A woman in a black spandex vampire costume and dyed-red hair asked me to dance Friday night. I had to whisper to her, "I'm not qualified." It was not the who, but the when -- as the cast of "Dracula's Audition" performed the Halloween staple "Monster Mash" at New City Theatre.
At that moment Marilyn Weinmann , in character as Ma Drac (Dracula's mother), descended from the stage and gripped my hand. No thanks -- not unless your name is Gwen Stefani am I leaving my seat to dance onstage in front of 100 strangers (including a few bubbly members of the Red Hat Club).
"Dracula's Audition" is the latest production by New City, which stages its shows at 2900 E. Patrick Lane (call 795-0487 or go to www.newcitytheatre.com). The performance has been extended to Friday night (seating is at 7:30, show at 8 p.m.) for this goofy musical production starring hard-working local talent.
Not being a theater critic (at least professionally), I can say that my review of Friday's show is that I feel it is important to support community theater. In this case the trip was made worthwhile by the performances of Dominic Carter , an accomplished skateboard competitor with limited acting experience who executed a full backflip; and Steve Jaeger , who played a geek in ill-fitting clothes and who led the crowd in the show-capper.
Admission is free. If you adjust your Expectations Meter, you'll have some fun.
NoteMart
A bout time: When reader Bea Levinson spotted Mike Tyson signing autographs at the Bob Hope Airport in Burbank, Calif., on Monday she thought, "He's a convicted rapist -- who needs an autograph?"
But moments later, as passengers prepared to climb the rickety staircase leading to the America West flight to Las Vegas, Levinson noticed an older woman gazing hopelessly up at the plane as if she were being asked to climb Mount Everest. So Tyson grabbed her carry-ons and led her into the aircraft. "It was really nice," Levinson said. "I guess he's trying to get a checkmark on the good side." ...
Pink 'Es update: We're hearing that the old pool hall, which shut its doors in late May, is to become the site of a high-rise development. The club has broken its last rack ...
How soon they forget: After Mobil Travel Guide announced its five- and four-star restaurant and lodging awards last week, a couple of readers asked if Las Vegas restaurants or hotels had ever been granted five-star status. In 2002 Picasso at Bellagio and Renoir at the Mirage were honored with five stars. Picasso was a four-star winner this year; Renoir closed in 2004 after the departure of Chef Alex Stratta , now at Alex at Wynn Las Vegas ...
To clarify: Two weeks ago I referred to Danny Gans as a Strip star. That means he's a headliner on the Las Vegas Strip. He does not actually strip. His is a family show. Thank-you (I think) to the anonymous caller who noted the possible confusion ...
Elvis, Liberace, a traveling salesman and a three-legged dog walk into the Tropicana ...: Send me your best Vegas joke -- or I'll jump! I'm still taking submissions in the first Fabulous Las Vegas joke contest. The only rules are to try to keep it clean, keep it relatively short and it must have a Vegas theme. The winner receives a commemorative Las Vegas coffee mug and free publicity; we're announcing the winner on Nov. 17, the first day of The Comedy Festival at Flamingo Las Vegas and Caesars Palace.
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