If all went according to plan, Saturday night marked the end of an era: Steve Lawrence and Eydie Gorme closing the curtain on the Stardust and counting down to the end of an entire Las Vegas era.

Young dollars rule the Strip, and the days of 60-plus entertainers in tuxedos are over, right?

Well, maybe the tuxedo part.

If you fast forward to 2008 and 2010, contrasts emerge in the plans for two 4,000-seat theaters managed by AEG Live: the Colosseum at Caesars Palace and a new one that will be part of the Echelon Place project replacing the Stardust.

A "divas in repertory" concept is a distinct possibility to replace Celine Dion, when "A New Day" becomes an old one at the end of next year. The divas most commonly cited, Cher and Bette Midler, are both 60. So is Rod Stewart, a top priority on casino wish lists. Billy Joel isn't far behind at 57.

No wonder John Meglen, co-chief executive of AEG Live, says he wants to line up stars "probably a generation younger, maybe even two" for Echelon Place.

"It's not unhip to play Vegas anymore," he says of younger acts. "It's the true entertainment capital of the United States."

Meglen says the push to date has been on designing the two Echelon theaters, a 4,000-seater and a smaller 1,500-seat room, which also will host names and events rather than a standing show.

"We're just now getting together our little presentation to go out and talk to artists," Meglen says. "Right now the list is wide open."

And it makes sense if the list includes Christina Aguilera and Beyonce, both 25, if the Strip is to combat the general trend of the concert industry. Aging baby-boomer favorites continue to ring up the concert grosses younger artists fail to match.

The new venue also is searching for "a minimum of four to five acts," doing 50 to 75 Las Vegas shows each year; more the Elton John or Barry Manilow formula than Dion's 160 annual shows.

Back at the Colosseum, Meglen says he hasn't ruled out a proposal from "A New Day" director Franco Dragone: To create separate shows for Cher, Midler and whoever -- Mariah Carey? A certain material girl? -- using the same cast of dancers.

"It's an interesting idea," Meglen says. One of the Strip's great strengths is to offer "the show that could not tour," he adds. "I do not think we would have been as successful (with 'A New Day') if we were simply doing Celine Dion concerts."

But "A New Day" could afford its 50 dancers because of the number of shows. With only half or a third that many, "if you can use the same dancers, that's going to help you out."

But if the star is approaching retirement age, be careful not to step on her toes.

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