New Strip homes for former IP residents

Elvis afternoons and Motown nights. Two past residents of the Imperial Palace have confirmed new homes on the Strip for next year.

The vocal quartet Human Nature moves into The Venetian Jan. 19, while "Legends in Concert" lands at the Flamingo in early February.

For the first time in its nearly 30 years on the Strip, "Legends" will open as an afternoon show, taking the 4 p.m. slot last held by Nathan Burton. The durable celebrity impersonator revue closes at Harrah's Las Vegas on Dec. 30.

"Legends" had other suitors, including the Plaza and Golden Nugget. But thanks to its 3,600-plus rooms, the Flamingo already sent more guests to "Legends" than any other hotel but Harrah's, said Brian Brigner, chief operating officer for the show's producer, On Stage Entertainment.

Beyond its six weekly shows at 4 p.m., "Legends" has the ability to move into evening time slots as the showroom's other tenants, Donny and Marie Osmond and George Wallace, continue to either cut back on shows or spend more time on the road.

"We're willing and able and ready. We've had a history of doing as many as 12 shows a week," Brigner says. Although he says, "I would love for it to evolve that way," the extra shows weren't promised in the deal.

Neither the Osmonds nor Wallace have confirmed their complete schedules , but Marie Osmond's Hallmark Channel talk show and other commitments may have the Osmonds paring down their number of total weeks at the Flamingo next year.

"Legends" will have a more elaborate set than it did at Harrah's, where the show moved in late 2008 after 25 years at Imperial Palace. "We're ready to reinvest in ourselves again," Brigner says. ...

The Sands is gone, and so is "Surf the Musical." But both will be back in some fashion when Human Nature opens at The Venetian next month.

The Australian vocal quartet opens Jan. 19 in a room now used by stand-up headliners such as Tim Allen and David Spade. Human Nature will run at 7 p.m. five times a week, 35 weeks a year, still giving The Venetian plenty of room to book those stand-ups at 10 p.m.

The 740-seat venue will get some minor upgrades and change its name from the generic Venetian Showroom to the Sands Showroom, a sign that the Sands legacy no longer embarrasses those who tore down the historic property to build an homage to Venice.

Although Human Nature will have to scrunch onto a smaller stage than it had when it followed "Legends" at the Imperial Palace (now The Quad), the set design by Andy Walmsley - the Las Vegas-based designer of "American Idol" and "America's Got Talent" stages - will include 40 of the 140 panels that made up the impressive video wall for the ill-fated "Surf" last summer.

Producer Adam Steck says the "refreshed" version of the show will use that screen for some creative virtual moments with Smokey Robinson, who is still on board to promote the group with the cachet of his name as a "presenter."

The new edition also will be subtitled "The Motown Show" thanks to a licensing deal from Universal Music. Past advertising danced all around the historic record label's actual name.

Steck still produces Frank Marino's "Divas Las Vegas" at The Quad, and doesn't want to burn any bridges with Caesars Entertainment. But it's no secret that construction in front of that property hindered ticket sales, and that the obstacles went up just as Human Nature built momentum this year with a PBS special and branded tour.

The Quad also aims to pull in a younger, beer-pong crowd, while The Venetian's upscale, convention demographic is closer to the musical appeal of Human Nature. ...

The Grinch is green, not blue. By now it's tradition for the Cirque du Soleil shows on the Strip to raise prices for some ticketing tiers during the holidays. And this year, "Jersey Boys" follows suit with a temporary hike of about $10 on the base price.

But the Blue Man Group - which has about half-new content at the Monte Carlo - is offering locals a two-for-one deal on standard tickets through Jan. 27; use the code "LOCALS" when you order and be prepared to back it up with a Nevada ID. ...

Finally, from the Just Be That Way! department: I like Stephen Sorrentino's attitude as much as I liked his old-school singing-comedy-impressions act, which came and went at the Riviera a full 10 years ago.

"People come to me and say, 'How come you're not on the Strip?' " he says. And his answer? "I don't want to be."

"I didn't want to be the next guy waiting to pay $5,000 a day for a crappy theater," Sorrentino says. "I didn't want to become what this town is, so I moved." Well, he still has a house here. "I just moved my brain."

So Sorrentino does his show on the road at tribal casinos and the like , produces Michael Jackson tributes in Asia and tries to sell reality show pilots.

But those who miss his variety act can see him do it once more at 2 p.m. Sunday at the Starbright Theater, 2215 Thomas Ryan Blvd. A $15 ticket benefits Jerry and Camille Duskin's Gateway Arts Foundation and its scholarships for young performers.

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