Las Vegas Sands has big shows to fill

Perhaps someday if there's a musical about Barry Manilow, it can hold up to a schedule of eight shows per week. But that's something the musical about Frankie Valli can do right now, so "Jersey Boys" will replace Manilow at Paris Las Vegas next year.

That's the kindest way for both parties to explain the move, which has "Jersey Boys" closing at the Palazzo by year's end and reopening at Paris a few weeks later. No one has to say whether Manilow's numbers were disappointing; only that his 78 shows per year left the theater empty for too many nights (concert acts were occasionally booked around him, but with no real consistency).

Manilow has 27 shows left between Sept. 16 and Dec. 11. It was not announced whether producer AEG Live considers satisfied a two-year contract that started in March 2010, or might try to move him to another venue. "We look forward to working with Barry again in the future," says Caesars Entertainment executive Jason Gastwirth, suggesting the latter.

The "Jersey Boys" defection from the Palazzo follows the Blue Man Group's decision to bolt its sister property, The Venetian, and move into the Monte Carlo late next year. Las Vegas Sands, which operates the Palazzo and Venetian, now faces the pressure of replacing two hard acts to follow.

Moreover, the show business community -- at least the Broadway part of it -- is small enough that Las Vegas Sands risks an industry reputation of being a tough landlord. The message to producers could be that it's easy to beat the rent and incidental charges if you have a proven hit.

"We have a lot of opportunities out there. My phone rings off the hook when news like this gets out," counters Chris Yancey, entertainment director for the properties. "While we're moving aggressively... there's no sense of panic here. We have a chance to rebrand a big part of this property."

The Blue Man Group's replacement has essentially been chosen, Yancy adds without further details. "It's something new to Las Vegas. We're excited about it."

Scott Zeiger of Base Entertainment is involved in both sides of the "Jersey Boys" move. Base will remain an investor in the title primarily produced by Dodger Theatricals. But Base operating the Palazzo theater was limited to the run of "Jersey Boys," so Zeiger now joins the open field of producers pitching replacements.

"We're looking at everything," Zeiger says. "Our palette's all over the place."

One show he won't pitch for the Palazzo is "Absinthe," even though the comic circus co-produced by Base in front of Caesars Palace faces the end of a limited use permit on Sept. 18.

"It doesn't belong in that room," Zeiger says (though he was hoping to announce a renewed future for the title by week's end). Nor do "The Lion King" or "Wicked," both of which Base co-promoted for the company's Marina Bay Sands in Singapore.

Yancey says the search includes Broadway musicals, but isn't limited to them. "You have to start by identifying what is the best content out there, be it Broadway or headliners or anything." It's also an option to make the theater more universal for limited runs, he adds.

Of Broadway's current crop, some in the loop say only "Rock of Ages" and "Spider-man: Turn Off the Dark" would have the potential for an open-ended run on the Strip. Starting next year, most Broadway musicals will visit the city for short runs at the new Smith Center.

For a Broadway title to have legs on the Strip, it would need either a tricked-out production -- perhaps giving Spidey the "Las Vegas Spectacular" treatment -- or a name star, one to parallel Tom Cruise doing the movie version of "Ages." ...

"Mr. St. George" doesn't have the same ring to it, and Wayne Newton may be the first act to wear a tux on the outdoor stage of the Tuacahn Amphitheater. But if you can get up there by sundown, you can watch him open the DocUtah film festival today, after screening "Wayne Newton Story: A Native American Legend."...

Gordie Brown was still a Reno-based performer in the days after the 9/11 attacks, when Las Vegas entertainers immediately began planning a USO benefit concert that came to pass in a quick 60 days.

But Brown picks up the spirit this weekend, offering Nevadans a $20.45 ticket for Friday and Saturday's shows that benefit the Las Vegas location of the U.S. Vets agency.

I look back at coverage of that USO benefit, and can't think of anything since that has united so many performers: 33 production numbers in Mandalay Bay's arena.

So many of the names involved no longer have shows on the Strip, from Siegfried & Roy to "Lord of the Dance." It really has been 10 years. At least Carrot Top can retire the Osama bin Laden toilet prop that got a big laugh that day.

Contact reporter Mike Weatherford at mweatherford@ reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0288.