People: Guitarist has played in all 10,000 ‘Mystere’ shows

It’s easy to miss Bruce Rickerd during the “Mystere” show at Treasure Island, especially when there’s a man balancing upside-down on the foot of another, or a giant inflatable snail emerging from the massive moving stage or the gasp-inducing drops from acrobats above.

But he’s there – up high on the right or rather, stage left – playing guitar in just about the same place he’s been for every one of the 10,000 shows (Saturday brought that milestone) in the 21-year history of “Mystere” as he and the rest of the band tie the music and sound effects to action on stage.

That’s right. He’s never missed a day of work.

It never occurred to the 62-year-old musician to do otherwise.

“This is not work for me,” he said days before he was feted with confetti cannons and an onstage finale bow where a Guinness Book of World Records judge would say Rickerd has broken the record for most theatrical performances by a male musician. How does he do it then?

“It’s very simple. You show up,” he said.

Rickerd’s work ethic might be traced to his time spent as a bandleader in Canada. If he didn’t show, the whole band wouldn’t work, he said.

Rickerd said he spent most of his Canadian life in Montreal. While a bandleader there, he hired a keyboardist, Benoit Jutrus, who would go on to compose the music for some of Cirque’s shows including “Mystere.” Jutrus called one day, several years after leaving the band, to tell Rickerd that Cirque was doing a permanent show in Las Vegas – its first – and asked if he wanted to play. It would be a five-year gig, he said Jutras told him.

As of Saturday, “Mystere” and Rickerd remained, 21 years later, to celebrate 10,000 shows for both.

The birthday bunch

Comic book creator Stan Lee (“Spider-Man,” “The Incredible Hulk”) is 92. Actor Martin Milner (“Adam 12,” “Route 66”) is 83. Actress Nichelle Nichols (“Star Trek”) is 82. Actress Maggie Smith is 80. Saxophonist Charles Neville (The Neville Brothers) is 76. Singer-keyboardist Edgar Winter is 68. Actor Denzel Washington is 60. Drummer Mike McGuire (Shenandoah) is 56. Country singer-guitarist Marty Roe (Diamond Rio) is 54. Comedian Seth Meyers (“Saturday Night Live”) is 41. Actor Joe Manganiello (“True Blood”) is 38. Singer John Legend is 36. Actress Sienna Miller is 33. Actress Mackenzie Rosman (“7th Heaven”) is 25. Actor Miles Brown (“black-ish”) is 10.