A Motorcycle Accident and An Amputation Barely Slowed Down This Performer

When Andrew Montgomery first saw the Las Vegas hit Le Rêve – The Dream 10 years ago, he knew he had to be a part of the show one day. Eight years later, he auditioned, and made it to the last round of cuts. On his way home, still waiting to hear whether he’d been cast, he was in a motorcycle accident that ended up costing him half his leg.

But Montgomery’s story doesn’t end the way you might think. Today, he’s a cast member of Le Rêve, where he does acrobatics and aerial work, swims (yes, the show takes places in and around a large pool) and dances, all with his prosthetic leg.

After the accident, Montgomery was given two options: go through a long series of surgeries that may or may not have allowed him to ever walk normally and pain-free, or amputate. It didn’t take long for him to decide to amputate.

The casting director of Le Rêve, having heard about Montgomery’s accident, emailed to offer her condolences and free tickets to the show whenever he wanted a pick-me-up. He soon took her up on the offer, and she took him backstage to meet the cast. She told him that as long as he could still do what he did in his audition, he would have a place in the show as an amputee.

After that, Montgomery was determined. He began interviewing prosthesis teams, but many of them told him that his goal—to get onstage in Le Rêve—was impossible. He finally met his match when he found Hanger Clinic, whose attitude was, “This hasn’t been done before, but that doesn’t mean it can’t be done.”

Montgomery and his team at Hanger got to work preparing to audition for Le Rêve again. The first day wearing his prosthetic leg, Montgomery was walking; three weeks later he was running, which was unheard of, he says.

After eight months of training, Montgomery showed up at a Le Rêve audition, much to the surprise of the casting director, who wasn’t expecting to see him for years after his accident. “You could see the look on people’s faces like, Do you know what you’re auditioning for?” he says. Montgomery’s determination paid off, and he was offered a spot in the show.

Today, he does the exact same choreography as the other cast members, no modifications needed. “Every chance to step out on that stage, I never take it for granted,” says Montgomery. “I get to perform with some of the best athletes in the world, it’s a dream come true.”