 2026
Mike Meier’s life reads like a sitcom with frequent costume changes. He grew up in a blue-collar housing project in Germany, the grandson of Wladi-Kami, a 1920s traveling magician and fortune-teller who could saw a lady in half and still make it home for dinner. Kicked into the real world in his teens, Mike roamed across Argentina, Japan, and several other countries, collecting odd jobs like Pokémon—dishwasher, bicycle repairman, house painter—before eventually deciding that if he couldn’t be a rock star, he could at least write like one. When not hunched over a keyboard, he’s probably playing guitar somewhere (sometimes in tune). For those keeping score, yes, he’s academically overqualified: a Master’s in Political Science from the University of Berlin, plus a J.D. and LL.M. from Georgetown, because apparently washing dishes doesn’t require enough paperwork.
Shangri-La-La was born from the worst professional experience of my life: being the attorney in a lawsuit against Siegfried & Roy and then living through the surreal aftermath of Las Vegas “hometown justice.”
For years, I replayed the madness — the glamour, the intimidation, the courtroom absurdity, and the smoke and mirrors behind the smoke and mirrors. Eventually, bitterness became black comedy. Humiliation became satire. Disaster became music.
The result is a truth-infused comedy musical about fame, illusion, reinvention, and the price people pay when they get too close to the machinery of celebrity. It is not a documentary, but it is rooted in something real: the strange collision between fantasy and power, show business and silence, sequins and fear.
Shangri-La-La received three preview performances at the Arlington Drafthouse Theater in July 2025. An abbreviated festival version was later staged in New York City at the American Theatre of Actors as part of the Back Door to Broadway Festival on April 19, 2026. The show will return to New York on July 25 and 26, 2026, at the Midtown International Theatre Festival, and has also been selected for the Harrisburg Fringe Festival on July 19, 2026, and the Philadelphia Fringe Festival on September 27, 2026.
At its heart, Shangri-La-La asks a simple question: what happens when the magic show ends, the lights come up, and the illusion refuses to disappear?
