Irish revue steps up Strip action

The "Lord of the Dance" has magical powers, but are they strong enough to break the losing streak of an under-performing theater?

Producer Bob Cayne will find out when "Lord of the Dance" returns to the Strip for a limited run June 25 through Aug. 16, as a roommate to magician Steve Wyrick at the Miracle Mile Shops at Planet Hollywood.

The Irish dance revue ran four years at New York-New York, from 1998 to mid-2002, then at The Venetian until July 2003. It was created as a star vehicle for retired dance sensation Michael Flatley, but sustained after he left it.

"The show has become an iconic brand," says Cayne, whose Las Vegas-based Global Entertainment Group oversees both a U.S. and an international company on tour. He compares the name recognition to titles such as "Cats" or "Les Miserables," and says he has never received a complaint about Flatley not performing.

Both casts are dormant this summer, so the troupe of about 36 will be drawn from both companies.

That will be more people onstage than in some audiences for the Wyrick theater's last tenant, Elvis impersonator Trent Carlini. Wyrick has hosted other productions along with his magic show, but none lasted for any tenure.

"Lord of the Dance," however, was able to negotiate for a 7 p.m. time slot, something no previous roommates have enjoyed.

With only 425 seats, "the profit margins are slim," Cayne acknowledges. But he was taken with the theater design, in which the stage is proportionately oversized to the seating area. ...

"Peepshow" starts over again at Planet Hollywood on June 22, with Broadway "Wicked" star Shoshana Bean replacing Spice Girl Mel B. (Melanie Brown) to star alongside former Playboy "Girl Next Door" Holly Madison.

It was no surprise when Kelly Monaco did not stay beyond an initial three-month contract, but Mel B. was a stronger presence in the show and much of it seemed to be designed around her personality.

"We love her, we want her back one day. She's great in the show," producer Scott Zeiger says of Mel B. However, another 12-week run didn't match up with her family schedule.

One celebrity star will be more the norm now that the initial "branding period" is over, Zeiger added. Madison is "a great dancer, extraordinarily beautiful and she's press worthy, for sure," Zeiger says. The less-known Bean is "an amazing talent. She's going to deliver a great performance."...

The Las Vegas Hilton is hosting a press event today with veteran rock band Cheap Trick. Hotel spokesman Ira Sternberg says "it's not just to announce they're playing here" in a typical booking.

The group occasionally performs with orchestras to do the Beatles' "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band" album with guest stars. ...

Earl Turner and Lani Misalucha's "Voices" showcase at the Las Vegas Hilton is expanding its "Bring A Friend" program through Sept. 30. It started with anyone who saw their show invited back for free if a friend buys a ticket. Now it's good with a ticket stub from any show in town.

The offer still amounts to a twofer, since you have to buy a full-priced ticket for "Voices." But it saves a trip to those often-inconvenient discount booths. ...

Tuesday brings a publicity stunt to celebrate the 25th anniversary of Cirque du Soleil. The company will try to get 1,300 or more people up on stilts in front of Bellagio to break a Guinness world record for stilt-walking.

Why stilts?

Cirque grew out of a Canadian street festival in 1982, and many of the stilters in that fest are now Cirque executives: company head Guy Laliberte; Gilles Ste-Croix, who guided the creative process of "Love"; and current director of creation Carmen Ruest, who will helm the Guinness stunt.

Laliberte may have kept his balance on stilts, but his real talent came as "the best fire-breather I've ever seen in my whole life," Ruest says of the billionaire who now plans to board a Russian spacecraft this September. ...

Who's the hardest-working man in show business this June? Well there's impressionist Tom Stevens, who is adding Sunday shows at South Point to his regular schedule at the Riviera. However, he isn't doing both hotels the same day.

On Friday, however, "Defending the Caveman" star Kevin Burke plans to step it up at the Excalibur while Louie Anderson is on vacation, jamming in 33 performances of that play plus his own "Fitz of Laughter" at Fitzgeralds by June 22

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