Last week, this space carried an "exit interview" with Harvey Fierstein, who performed "Hairspray" in drag and never intended to stay in the show more than three months.

Today, another drag actor, Ben Schatz, packs up his wig and returns to the road with his three "Dragapella" co-stars. The difference is Schatz had hoped to stay indefinitely.

The satiric revue came to the Las Vegas Hilton chasing the fantastic success of Barry Manilow and "Menopause The Musical." It proved to be one more show than the casino's convention-driven traffic would support. The producers threw in the towel Saturday.

Fierstein had his days free to peruse local antiques stores. Schatz says, "I think I've been out about three times" because of the struggle to make the show work.

The closing of "Dragapella" revisits questions discussed here before, with a few twists: Are big, corporate-financed titles squeezing out the little ones? Are the nightclubs killing the shows, or have club-hoppers simply not been tempted with the right show? Is there room for a "smart," or "niche" title on the Strip? If so, how do you sell it?

No one show carries the answers, because each has its own challenges. "Dragapella" had to explain it was more like The Second City, less like "An Evening at La Cage." The ads mistakenly focused on the drag, not the humor.

"I wish that we had a more targeted publicity campaign four months before we opened," Schatz says. "There are a lot of distractions in Las Vegas. This is not a good town for just sort of coming in and putting on a show."

Is there a Las Vegas audience for "The Daily Show" crowd? Last year, Bill Maher told the Review-Journal his proposal to do "a hip show at midnight" found no takers. "If you don't want to see a magician, an acrobat or a dolphin, you're out of luck," Maher said.

"I don't think we need 'The Daily Show' crowd just to sell tickets. I just think they're the people who would most love us," Schatz says. The show appeals to "people who come for the raunch," as well as "those who come for the satire and politics."

Shows such as "Dragapella" and "Avenue Q" also discovered they appeal to locals, but locals will wait for a discount mailer or freebie. (Almost everyone knows someone who knows someone at a casino.) The irony is that "because (locals) perceived us as a big success, they didn't feel the urgency to rush out and see it," Schatz says.

Perhaps the rush for the comfort of a sit-down residency made people forget that for years, troupers such as Tom Jones were resigned to frequent visits, say once each quarter. "I think that would be a really smart thing for us to do," Schatz says, because of the "incredible good will" the show engendered.

So, while Fierstein couldn't promise when he will be back, Schatz's parting words are: "Sorry, Vegas. We will return."

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