Ex-network TV star brings one-woman show to Las Vegas

You know how it is when you live in Las Vegas for a summer. Your sons learn to swim at a Strip resort pool. You learn to deal blackjack in your hotel suite.

This was Marilu Henner’s world, or a scene from it, when she took on the role of Roxie Hart in “Chicago” at Mandalay Bay in the summer of 1999. The show opened the hotel in the venue that today is home to “Michael Jackson One.”

“When they asked me to come to Vegas, I said, ‘Oh, I have two little boys, this is so Sin City, blah, blah, blah,’” says Henner, headlining her “Music & Memories” show at Myron’s at The Smith Center at 6 p.m. and 8:30 p.m. Saturday. “Then my agent called and said, ‘They made you an offer you can’t refuse.’ My boys were 3 1/2 and 5 at the time, we came to Vegas, and they loved it so much.”

Those boys, Nick and Joey, learned to swim at the residence the production had rented for Henner, and also at Mandalay Bay Beach pool. They earned their yellow belts in karate and generally had a fabulous Las Vegas experience.

“They had to rip us, kicking and screaming, from Vegas,” Henner says. “But gosh, we had a good time.”

Those boys are now grown up and prospering in the entertainment industry. “Nick wrote, directed and helped edit the film ‘Theater Camp,’ which won an award at Sundance last year,” Henner says. “And Joey’s working for NBC on the Olympics, with videos and stuff like that. He’s very sporty and very math-y, very funny. We’ve all had great, big lives since Las Vegas.”

And before, in Henner’s case, as a cast member in the still-revered sitcom “Taxi,” which ran from 1978-‘83, first on ABC and then NBC. Henner played divorced mother of two Elaine Nardo in the series, which won 18 Emmy Awards, including Best Comedy Series from 1979-‘81.

Nardo says the cast remains in contact. Just last week she had lunch with Judd Hirsch, who played lead character Alex Reiger.

“He was in town and we were trying to figure out a place to have lunch, and just said, ‘Let’s go to the commissary at Paramount,’” Henner says. “So we did, and walked around the lot and we saw our old stage. It was so much fun. Our group never stopped talking, hanging out, having a good time. It’s endless.”

Henner is performing a music/comedy show at Myron’s. She played the Hart role on Broadway opposite Joel Gray prior to jumping into the Vegas cast. In a remarkable coincidence, the touring version of “Chicago” is playing Reynolds Hall, next door to Myron’s, while Henner is in town. Smith Center President Myron Martin (the “Myron” of Myron’s) is trying to set up a meet between Henner and the cast.

Henner was also in the touring company of “Grease” opposite John Travolta before she ever starred on TV.

Henner also possesses superior autobiographical memory ability. That means she can remember almost every day of her life since age 11 (Henner quickly recalled our chat from 1999, just before she opened in “Chicago”). During her stage show she often picks out a random date — such as audience members’ birthdates — and tells the audience what happened that day, what was popular, what the news was at the time.

The capacity to recall all days of a life can be an uneven experience. Asked what that is like, Henner says, “I sing a song about it in my show. My brother (Lorin) wrote all these great lyrics, because I thought, ‘I have to explain it to people, because I’m going to use it kind of as a thread. And how do I do that?’ So he wrote these brilliant lyrics to say it all.”

Henner will otherwise sing through “a musical journey of my life” and recount favorite memories of the city in which she is headlining. In Las Vegas, she was cast in a TV movie called “Stark.” Henner played a showgirl pulling double duty as a showgirl-turned-blackjack dealer.

“They put me in blackjack school, and I got to the point where I could actually work a table,” Henner says. “They put a table in my hotel room. I had a coach. I got to practice shuffling, dealing. The whole thing was really fun.”

That game played out at the Dunes, since imploded. But for Henner, it’s still a vivid memory.

Cool Hang Alert

“Darling Mr. London” is running at Las Vegas Little Theatre through Feb. 4. The production opened this weekend. The story is of mild-mannered Edward London who works at a phone company along with his brother-in-law/supervisor. Edward flirts with female operators from all over the world. These conversations lead to four glamorous females traveling to London (the city) for a beauty pageant and also to meet Edward in-person. Hi-jinks ensue. The next performance is at 8 p.m. Saturday. Check LVLT.org for all show times.

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 X, @JohnnyKats1 on Instagram.