Year 2007 In Review

What a lame year.

Granted, the economics of Las Vegas' swing-for-the-fences approach to show business means only a couple of big titles will open on the Strip in a given year.

This year didn't give us a memorable homegrown creation, just two ubiquitous Broadway brands -- "Monty Python's Spamalot" and "The Producers" -- and one off-Broadway upgrade, "Stomp Out Loud."

Perhaps it's for the best, since the biggest original effort was a magic show featuring Pamela Anderson and a Dutch magician who liked to stand in front of box fans to make his hair blow. In fact, the whole show blew.

The Wynn Las Vegas version of "Spamalot" is, at least, as finely crafted a diversion as you could ask for, with jokes layered on thick enough for multiple viewings. But, as they say in the show, "They've already got one," on Broadway and on tour across the country.

The only pride of ownership was John O'Hurley's redirecting his pompously clueless "J. Peterman" routine for a King Arthur that improved upon Broadway's Tim Curry; a lesson in the right way to stunt-cast. (For the wrong way, go back to David Hasselhoff in "The Producers.")

The year did include worthy and welcome entries on a more modest scale: Wayne Brady's variety act, and the one-man comedy "Defending the Caveman."

They remind us you can step out any night of the week and find great shows here. This list is the only one on the page not restricted to the calendar year. While I once found that odd, 2007 made it convenient to shuffle in old favorites. Next year they'll all be jogging for attention alongside Bette Midler, Criss Angel and, perhaps by year's end, Cher.

In the meantime, you can't go wrong with:

1. "MONTY PYTHON'S SPAMALOT" -- The misconception is that "Spamalot" is what aging frat guys see while their spouses take in "Mamma Mia!" But the Python devout may be the ones most shaken by Eric Idle's departures from the darker midnight movie that inspired it, while newcomers latch onto Idle and director Mike Nichols' spoof of Broadway musicals.

2. "LOVE" -- The Beatles-themed Cirque du Soleil show at The Mirage benefits from continued "cleaning," as they call it in Cirque World. Bye-bye to the blackbirds providing alleged comic relief.

3. RAY ROMANO AND BRAD GARRETT -- Life after "Raymond" allowed Romano to return as a casually masterful stand-up, balanced on The Mirage double-bill by Garrett's low-rent, crassly funny reincarnation as Don Rickles.

4. "PHANTOM -- THE LAS VEGAS SPECTACULAR" -- Cuts robbed "The Producers" of really good stuff, but the 95-minute "Phantom" at The Venetian is everything fans loved for years, minus nothing they'd miss.

5. CELINE DION "A NEW DAY" -- Give it up for the girlfriend and 717 shows at Caesars Palace. The final year really came together. Yes, it gave up daring ideas for safe crowd pleasers. (Video duet with Frank Sinatra, anyone?) But safe is a good fit with Dion's style of pop.

6. PENN & TELLER -- Like the old jazz cats you suspect Penn would like to be, the smartly warped comedy magicians just keep on being their funky old selves, letting Las Vegas do the changing during their five years at the Rio.

7. "O" -- Swap in another Cirque if you prefer, but "O" remains unique in its vision, even as it heads toward a 10th anniversary at Bellagio in October.

8. "STOMP OUT LOUD" -- It was a better idea five years ago, but a pumped-up version of this sound celebration at Planet Hollywood is perfect for families, even if I'm supposed to whisper that.

9. BLUE MAN GROUP -- One reason "Stomp" may struggle is the huge head start its off-Broadway rivals had in realizing the ideal custom theater at The Venetian.

10. THE SECOND CITY -- A list should leave room for one show that relies on humans, not stagecraft. The local troupe at the Flamingo continues to make the Chicago office proud with its smartly raunchy treatment of grown-up themes.

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