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| Sunday, September 18, 2005 | PRIOR ISSUE - ARCHIVES |
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| 'Avenue Q' Refreshing, Golden Nugget Set To Tower, Planet Hollywood Shows Previews, "Havana Night Club" Extended, Barry Manilow Raises Hurricane Funds, Rainbow Bar Rock Mondays, "The Mentalist" Minds The Lounge, Beatlemania Alive Again, 'Zumanity' Turns Two, Chicago Headlines, Maximum Nights Promo, Desert Passage Adds Stores, More... | |
"Avenue Q," which began as a proposed television adult satire of "Seasame Street," ended up as a Tony Award-winning Broadway show instead and now it's at Wynn Las Vegas.
The buzz has always been that the show has puppets, but it's much, much more. The one creative and versatile set is an apartment building located on a dilapidated street in an outer borough of New York City. The building's eclectic array of colorful residents including an actor playing Gary Coleman as the building superintendent provide the human-oriented plots such as girl meets boy, boy loses girl and boy discovers he's gay.
The show is very funny and tremendously creative. In no time at all, you forget you're watching puppets. While you laugh at their problems and challenges beginning with the song "It Sucks to Be Me," you realize you're laughing at life's ironies. While Broadway fare hasn't had much success in Las Vegas, other than "Mamma Mia!" at Mandalay Bay, "Avenue Q" may prove to be the exception. Time will tell and the fact that the exclusive run at Wynn preempts a national tour should help. The show is housed in a 1,200-seat Broadway-style theater with no seat in the balcony being more than 88 feet from the stage. Landry's Restaurants Inc., owners of the Landry's, Joe's Crab Shack and Rainforest Caf‚ chains with 308 restaurants in 36 states, acquired the Golden Nugget downtown in February for $295 million and later picked up the Golden Nugget Laughlin after a deal to sell it to Barrick Gaming Corp. collapsed. The Golden Nugget's future owners are already planning a new tower for the downtown property that will also include two high-end restaurants and a 1,200-seat showroom. This plan will also call for the city to abandon Carson Street. Landry's is also the nation's second-largest operator of aquariums and another plan calls for developing a swimming pool next to an aquarium so that swimmers can swim close to the sharks. Part of the Golden Nugget purchase will include Landry's acquiring the property's namesake attraction, an elongated lump of gold know as the "Hand of Faith," The golden nugget, on display in the hotel's lobby, is considered one of the world's largest. Planet Hollywood has released a first look at the designs for the renovations of the Aladdin that will begin in October, be executed in phases while the property remains open, and be completed in the fourth quarter of 2006. The new interior drawings reveal renderings of a sleek new lobby, a transformed and expanded casino floor, VIP check-in area, Race and Sports Lounge, and a model of the retail shops. Other changes will include new restaurants, nightclubs, entertainment offerings, new retail outlets, a redesign of the property façade and pedestrian plaza, a vastly improved Harmon Avenue entrance, renovated hotel suites and rooms, and a new Planet Hollywood Westgate tower that will feature 1,000 multi-room timeshare, condominium and hotel units. In addition, the 7,000 seat Theatre for the Performing Arts will undergo an extensive facelift to enhance and modernize the venue, and work has already begun on a new 1,500 seat state-of-the-art showroom. After the renovations are completed, the property will be re-branded and renamed the Planet Hollywood Resort & Casino, a Sheraton hotel. Due to illness, singer Kelly Clarkson postponed her Sept. 10 show at the Aladdin Theatre. Her show will be rescheduled and tickets will be honored. "Havana Night Club" presented by Siegfried & Roy at the Stardust has been extended through Feb. 4, 2006. Also note that the Stardust has announced that its New Year's Eve weekend showroom entertainment will headline The Four Tops and Shirley Alston Reeves, who was the original lead singer of the The Shirelles. The 8 p.m. shows on Dec. 30 and Jan. 1 will cost $49.95 and $59.95 plus tax and fee, and the 10 p.m. show on New Year's Eve will be $74.95 and $84.95 plus tax. Las Vegas Hilton headliner Barry Manilow is raising funds for victims of Hurricane Katrina through his Manilow Fund for Health and Hope. Manilow will personally match every dollar that has been donated, and the Manilow Fund for Health and Hope will also match every donated dollar. The total donation to the Red Cross a couple weeks ago was more than $300,000. To make online donations, go to www.manilowfund.com. Frankie Moreno, who is performing late night with his band in the Las Vegas Hilton's Shimmer Cabaret, is putting the finishing touches on his new untitled CD, which will be released in mid-October on this own Bermuda Records label. This is Frankie's fifth album and the first to feature his four-piece band. All the songs on the CD are originals penned by Moreno. The new 24/7 Rainbow Bar & Grill on Paradise Road across from the Hard Rock is starting Rock Mondays. Every Monday at 11 p.m., local DJ Scotty Boy is spinning rock n' roll from the past four decades and today. Guest DJs will occasionally join the turntable fun. Gerry McCambridge, "The Mentalist," who opened in July in the Addison's Lounge at the Rampart Casino in the northwest part of the valley, is enjoying his second extension through this month at the JW Marriott. His shows are now $10. The break-dance team "KnuckleHeadsZoo" appearing in "Splash" at the Riviera recently won the 2005 "Battle of The Year" U.S. semi finals break-dance competition at The Queen Mary in Long Beach, Calif. on Saturday, Aug. 20. The pair, who has been performing street dance numbers in "Splash" since the new show was launched in June, competed against 16 break-dance teams and will now advance to the finals competition in Europe being held in Germany this fall. Comedian John Padon will headline the award-winning Riviera Comedy Club, beginning Monday, Oct. 3, for seven nights with fellow funnymen Jeff Pirrami and Ted. The MGM Mirage, the only Las Vegas-based company receiving the honor, has been named as one of the Top 40 Companies for Hispanics by Hispanic Business magazine. The recognition follows an examination of the company's efforts to engage Hispanics in its business operations. |
Fans will be able to convene at the Silverton to experience today's premiere Beatles music super-group, When We Were Fab, for two performances at the resort's outdoor pool arena on Friday, Sept. 30 and Saturday, Oct. 1 at 7 p.m. Tickets are $20, call 702-914-8557 or 1-866-946-4373. Beatles fans and rock 'n' roll enthusiasts alike will be entertained by the stars of Broadway's smash hit "Beatlemania" as they recreate the greatest musical moments from the most influential band in the world. Inspired by George Harrison's nostalgic 1987 hit about his former band-mates, When We Were Fab, captures the excitement of the Beatles' legendary career. Part concert, part documentary and part slide show, When We Were Fab's tribute to the Beatles serves as an entertaining piece of history, documenting the tunes and times of the artists that changed the face of music forever. "Zumanity, Another Side of Cirque du Soleil," the provocative, adult cabaret-style production at New York-New York, will celebrate its second anniversary on Sept. 20, with a sultry special evening of seduction. "Zumanity" will feature an open bar for its signature cocktail, the Zumanitini, one hour before the 7:30 p.m. performance and one hour after the 10:30 p.m. show. With the purchase of a regular priced ticket, guests are invited to mingle with cast members. Since the show opened in 2003, "Zumanity" has attained the 1,000th show milestone and has seduced over one million patrons with its daring eroticism and playful innuendo. The show has also integrated new acts and tightened its choreography. Sam's Town on Boulder Highway in conjunction with "New Country" KWNR radio, Miller Beer and Integrity Dodge are hosting free Monday Night Football parties inside Sam's Town Live!, where guests 21 and over can enjoy the game on a 32-ft. giant screen. Prizes will be given away each week, including a chance to sit in the "Best Seats in the House" recliners from Walker Furniture and a chance to be Big O Tire's "Armchair Quarterback" and receive free oil changes and a set of brand new tires. This year's grand prize that will be given away at the season's last game on Monday, Feb. 6, is a brand new truck from Integrity Dodge. Additionally, every guest receives one free hot dog, one free Miller beer and one drawing entry form for the prizes. All registered Prime Rewards Club members receive an additional drawing entry form. The 711-room Hotel San Remo that is being transformed into Hooters is hosting The Super Football Fantasy Promotion through Nov. 30. The promotion offers all Money Club members the opportunity to win an all-expense paid trip for two to the 2006 Super Bowl XL in Detroit by reaching 1,000 points in three consecutive days and receiving a drawing ticket. The grand prize drawing will take place on Dec. 1. All new Money Club members will also receive a coupon for a free food item at the newly opened Pete & Shorty's Book and Bar. This casual, Mid-western style corner bar is the perfect place to relax by the fire and watch your favorite team on any of the twenty-four 42-inch plasma screen TVs placed throughout the bar. Chicago, the innovative eight-man band that has successfully fused jazz, rock and blues music for the past 38 years, will appear at the Stardust, Sept. 21-24. Tickets are $69.95 plus tax, call 702-732-6325. Chicago has recorded 26 consecutive hit albums and surpassed the 120 million mark in total record sales. The foursome, who founded the ensemble in 1967, pioneered the concept of a rock band with a dominant horn section. The founding members were college educated with formal training in a wide variety of musical genres, including classical, Latin, swing, rock, folk and rhythm and blues. After earning early recognition as the Chicago Transit Authority, they shortened the name to Chicago because their distinctive sound embodied many of the styles of music for which the city is famous. The group's first recording, released in 1969, was an ambitious double album with original songs and a rich horn-flavored sound. It was an immediate hit and remained on sales charts for more than two years. Twenty of their singles achieved Top Ten status on the national sales charts. To partake of the MGM Grand's "Maximum Nights" promotion, you need to make reservations by Oct. 15, for a two-night stay in a West Wing room with rates starting for $109 per night, and complete the visit by Nov. 30. For reservations, call 800-929-1111. With this promotion, your nightclubbing offers will include a VIP line pass for two and discounted admission to Studio 54, the Tabú Ultra Lounge and the Teatro Euro Bar. The package also includes: cocktails for two at either Centrifuge or the West Wing Bar; a 10 percent discount at the West Wing Boutique; with a dinner purchase either a flight of tequila at Diego or a wine tasting at Fiamma Trattoria; and accommodations in one of the 700 new innovative, contemporary-styled West Wing rooms. The 475,000-square-foot Shops in Desert Passage at the Aladdin has introduced four new stores to the shopping center including Vegas the Store, a one-stop souvenir shop. David Z shoes, which carries men's and women's shoes and exclusive styles, have been a part of the Downtown New York scene for almost 20 years. Wild Pair, a division of Bakers shoes, is the leading specialty retailer of fashion-forward footwear for hip, style-driven young men and women. The Oh My Godard Gallery features the original and unusual paintings of artist Michael Godard, who grew up in Las Vegas, has been recognized as one of today's most versatile artists. Some of his visions include crocodiles cruising convertibles, olives jumping in martinis and grapes chasing corks. Additionally, the hat and accessory store, Hattitude, has recently expanded to double its original size. Other plans include cigar emporium Havana Republic reopening under new management, the diverse styles of Crazy Shirts, home decorating ideas in Eclectic Collections, an expanded Houdini's Magic Shop at a new location, magician Steve Wyrick's entertainment complex, Sin City Brewing Co., Brazilian restaurant Pampas Churrascaria, and a second ABC Store. Next year, Desert Passage will offer healthy homemade recipes from Tacone Global Grill, the funky, trendy men's and women's clothes, accessories and home décor of Urban Outfitters and consumer research collection agency, Cunningham Field & Research Services. For more information, call 888- 800-8284.
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