by Norm Johnson Send Me E-mail

The Hilton Hotel & Casino on Paradise has a real, legitimate SRO musical hit on its hands! "Menopause the Musical," now appearing in the hotel's Shimmer Cabaret, stars eight terrific ladies, with two teams of four alternating on stage. The evening this writer attended, our personal favorite, Paige O'Hara, and her team were not performing.

"Menopause" is one of those rarities that come along about every 10 years. Making its debut in a little theatre in Orlando, Fla., in 2001, from word of mouth at first, long lines began to become the norm and soon were stretching around the block. Since then, Jeanie Linders' little musical has performed in over 40 cities, six countries and has 11 permanent companies working.

The show, as its title indicates, deals with four mature women who are going through the big change. The story begins as the four ladies, who come from diverse backgrounds, meet at a lingerie sale by accident. They begin talking and soon learn they have one thing in common-you guessed it. The four characters include a "hippie type;" a powerful business woman; an Iowa housewife; and an aging soap star.

The musical includes a variety of song parodies that use the symptoms of menopause to side-splitting effects. They range from "Looking for Food in Too Many Places" to "You'll Never Again See 39" to the music of "Heard it Through the Grapevine." I think you get the idea, right gang?

This is without question a show for the ladies, but for us guys too. I never laughed so darn hard. And my companion, I thought, she was going to never stop laughing. It's that darn good.

New performance schedule (beginning Monday, March 6th) is Tuesday-Saturday 7 p.m.; Wednesday and Thursday 2 p.m.; Saturday 4 p.m. and Sunday 2 p.m. and 5 p.m. Tickets are $49.50 (plus tax and service charge) and reservations are suggested. Call (702) 732-5755 for information.

The Stardust Hotel unveiled an original painting by renowned artist LeRoy Neiman the other evening. Titled "Stardust Reflections," the painting was commissioned by the hotel to honor the 48-year history of the resort. Now in his 80s, Neiman was on hand to personally remove the covering from his painting, and made a few comments prior to the moment it was revealed to the public for the first time.

"No Las Vegas painting can properly be done without depicting its most famous feature, the showgirl," he said. And, this particular painting has a leggy beauty very prominently displayed amidst a burst of colors and those "Stardust" style letters used on its world-famous electric sign.

"A painting by LeRoy Neiman truly honors the Stardust," Vice President and General Manager Tony Taeubel said before bringing the painter to the stage. "Mr. Neiman is undeniably one of the world's premier artists. The Stardust is a Las Vegas icon and to be included among his works of art adds immeasurably to its stature."

As has been highly publicized the Stardust will become a pile of rubble at the end of 2006, when it will make way for Echelon Place to begin construction. Taeubel said the hotel would be presenting special events and introducing memorabilia throughout the year in recognition of the resort's history.

Now for some really great news. Steve Lawrence and Eydie Gorme will be performing a special one-nighter inside the 6,500-seat "Star of the Desert Arena" at Primm, Nevada, this coming Saturday (March 4th). Tickets are priced at $34.95 or $49.95 plus tax.

Their schedule also calls for three more engagements at the Stardust before its demise: March 22-25; May 24-27; and Oct. 26-28.

If you haven't seen these two veterans of the stage, then you have missed one of the best shows ever. What makes them so darn good you may ask? Well, gang, they actually enjoy performing together and especially before an appreciative audience. They've been doing it for over 46 years and have the act down pat. But, honestly, one never knows exactly what you'll be seeing when you sit down to watch these two terrific singers perform. Their conductor, Vinnie Falcone, has a show rundown and the full orchestra is well rehearsed (not only to the rundown, but a variety of others they may pull out of a bag of songs while on stage), but even he's taken by surprise now and then. And, that my friends, is what makes their show so dog-gone interesting. .

So, if you miss them this weekend at Primm, you'll have at least three more opportunities to catch them this year in Las Vegas. You know I'll be at Primm and the Stardust. They are just too darn good not to be there!

Well, gang, that's about it for another week.

I'm outa here!

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