The Kats Report Bureau at this writing is Starbucks across from Mystere Theater in Treasure Island. Business is not so brisk at this coffee house because “Mystere” is dark this week, but we do take the opportunity to remind that the 20-year home of “Mystere” is to be the stage for the next Nevada Ballet Theater-Cirque du Soleil collaboration, “A Choreographers’ Showcase,” set for 1 p.m. Oct. 11 and 18.
This is the annual blending of the NBT company dancers and some of the finest artists in Cirque, creating new pieces staged only on those days. It’s a meeting of two of the city’s finest arts institutions (tickets are $25 and $45, fees included, but popcorn is extra).
Let’s spin it elsewhere, eh?
• Jerry Lewis is funny.
That’s not the note here.
I called him earlier to ask how it felt for Wayne Newton to be awarding him a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Global Gaming Expo during the G2E awards ceremony Sept. 30 at Vinyl in the Hard Rock Hotel.
“The problem is, I don’t have enough room in my trophy case for the award,” Lewis said. When I offered that the award itself could be a trophy case, he answered, “I’d accept that. I can actually use a new trophy case. I can put that on display.”
Seriously, he said that he was “thrilled” that Newton would be presenting the award, something The Wayner mentioned during an interview at Casa de Shenandoah and written about by Ubiquitous Robin Leach on Thursday (this item is loaded with name checks). Lewis is about to film “Dead Serious,” an upcoming National Lampoon movie, in Las Vegas.
Siegfried & Roy’s four new tiger cubs in Las Vegas.
• Keeping the thread iconic, Siegfried & Roy are to welcome a quartet of 6-week-old tiger cubs at the Secret Garden at the Mirage. The ceremony is set for noon Saturday. All four cubs were born Aug. 5 at the Secret Garden, to mother Indira and father Svengali, also at the attraction. These are the first tiger cubs to be added to the habitat in five years.
And, for the first time, Siegfried & Roy’s cubs are the subject of social media pages on Twitter and Instagram: @Sarmoticubs, and also on Facebook at SARMOTIcubs.
• Something to note about “For the Record: Baz” as it seeks a new home: The production’s partnership with Cirque du Soleil’s theatrical division is not a certainty. “Baz” reps have embarked on a tire-kicking mission, reportedly visiting venues such as Palazzo Theater, 1OAK at the Mirage and Rose. Rabbit. Lie. in the Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas.
Cirque will remain a partner with For the Record during its search for a home, but if the show’s FTR team opts for a non-MGM Resorts hotel, Cirque will not be actively involved in the show. Aside from “Mystere,” which is now performed in the former MGM Resorts (and now Phil Ruffin-owned) T.I., all of Cirque’s productions are partners with MGM hotels.
For “Baz” to have a real chance at surviving a notoriously competitive entertainment market in Las Vegas, it will need either a healthy investment from Cirque (which it had been enjoying while at Light at Mandalay Bay) or a similarly aggressive financial partner elsewhere.
• Anne Martinez, the frontwoman of, and visionary behind, “Alice – A Steampunk Rock Concert” is now a cast member in “50 Shades: The Parody!” at Bally’s. She plays Inner Goddess in the show at Windows, beginning her run Oct. 13. That is the same night she is to appear in “Alice” at Brooklyn Bowl, which starts at 10 p.m. “50 Shades” is at 7:30, ending about 9 p.m. It’s not the first such hustle for Martinez, who often scrambled from “Jubilee” at Bally’s to “Alice” when the show was at Vinyl.
• Comedy at Rocks Lounge has a name: Comedy Rocks.
Simple enough.
That was announced today, as was a fourth headliner in the Red Rock Resort series: Justin Willman, who performs behind the glass Feb. 20. The lineup as it stands is Mark Curry on Oct. 17, Orny Adams on Nov. 21, Hal Sparks on Jan. 23 and Willman in February. Ticket to each of these shows are $25 and $35 (fees not included), and tickets to Curry’s show are on sale now at the Station Casinos website.
• Stratosphere entertainment executive Drew DiCostanza has left the hotel, and also his post as a member of the creative team of “Pin Up,” for a position with Cirque du Soleil. He’ll be working in Cirque’s Resident Shows division.
DiCostanza has a deep background in the staging and performing of magic, and his influence was felt in a number of “Pin Up” numbers, especially the show-opening video panel revealing Claire Sinclair and the cauldron from which the show’s male dancers have appeared.
“My experience at the Stratosphere has been amazing. We wish each other all the best,” he says, as the hotel is considering options for a replacement. Entertainment director Matt Mascali says the hotel has some “great candidates” and that, “Drew is a tough guy to replace. He’s extremely versatile. Cirque is getting a great asset.”
• On the topic of execs who are leaving their posts, Tropicana marketing official Fred Harmon said today he is leaving the hotel as the new ownership hierarchy from Penn National has taken over the property. As the Trop’s chief marketing officer, Harmon was a holdover from the Onex Corp. ownership and Alex Yemenidjian management era. Penn bought the hotel in the spring and took over operations in August.
Follow John Katsilometes on Twitter at Twitter.com/JohnnyKats. Also, follow “Kats With the Dish” at Twitter.com/KatsWiththeDish.
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