Stage
Showstopper
Local musicians need to be part of The Smith Center’s jazz mission
March 29th, 2012
Assessment: This joint should, can and hopefully will jump. Five chandeliers sparkling above declare it in style. Experiencing America’s native music in the Cabaret Jazz room at The Smith Center for the Performing Arts was encouraging when it opened March 17, even if the featured opener, the SFJAZZ Collective, was too cerebral to kick-start this cozy jewel with any verve. Read more »
Stage
‘Jersey’ By Way of Paris
Back onstage at its new home, the Boys return reality to the Strip
March 22nd, 2012
Resurfacing this month at Paris Las Vegas after departing the Palazzo two months ago, the tuneful bio of Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons is a superior jukebox musical—i.e., it has a plot rather than just a greatest-hits mentality—but more than that, it’s a show that lives in the real world even while it stars on a street of fantasy. Read more »
Stage
That ‘Urban Tribal’ Sound
Meet the weird instruments of Blue Man Group
March 22nd, 2012
Sure, watching three tall, blue, bald men explore the stage as if it’s their first day on the planet is both surreal and endearing. But that’s only half of the Blue Man Group equation. A unique and otherworldly driving-rock soundtrack rounds out the show’s experience. Read more »
Stage
Celebrating Our Crytsal City
March 15th, 2012
With all the performing celebrities and glittering pomp and circumstance of The Smith Center’s gala opening, there were naturally a lot of long, slow songs displaying exceptional vocal chords and sparkling acoustics (Jennifer Hudson’s epic “Take Care of This House” is probably still echoing in Reynolds Hall’s high ceilings). Read more »
Stage
Blood(suckers) on the Dance Floor
Classic-rock snippets and a vamp queen resurrect an established revue
March 8th, 2012
Stage
Bye-Bye Bunnies
Producer Cort McCown leaves Playboy Comedy to start a comedy empire with Caesars Entertainment
February 23rd, 2012
When Dov Davidoff told his last joke Dec. 31 at The Lounge, it marked the end of an eight-year run for the Playboy Comedy Club at the Palms. The property, which was recently taken over by private equity firms, couldn’t deliver any longer on the hopes producer Cort McCown had for the showcase. “I love George Maloof,” McCown says of the Palms’ former majority owner. “I respect him a lot. He was a great guy to work for. Unfortunately, I wasn’t working for George anymore.” Read more »
Stage
Walk Like a Man
After leaving the cast of Jersey Boys, Rick Faugno is still seeking solo success—this time at the Palms
February 2nd, 2012
When Rick Faugno took his final bow in Jersey Boys at the Palazzo in October, he left on a veritable high note, having earned rave reviews for his portrayal of the Four Seasons’ falsetto frontman, Frankie Valli. The performer, who jokes that he “became famous in Vegas for singing like a girl,” gave it up to focus on his own classic Vegas lounge-style show, Body & Soul. Read more »
Stage
Beyond 15 Minutes
Thanks to fame online, 2Cellos’ talent extends to the stage
February 2nd, 2012
Normally, YouTube bestows its 15 minutes of stardom upon talentless daredevils and shameless pranksters. But cellists Luka Šulić, 25, and Stjepan Hauser, 24, broke the norm—they actually have talent. In January 2011, these two friends from Croatia, who go by the name 2Cellos, appeared out of the blue with a four-minute and five-second YouTube clip, and their life has never been the same. Read more »
Stage
Stand-Up Gal
The Queen of Mean signs on for a second term … and a chat with Vegas Seven
January 12th, 2012
While 50-year-old former journalist Lisa Lampanelli is best known for hilariously offensive Comedy Central roasts, she has a variety of projects coming up in 2012. There’s her spot on Celebrity Apprentice (debuts Feb. 12 on NBC), which is already making headlines because of a spat over New York Knicks tickets. Read more »
Stage
On With the Show
How The Smith Center will change the local art scene
January 5th, 2012
An architectural model of The Smith Center sits in the lobby of its temporary offices at the downtown Holsum Lofts. Even in miniature, the building is impressive. Looking down at its courtyard, glowing windows and soon-to-be-iconic tower, it produces a quickening in your chest. It's as if the future of this place, all its myriad possibilities, are pressing against the glass encasing the scale model, eager to be unleashed. And on March 10 it will. Read more »
