Tuesday, August 26, 2003
Copyright © Las Vegas Review-Journal

COLUMN: MIKE WEATHERFORD

Riviera adds three shows, drops one

Count on the Riviera's Le Bistro Theatre to the keep musical chairs game interesting by adding three new shows, while only dropping one.

Opening within the next month are are Little Anthony & the Imperials, Ray Brown Jr. and a late Monday revue, "Mindblowers."

The impersonator revue "Hail Hail Rock 'n' Roll" closes Monday, with Brown -- the son of late singer Ella Fitzgerald and jazz bassist Ray Brown -- taking the 10 p.m. time slot for five shows per week, starting Sept. 2.

Singer Marlene Ricci, who controls the room in a lease arrangement with the Riviera, will make room for Little Anthony ("Tears on My Pillow," "Hurt So Bad") on Sept. 15 by dropping out of the 8:30 p.m. time slot except on Tuesdays, and picking up 7 p.m. shows on Fridays and Saturdays.

"Mindblowers" also is set for a limited run starting Sept. 15, moving into a rare berth in the crowded room that wasn't occupied by another show: 11:30 p.m. Mondays. Producer Scott Lewis is the hypnotist who performs at 10 p.m. Mondays, and hopes to cross-promote a show similar to "Shock," which he co-produces at Bourbon Street on weekends.

Despite his traditional jazz pedigree and years of experience as a drummer, Brown will position himself as more of a classic pop and R&B singer.

He describes the new venture as "a fun show that looks a little bit at the history of music." He will blend some of his own songwriting with classics by the likes of Otis Redding, Erroll Garner and the Coasters.

This will be Brown's first Las Vegas date, and he plans to perform with a six-piece band and two singers. Brown says has been in a Los Angeles studio "sweetening" his second album, "Committed From the Heart," which he hopes to have for sale at his shows.

Fitzgerald died in 1996, while Brown's father continued performing until his death last summer at age 76. Brown calls his parentage "a double-edged sword." While it creates interest, "there is always going to be a comparison. ... You can almost feel people looking past you to see someone else."

Lewis describes "Mindblowers" as "a supernatural variety show," heavy on mentalism and stunts, such as Lewis standing on the stomach of a hypnotized female assistant lying across two chairs.

Tim Cridland, who performs as Zamora the Torture King in "Shock," will restage the "Georgia magnet" stunt popularized by vaudeville star Annie Abbott in the 1890s; men from the audience were unable to lift the petite star.

Unless "Mindblowers" really takes off, Lewis plans on staging it only through Halloween. ...

Caesars Palace has faith in Jerry Seinfeld, booking the superstar comedian for an encore weekend in the Colosseum at Caesars Palace on Dec. 26 and 27, traditionally a slow time on the Strip.

Usually, Christmas week means quiet on the Strip, until tourists begin flowing in for New Year's Eve. This year could be different, however: The 26th and 27th fall on a Friday and Saturday, while New Year's Eve falls on a Wednesday night. ...

Lose a magician, gain a magician. Steve Wyrick is set to close his large stage show at the Sahara on Sunday, and has yet to announce a new Las Vegas home.

But Steve Dacri, who does an altogether different type of magic, has firmed up plans for an open-ended run of his "Xtreme Close-Up Magic" inside Sazio's restaurant at The Orleans.

For six years, Dacri was a regular in the 75-seat close-up magic room at Caesars Magical Empire. Before Caesars closed the dinner-and-magic attraction last year, it was the only place to see magicians who sat at a table and practiced pure sleight of hand, rather than the cabinet-style illusions of most Las Vegas stage shows.

This month, Dacri tested his show at Brendan's Pub in The Orleans, but found it too noisy and distracting for audiences, thanks to video poker players allowed to play bartop machines during the show.

But he found an alternative literally next door, in a special functions room at Sazio. He closes at Brendan's on Friday, and reopens as a dinner show on Sept. 12. The price goes up in the process, from $20 and $25 tickets to $50, plus tax.

Mike Weatherford's entertainment column appears Sundays and Tuesdays.COMING WEDNESDAY