MIKE WEATHERFORD:
Late-night show at Golden Nugget relies on cyberspace
Producer Jon Conway offers a sneak peak at the Golden Nugget's new late-show star by lifting the cover of his laptop computer.
No, it's not just a photo. It's really her: A computer-generated vixen, all exaggerated comic-book anatomy in all the right places. The interactive cyber-babe -- viewed with 3-D glasses -- will be a featured part of "Cover Girls." A guy from the audience will get to choose her name, hair color, etc. (And yes, there's a cyber-dude as well).
Advertisement
That's just one of the ideas the British producer believes will elevate the new show from the pack of topless competition on the Strip. "I've seen all the stuff in town," he says. This one, he says is "novel and different," and "not just all about girls."
"We need to set ourselves apart," says Joe Leone, the Nugget's vice president of entertainment. "We need a reason for people to pass five other late-night shows on the Strip and numerous gentlemen's clubs."
Leone and Conway say they aren't even 100 percent sure "Cover Girls" will even be topless when it opens Oct. 14, or merely sexy and suggestive. They want the competition to be "Zumanity," not "Crazy Girls."
Noting that women make 80 percent of the decisions about Las Vegas entertainment, Leone says the show will be "more about celebrating the sexiness of Las Vegas."
One reason to come downtown will be the Nugget's new 600-seat theater, where "Cover Girls" and "Strictly Ballroom" will play like a repertory company, both produced by Conway's Qdos International Limited with a few overlapping cast members.
Ever since developer Steve Wynn opened the modern incarnation of the Nugget in the 1980s, the third-floor ballroom has been a multipurpose venue with flat-floor table seating. More than once, it escaped a close call with being turned into a buffet.
No danger of that now. The new buffet is one floor below, and the ballroom has been renovated into a proper theater. Those stepping off the esclator will no longer recognize the place. The entry now takes advantage of a picture-window view of the Nugget's pool area, a view formerly masked off by heavy curtains. (And since the pool will have a new shark exhibit, there will be a lot to gawk at.) The 600-seat venue offers 21-inch wide theater seats in a gentle rake, two rows on each leveled step.
Only one thing has been left untouched: The backstage dressing room used by Frank Sinatra. "It was karma we didn't want to mess with," Leone says.
Leone says the theater will take "baby steps" in booking name headliners for weekends. "Ballroom" will play at 7 p.m., followed by "Cover Girls" at 9:30 p.m. But the latter could move to 11 p.m. if business is strong enough to warrant a third show. Leone speaks so fondly of past tenants Gordie Brown and Clint Holmes, it sounds as though either would have a home if their new ventures don't work out.
Leone says he thought it was time to look outside the circle of established Las Vegas producers for a new perspective. Conway produces variety shows in England and created a disco-tribute musical called "Boogie Nights" that pre-dated the unrelated movie. He also is known for presenting Christmas pantomimes, a distinctly British tradition in which men and women switch gender roles for broad comedy.
"Strictly Ballroom" will be somewhat interactive , he says, teaching audience members how to salsa. The revue opens Oct. 7, giving Luxor's "Burn the Floor" a head start. But Conway says his show is less passive spectacle, and more about immersing the audience in the world of competitive dancing.
Both shows will feature singing hosts Noel Sullivan and Zo? Birkett, both of whom were winners on "Popstars" and "Pop Idol," the British version of "American Idol." ...
Downtown needs all the synergy it can get. Look for "Shag With a Twist" to move from Krave nightclub, aka the Harmon Theatre, to the Plaza's vintage showroom in mid-October. A big push to sell the quirky dance revue will come with an animated video for the overhead canopy at the Fremont Street Experience by Shag (Josh Agle). The dance show takes its name from the artist and his swanky,'60s-bachelor aesthetic. ...
Speaking of "Crazy Girls," new investment in that girlie show tends to debunk the school of speculation that "Splash" is closing in anticipation of the entire Riviera closing. Producer Norbert Aleman is rehearsing a new edition of "Girls" for November that will lead the way to its 20th anniversary next September.
Riviera management says the big showroom will revert to hotel control after "Splash" closes Saturday, and the hotel will announce a new show. No one is saying what will go in, except that it won't be "Matsuri," the cute Japanese sports revue that recently shared the room as an afternoon attraction.
For the past few years, "Splash" has existed as a labor of love financed by Meshulam Riklis, the Riviera's former owner. He kept the revue after losing the rest of the hotel through 1991 bankruptcy proceedings.
The show was said to be such a financial drain that not only hotel brass, but Riklis' own bean-counter for the production, tried to get 80-something businessman to pull the plug months ago. "It was just time to end the agony," says one source close to the production. ...
Saturday offers the season's last chance to catch an outdoor show at Spring Mountain Ranch State Park. But pack a jacket. "What A Relief 2" carries on the concept of last year's benefit for hurricane Katrina victims, but this year the community theater performers raise money for Make-A-Wish Foundation of Southern Nevada.
Jon Halbur again hosts the revue that offers a rewind of numbers from shows staged at the ranch over the summer, as well as previews from upcoming productions and stand-alone performances.
The gates open at 4:30 p.m. with a "green show" at 5 p.m. and the main show at 7 p.m. The suggested donation is $20 per person.
