Brad Garrett’s Super Bowl ad is a lotta baloney

The Brad Garrett Comedy Club sits just a couple of foot-long subs from a sandwich shop at MGM Grand.

It’s Subway. But forget that for a moment.

Garrett is pitching Jimmy John’s in a new commercial set to air nationally during the Super Bowl. Garrett stars as Tony Bolognavich, “The King of Cold Cuts,” whose business is undercut (pun intended) by Jimmy John’s sandwiches. Garrett shot the scenes in January in Los Angeles.

The campaign originally was meant for regional broadcast. But as reported by the media trade pub Adage, Jimmy John’s officials liked the 30-second clip so much they invested in a Super Bowl buy. That’s about $5.5 million for a half-minute of airtime.

The “Meet the King” storyline has Garrett as a kingpin for an unnamed sandwich company. The comic actor mocks Jimmy John’s, calling the company “Jimmy’s John’s,” and says his ingredients are just fine. “I got turkey, and ham, made by science,” Garrett says, using air quotes as he describes the meat products.

Down the hall, Subway (which is an NFL sponsor) has no plans to air a Super Bowl ad.

Garrett is not scheduled to perform at his club, not until the 50-person capacity restriction is expanded. He has been running two shows Thursdays through Saturdays, and one on Sunday. Paul Ogata is headlining this weekend.

Laugh is a factory

On the topic of comedy clubs, Harry Basil checks in that he is returning midnight shows to Laugh Factory at the Tropicana on Fridays and Saturdays. The new schedule starts this week, with John Caponera headlining this weekend. Basil also plans a midnight show Valentine’s Day, hosted by none other than the aforementioned Ogata.

Rockie’s release

Longtime column fave Rockie Brown is out with her latest single, “Last Laugh,” a collab with hip-hop artist Futuristic. The song sizzles, as expected. Brown commits, every dang time. Find it on Spotify and other major streaming platforms.

“Last Laugh” follows Brown’s 2020 single, “Soul Sister Retribution,” which exceeded 1 million streams. The song’s video featured several top female Las Vegas artists.

Brown’s latest album, “Mad World,” dropped in 2019.

Brown, a longtime Vegas performer, also has signed a series of sync deals for her music to be in the background of E! Entertainment’s “Keeping Up with the Kardashians,” “Total Divas,” and “Total Bellas;” A&E’s “Born This Way;” MTV’s “The Real World,” and “Lohan Beach Club;” TLC’s “The Healer;” USA Network’s “Miz & Mrs.;” OWN Network’s “Family or Fiancé;” and also for Discovery, TLC and NASCAR international.

We’ve also known Brown over the years from gigs at Sand Dollar Lounge, Mandarin Oriental (now the Waldorf), Tuscany Suites, Hard Rock Cafe and some other haunts I’m likely forgetting. She and partner/producer Jason Tanzer effectively break the boundaries.

Cocktails!

“The Cocktail Cabaret” is back onstage for the first time since the show’s tour of Florida in February of 2020. The show plays the vaunted Italian American Club on March 7, two performances, with dinner. Dinner seatings are 3 p.m. and 6:30 p.m. Performances are 4:30 p.m. and 8 p.m., with tickets set at $65 and $75. Contact the IAC at 702-457-3866 for details.

Returning to the show are Niki Scalera (“Hairspray,” “Tarzan,” “Footloose”), Eric Jordan Young (“Rock of Ages,” “Vegas! The Show,” “Ragtime,” “Chicago,” “Seussical the Musical,” “Look of Love,” “Dreamgirls”), Maren Wade (“America’s Got Talent,” “Confessions of a Showgirl,” “Pin Up,” “50 Shades! The Parody”) with a special guest appearance by newcomer James D. Gish (“Les Miserables,” “Beautiful, the Carol King Musical”).

Keith Thompson and Philip Fortenberry co-produce the cabaret-fashioned “Cabaret” showcase. Fortenberry also is music director and the man at the piano. Column faves abound further, with drummer Mark Pardy (“The Lion King”), bassist Josh Jones (“Million Dollar Quartet”) and saxophonist Eric Tewalt (Celine Dion and Santa Fe & The Fat City Horns).

Approach the bench

A show we miss, “Jersey Boys” at Palazzo and Paris Las Vegas, has produced an attorney. Graham Fenton has graduated from the UCLA School of Law, and took his oath to be legally recognized as an officer of the court on Jan. 16. Fenton posted a couple of righteous photos of himself with his wife, ex-“Steve Wynn’s Showstoppers” vocalist Nicole Kaplan Fenton, just after he took the oath in Century City, California, just outside the offices of his new firm, the famed Greenberg Glusker. This is where iconic attorney Bert Fields has continued to work in the office throughout COVID.

“I’m more efficient in the office,” Fields, 91, told The Hollywood Reporter.

Fenton posted about his decision on Facebook, writing: “I had just finished my years-long run with ‘Jersey Boys’ and was at a crossroads: continue along the path toward a middling career built on decent though unremarkable talent, or hang a hard left toward a career that might match the other skills in my set, with the significant benefit of not having to live with the constant, inevitable risk of unemployment. I always hated auditioning almost as much as I hated uncertainty, which was dwarfed by my hatred of being away from my wife.

“To me, the cons clearly outweighed the pros, so off to law school I goes (sorry, had to).”

Good time for a rhyme.

Anyway, we remember those days about five years ago, as Fenton was leaving the show and seeking advice from a famous Las Vegas attorney. Guy by the name of Oscar Goodman. They hit it off. And in an odd turn of events, Goodman is working on a biographical Broadway musical about his own life. Fenton could play the lead, but is probably busy. And court is adjourned.

John Katsilometes’ column runs daily in the A section. His “PodKats!” podcast can be found at reviewjournal.com/podcasts. Contact him at jkatsilometes@reviewjournal.com. Follow @johnnykats on Twitter, @JohnnyKats1 on Instagram.