Stage
A&E Fall Preview
The Smith Center’s Promising First Full Season
August 23rd, 2012
Forging into its first full season, The Smith Center for the Performing Arts has, as expected, a full slate to fill its three venues—Reynolds Hall, the Cabaret Jazz room and Troesch Studio Theater. Among the highlights: Read more »
A&E Fall Preview
Comedy for Christmas
August 23rd, 2012
After a brilliant summer that saw the likes of Matt Braunger, Aisha Tyler and a blistering set from Kyle Kinane in front of only 40 people at Boomer’s Bar on Aug. 12, the comedy road map to the end of the year looks surprisingly slim. Read more »
Stage
The Maestro of the Opera
With Phantom about to stop haunting the Venetian, director Hal Prince looks back on his made-for-Vegas creation and the marriage of Broadway and the Strip
August 9th, 2012
Nothing about bringing that half-masked man with the operatic chip on his shoulder to town—not the scale, the cost, the status or the gamble—could be entrusted to someone who thought like a pauper. So they assigned it to a Prince. Read more »
Ex-Mobster’s Tour of Museum Steeped in Memories
July 25th, 2012
Sal Polisi got out of the Mob in 1984 and raised a second family. He writes screenplays, produces movies and visits middle schools to ward students off crime. Read more »
Stage
Conducting Talent
Is it possible to build a Strip headliner from scratch? The Stratosphere is betting on it. We examine the odds.
July 12th, 2012
The song starts with a big piano buildup. In just a few bars, it produces that complex feel of anticipation you get when walking into a glamorous party—one that might be dangerous for your reputation. Read more »
Stage
The Demigod of Deadpan
On a career anniversary, the legendary Steven Wright brings his absurdist one-liners to the Orleans
July 12th, 2012
It’s been nearly 30 years since Steven Wright brought his sui generis mix of monotone, deadpan and logically taut absurdist one-liners to The Tonight Show. In the three decades since, the Boston comic developed into a titan in comedy whose influence far outstrips his recorded material and film and television appearances. Read more »
Stage
Tyler Talk
Comedian/actress/talk-show host Aisha Tyler squeezes Vegas into her nonstop life
July 5th, 2012
The inexhaustible Aisha Tyler has a schedule so packed, she only finds time to do stand-up on rare weekends off. One of those is July 5-7 at Paris’ Empire Comedy. She’s catching time from her daytime chat show, The Talk, which is just one of three shows she does— along with Canadian sci-fi joint XIII: The Series and FX’s Archer, the best show on television. Read more »
Stage
We Now Pronounce You Showroom and Show
On marriage No. 4, Tony n’ Tina ties the knot with Bally’s
June 28th, 2012
Wearing antipasto isn’t so bad. Despite post-show conniptions over the bride’s mama dropping bruschetta in the lap of a reporter she was hand-feeding, the tomato-topped delicacy was quite tasty once scooped from thigh to plate. “The cast destroyed her after that,” says apologetic co-producer Raphael Berko. Read more »
Showstopper
Entertaining Evil Dead lives on too long
June 28th, 2012
Evil Dead: The Musical is a bloody blast (there’s your out-of-context critic’s blurb, producers) that devolves into a hostage scenario (quote that part, we dare ya). Escaping David Saxe’s V Theater nearly three hours after you’ve arrived, you’ll have the oddest feeling of being captivated for much of this show, and a captive of it by the end. Read more »
Stage
Do You Hear the Countries Sing?
Utah Shakespeare Festival’s marquee production has parallels in contemporary America
June 21st, 2012
Profundity-averse theatergoers might ignore the social crosscurrents swirling through Les Misérables, instead distilling it to a chase tale—The Fugitive as operetta—but others will likely be struck by how eerily the societal roiling of 19th-century France mirrors the turbulent divisions of 21st-century America. Read more »
