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Time for another "Great Showroom Moment," this one compliments of top-notch ventriloquist Jeff Dunham, his puppet pal Peanut and a blessed man named Bill.
The setup: Dunham is midway through another funny set at the Sahara and the appreciative crowd is in his pocket. It seems nothing can go wrong as he slides into a segment in which cute little Peanut gets salty with select members of the audience.
Bill, a balding gent seated near the stage, becomes a perfect victim, chuckling along as Peanut gently batters him with lines like: "In a couple of years, it'll look like your neck is blowing a bubble!"
It's all good fun, made even better by Peanut's rare use of a familiar expletive which, coming from the mouth of a purple puppet with a shock of yellow hair, renders people delightfully stunned.
"So, Bill, what do you do in San Diego?" asked Peanut.
"Do you want me to tell the truth?"
"No, Bill, why don't you just (fill in the blank) lie to me?"
"I'm a priest."
I've heard "collective gasps" before, but never like this, and the tremendous uproar that followed could have raised the dead. The rattled Dunham's eyes widened and his jaw dropped. So did Peanut's, for that matter.
"You know, you've just taken about five years off his life," Peanut told Bill as the crowd continued to scream uncontrollably. "We pray to have good people seated in the front row, but it looks like it backfired on us this time."
Dunham maintained his composure, just barely. Peanut tried to genuflect ("but my knees don't work") and the rest of the show found Dunham turning disaster into more memorable mirth -- the mark of a real pro.
"Two things came to mind," Dunham said after the show. "Because of my (Presbyterian) upbringing, I had this huge amount of guilt, but the comic inside me said, `This is pure gold.' I ought to pay him to come on the road with me."
Bill is no doubt back in San Diego tending his flock, but Dunham and company remain at the Sahara through April 13 with shows at 8:30 p.m. daily except Saturday when shows are at 8 and 10:30 p.m. Tickets are $25.25 and folks looking for an excellent show will have their prayers answered. ...
In other notes, the afternoon comedy sketch revue "Bottoms Up" has closed at the Riviera. However, the well-traveled show created 38 years ago by co-producers Breck Wall and Patrick Maes will resurface at another Strip hotel sometime in June.
Meanwhile, the duo's new production show "Aireus," starring the Flying Cranes, acrobats and rhythmic gymnasts, is drawing rave reviews at the Reno Hilton. ...
Good notices also are arriving for "Before Your Very Eyes," an illusion-laden production show starring former "Spellbound" magicians Mark Kalin and Jinger Leigh and comedian Jeff Hobson, now playing Trump's Castle in Atlantic City, N.J. ...
The on-again, off-again plan to bring a comedy club to downtown Las Vegas is on again. It appears the Riviera, which has been managing the Four Queens since it filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, will oversee a new laugh outlet at the resort in late May or early June. ...
The R-J's recent Best of Las Vegas awards have prompted an array of reactions, some good, some less so. Murray "Unknown Comic" Langston is hardly happy over his Worst Hotel Entertainer designation and Stratosphere officials suggest a worst nod for "American Superstars" was the result of a "negative write-in campaign" by supporters of a competing celebrity impersonator show. Now what show could that be?
On the brighter side, David Cassidy learned of his Best All-Around Performer win when a late-show performance of "EFX" at the MGM Grand Hotel was halted to make the announcement. He shares the designation with musical impressionist Danny Gans, who also was voted Las Vegan You'd Like to Know More About.
Mirage chief Steve Wynn, who won that category for years, apparently took the upset in stride. He recently saw Gans perform at the Rio and spent 45 minutes with him after the show, no doubt learning more about the city's hottest showman.
Michael Paskevich's entertainment column appears Fridays and Sundays.
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