Magicians and dragons seem like natural roommates, but the "Caveman" would be the wild card at a new theater scheduled to open later this summer at Desert Passage mall.

Ronn Lucas is the first of three tenants to make public his move to a theater operated by magician Steve Wyrick. The comic ventriloquist closes an afternoon run of nearly five years at the Rio on Sunday. He hopes to reopen with a matinee slot in the new 430-seat theater by early August.

Wyrick will anchor the evening schedule with his own show. Filipino pop star Martin Nievera is scheduled for a 5 p.m. "happy hour" time slot, and the one-man Broadway show "Defending the Caveman" could have a midnight curtain.

All four ventures are banking on a time-share and condominium tower that would attach to the mall near the theater, as well as announced plans to remodel Desert Passage and tone down the Middle Eastern theme. Wyrick plans to have a lounge and small restaurant along with the second-floor theater.

"I couldn't miss an opportunity to go on-Strip," Lucas says. By the time the Aladdin converts to Planet Hollywood, it should be "one continuous flow" between the separately owned casino and mall.

Lucas says he hopes to expand the show Rio viewers know for its comic banter with sidekicks Buffalo Billy and Scorch the Dragon. "I'm trying to turn this into a variety show," he says. "My dream is to have Scorch fly out over the audience."

Construction delays have slowed down Wyrick's project, originally announced in August 2005, fueling speculation that the magician has trouble financing the project. But Lucas says the performers can move in by late July and offer preview performances until a grand opening around Labor Day.

Lucas will be surviving entirely from ticket sales rather than the more typical afternoon-show model he shared at the Rio, where the casino subsidizes "free" tickets -- for the price of a $7 or $8 drink -- to drive traffic through the casino. Lucas says he drew about half of his Rio attendance from the promotional offers, but "didn't make a whole lot of money off that."

Nievera, an arena-level heartthrob in the Philippines, first tested his crossover potential at the Golden Nugget in 2003, then refashioned his act into a retro-swing format in early 2004.

"Defending the Caveman" was written and originally performed by Rob Becker, but the show's Internet site says the Las Vegas edition will be performed by Kevin Burke, who has both stand-up comedy and a stint as a Ringling Bros. clown on his resume.

Becker's title about the differences between men and women first played on Broadway from 1995 to 1997 and is now performed by several comedians. ...

This weekend's annual "Ribbon of Life" benefit for Golden Rainbow isn't retreating from the limelight just because it happens to land amid the openings of the year's two biggest shows, "Love" and "Phantom -- The Las Vegas Spectacular."

The annual fundraiser to help those with AIDS marks a record participation of cast members or headliners from 28 shows. The revue returns to Bally's, where it started 20 years ago as a response to "Jubilee!" cast members being stricken with AIDS.

The format remains mostly numbers from Broadway musicals re-created by Las Vegas performers. One notable exception this year is a satire of the "G-Sting" scandal, set to songs from "Chicago" with new parody lyrics by Paul Speirs.

Speirs has been Golden Rainbow's publicist and spokesman for eight years, a volunteer position supported by his employer, Steinbeck Communications. This year he was pulled from backstage into the limelight by local director-performer Doug Baker, who talked him into playing Lance Malone as well.

If you go both Saturday and Sunday, you'll get two slightly different shows. Because of scheduling complications, Harrah's Las Vegas headliner Clint Holmes will be there only on Saturday, while a tribute to Siegfried & Roy will happen only on Sunday. Tickets are $50-$200 for shows starting at 1 p.m. both days in the Jubilee Theatre.

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