SHOOTING STARS: ‘Liza’s at the Palace’ — at the MGM Grand
Liza Minnelli’s “Liza’s at the Palace” was a Tony-winning Broadway smash.
But when public television audiences watch it during December’s pledge period (or catch it on DVD early next year), it’ll be a made-in-Vegas smash.
Cameras will roll during Minnelli’s Wednesday and Thursday performances at the MGM Grand’s Hollywood Theatre to capture the show for posterity.
Nine cameras, to be exact.
And unlike Broadway’s cavernous Palace, which seats about 1,500, the MGM Grand showroom, at about 800 seats, is “also more intimate,” notes Neil Meron, who joins longtime partner Craig Zadan and JoAnn Young as executive producers of the project from American Public Television.
“We talked about other venues,” Meron says, but the MGM Grand showroom is “an honest-to-God theater and the set fits.”
Besides, “Las Vegas means show business,” Young notes. “And she’s Miss Show Business.” The result, she predicts, will be a theater “filled with people who love Liza.”
That description definitely applies to Meron and Zadan, who oversaw a recent restoration of Minnelli’s Emmy-winning TV special of 34 years ago, “Liza With a Z.”
Her Tony-winning Palace show “was such a triumph,” Zadan says, “the idea of not having it filmed would be tragic.”
‘Wheel’ dealing: “Let’s a Make a Deal” continues production at the Tropicana with Wayne Brady hosting the CBS daytime reboot of the game-show classic.
This week’s audience call times: 9 and 11 a.m. and 2 p.m. today and Thursday, Saturday and Sunday, plus 11 a.m. and 2 p.m. Friday.
Audiences members have a 1-in-18 chance to become contestants; free tickets are available by calling the Trop’s “Let’s Make a Deal” information line at (800) 706-8767 or going online to www.cbs.com/daytime/lets_make_a_deal and clicking on “Online Ticketing.”
Or you could always show up in costume and head to the “Let’s Make a Deal” ticketing center on the Tropicana’s casino level.
And for those who’d like to dress up and see the show but have no desire to become a contestant, you can always be a costumed extra and get paid for your efforts, according to casting agent Julie Goldman of Goldman and Associates, who last week rounded up about 30 people for the show. Each earned $60 in cash following for an eight-hour effort, she said.
If you (and/or your family and friends) are interested, contact Goldman at 232-4300.
‘Red’ alert: The neo-noir mystery “Red Herring” continues production, with the Bootlegger and the arts district’s Juhl high-rise on the itinerary, reports writer-producer Joshua Cohen of Cohencidence Productions.
“The way I’m describing it, we’re making a half-million-dollar movie for $150,000,” Cohen says, extolling the “ridiculously generous” support of local businesses, from Juhl (which is donating the use of three units and the pool for shooting purposes) to donated meals from a variety of local restaurants.
Downtown’s Golden Nugget is even comping “The Sopranos’ ” Vincent Pastore to a suite while he films his scenes Tuesday and Wednesday, Cohen notes. Also in the “Red Herring” cast: Robert Scott Howard (as the detective searching for an enigmatic assassin), “Taken’s” Holly Valance, former Playmate of the Year Corinna Harney-Jones and Internet star Bobbi Billard.
Casting about: The casting team for ABC’s “Supernanny,” currently casting for the show’s fifth season, will host an open call Oct. 8 at the Orleans Arena during a Wranglers hockey game. For more info, check out www.supernanny.com — or tune in to next week’s Shooting Stars.
