Ex-Las Vegas mayor Oscar Goodman has a musical in the making

Oscar Goodman has always been the star of his own show.

The three-term mayor of Las Vegas and storied mob lawyer is bringing his story to the stage in a musical titled “Goodman: An American Musical.” An invitation-only reading for the production is set for Aug. 19-20 at the Daryl Roth Theatre in New York City.

Goodman declined comment Friday morning when asked about the upcoming showcase of the project. As a coincidence, just as invitations to the reading were being mailed out, he and Mayor Carolyn Goodman were burglarized at their Las Vegas home on Wednesday afternoon. Other than to say he and the mayor are OK, he had nothing to add to that event either.

Goodman was honored on July 18 with an 80-martini toast on Fremont Street for his 80th birthday, which was July 26.

“Goodman” is being produced by Broadway heavyweight Kevin McCollum, a Tony Award winner for best musical for “Rent,” “In the Heights” and “Avenue Q.” He brought the latter title to Encore Theater on the Las Vegas Strip for a short-lived run, which ended in May 2006 after nine months. Doug Sills (“The Scarlet Pimpernel, “Little Shop of Horrors”) and Mamie Parris (“School of Rock,” “Wicked,” “Cats”) are in the lead roles.

Lyricist David Goldsmith (“A Christmas Carol” animated film voiced by Tim Curry and Whoopi Goldberg; “The Secret of Mulan”; and “Motown: The Musical” among his credits) and director Richard Israel (“Avenue Q,” “Violet,” “West Side Story” and “Floyd Collins”) also are working on the project.

Goodman took part in an initial reading of the story three years ago in New York. At the time, “Goodman” was a straight play with no music. The latest “Goodman” is to be a full-scale musical, charting Goodman’s days as an attorney — representing such mob figures as Meyer Lansky, Herbie Blitztein and Tony Spilotro — through his three terms in office.

The next step for “Goodman” would be a showcase run at a regional theater, possibly The Smith Center for the Performing Arts in Las Vegas. Smith Center president Myron Martin is attending the reading in New York.

Goodman has said being depicted in a Broadway show is “a lifelong dream.”

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.