‘Peepshow’ debut suits Madison fine

Holly Madison felt right at home during her "Peepshow" debut.

After five years at the Playboy Mansion, what's the big deal?

Madison had a "little bit" of the jitters Monday, she said, but it wasn't from going topless in her debut as a Las Vegas headliner in a burlesque show at Planet Hollywood Resort.

Did she blush?

"No, I was too busy thinking about my dance steps. I had a lot on my mind," said Hugh Hefner's former girlfriend and contestant on "Dancing With the Stars."

Whatever jitters she had, she covered up well.

Asked what grade she would give herself in her debut, she replied, "I thought I did well."

A stage lift failed for two scenes, her leap into the bathtub and her final entrance from under the stage, but only a handful of audience members knew otherwise.

Madison, 29, replaced co-star Kelly Monaco as Bo Peep in the 3-month-old show. Madison appeared topless at the end of the show.

Her role doesn't call for singing.

"Nobody would want to hear that," Madison said. "It would be like 'My Best Friend's Wedding,' where Cameron Diaz did karaoke."

It was her first theatrical appearance since her Oregon high school days, when she played Frenchie in "Grease."

She received a warm welcome from the "Peepshow" cast, who gave her gifts, including a custom-made Bratz doll, a robe and a necklace.

"Everybody has been awesome," she said.

THE BEST GIFT FOR DAD

It was a happy Father's Day for Dave Tuley, Las Vegas-based correspondent for the Daily Racing Form and blogger (www.ViewFrom Vegas.com). His 13-day-old son, Maddux Dirt Kolea Tuley, came home for the first time after battling an infection.

Maddux, named after baseball pitching great Greg Maddux of Las Vegas, is Dave and wife Wendy's latest family member with a name that honors a Chicago sports legend. He joins sisters Jordyn, 7, who is named after NBA superstar Michael Jordan, and 5-year-old Peyton, who got her name from Walter Payton, the Chicago Bears' late Hall of Fame running back.

So where did "Dirt" come from?

Tuley explained that it was the contribution of one of Maddux's big sisters, who suggested it "because boys like to play in the dirt."

SIGHTINGS

Garth Brooks, performing another free, invite-only show for Steve Wynn and friends at Encore Theater at Wynn Las Vegas. He had a Pittsburgh Pirates cap on backward during the two-hour show. There was no announcement on where his deal with Wynn stands. ... Caesars Palace headliner Bette Midler, showing up at Gipsy, a local gay club, on Monday to watch her dancers perform. ... Prop comic legend Gallagher, at "Criss Angel Believe" (Luxor) on Tuesday. ... Greg Maddux, dining with a friend at Joe's Seafood, Prime Steak & Stone Crab (Forum Shops at Caesars). ... Soap opera legend Susan Lucci, dining at Spago (Caesars) on Tuesday. Lucci later attended Midler's show. Also there: actor Robert Wuhl. ... Las Vegas Mayor Oscar Goodman, at The Minus 5 Experience at Mandalay Place for the unveiling of an ice portrait of hizzoner. Goodman toasted Ice Culture, the Canada-based design firm that created the portrait, which will be on display inside the minus 5-degree Celsius (23-degree Fahrenheit) lounge all summer.

THE PUNCH LINE

"The couple from 'Jon & Kate Plus Eight' filed for divorce. ... The show's going to go on. It's just going to be called 'Jon & Kate Minus Half of Jon's Stuff.' " -- Craig Ferguson

Norm Clarke can be reached at (702) 383-0244 or norm@reviewjournal.com. Find additional sightings and more online at www.normclarke.com.