The producer of "Erocktica" says a lot of people misread the show title as "Erotica." It won't matter anymore, because the Rio show is reopening without the live rock band the title used to suggest.

In a move that's fairly rare in casino shows, producer Greg Thompson pulled the topless show for an overhaul in late August, after six months. It is scheduled to reopen Friday without the four-piece rock band and with about half of its dance content changed.

"We knew going in we were bucking the odds a little bit" by using the band, Thompson says. "There was a chance we could do more numbers (in tickets sold) than the average late-night show."

Thompson knew from his long-running "Skintight" at Harrah's Las Vegas that he could draw 200 to 300 people per show, but also knew he needed better than 300 with the added expense of the "Erocktica" band.

Falling short of the goal not only made the revue too expensive to run, but those who did show up "thought they were going to see a sexy dance show," not a rock band with a strip-club vibe, he adds.

Thompson opted to conform to the preconception rather than spend the marketing dollars it would take to "indoctrinate the whole city" and pull in rockers who would otherwise pass on a casino topless show.

The first "Erocktica" also ran out of gas too early, thanks to its limited musical menu of dive-bar rock anthems. Thompson says the switch to recorded tracks enables more diversity, adding some country-rock and pop to the mix. ...

Earlier this week, The Second City comedy troupe unveiled its new all-improvised format, which drops scripted sketches and the cast's Actors' Equity Association status in the process.

Director Liz Allen says the change was driven more by aesthetics than cost-cutting. An Equity spokeswoman at the company's New York headquarters confirms the change was unopposed when the current contract expired and that cast members will continue to receive their previous union salaries.

Allen had extensive improv experience at the troupe's Chicago home theater, and found herself in Las Vegas because of her husband's job move. Her availability, combined with the current cast's flair for improv, made the company decide to break new ground.

"I would venture to say what we're doing has never been done before by Second City," Allen says.

The new show tries not to ride solely on the type of audience-input games, such as sending two cast members out of the room, then making them guess three words. But it also stops short of long, free-form improv that's more familiar in Los Angeles and Chicago, cities bursting with improv players and/or "second stage" venues.

"I feel like we really bridged the gap here," Allen says of a show that sticks to a structured running order, yet allows the content to change each night.

The Flamingo branch of The Second City also will bring in some big-name alumni for a Katrina fundraiser titled "The Benefit of Laughter" at 4 p.m. on Nov. 6.

Guest stars include George Wendt of "Cheers" fame and Larry Joe Campbell of "According to Jim," along with several Second City players who went on to shows such as "Saturday Night Live" or "MADtv": Tim Meadows, Jeff Garlin, Richard Kind, Tim Kazurinsky, Keegan Michael Key, Nicole Parker, Jason Sudeikis (an alumnus of the Flamingo's Second City) Neil Flynn and Ian Gomez.

Tickets are $65 and $75, plus taxes and service charges. You can get them at the Flamingo Las Vegas box office or by calling 733-3333 or (866) 581-8687. ...

Harrah's magician Mac King will have a national presence in Barnes & Noble bookstores during the Christmas shopping season. The book chain will exclusively sell a magic kit based on his syndicated newspaper comic, "Magic in a Minute." King and the chain connected through the agent who handles his strip.

But the retailer has 673 stores, while fewer than 20 newspapers carry the strip, including the Review-Journal. "They think this is a product that sort of stands by itself," King says. The $15 kit will include a 64-page book in comic strip format and an instructional DVD filmed at Harrah's with local youngsters.

The Suitcase O' Magic hits stores Nov. 11. King plans to do a couple of in-store appearances during Thanksgiving weekend.

King also joins several local magicians, including Lance Burton, Adrian Black, Jeff Hobson and the Great Tomsoni, for "Magic For Mutts" on Sunday. Tickets are $19.95 to $69.95 for the 1 p.m. benefit for Adopt a Rescue Pet at the Clark County Library, 1401 E. Flamingo Road. Call 871-4768 for details.

Comic magician Jeff Hobson will host the event.

Mike Weatherford's entertainment column appears Thursdays and Sundays. Contact him at 383-0288 or e-mail him at mweatherford@reviewjournal.com.