Janet Jackson delivers hits, and more, in Las Vegas Strip opening — PHOTOS

Janet Jackson can steer her Strip production show in so many directions.

The pop superstar could be a voyage down memory lane, laden with video and anecdotes dating to her days on the hit ’70s sitcom “Good Times” and her stage debut, with her brothers at the old MGM Grand, in the early 1970s.

She could crank out a chronological greatest-hits experience, the “Control” and “Rhythm Nation” era with highlights of her iconic videos rolling in the background. Some storytelling about her time growing up in Gary, Indiana, and her enduring career in a legendary American entertainment family.

None of that in her show at Resorts World Theatre. Aside from a late-in-the-party sample of “Scream” with her late brother Michael, there is little indication of Jackson’s famous familial ties. And hits, the “must” songs in a Janet Jackson show, are tucked into the second half and spill forth through the balance of the show.

Brazen, and also brilliant

It’s a bold move and a confident show. Jackson winds through the early segment, an exercise (similar to my golf game) of hitting all over the course. Her hard-core fans will appreciate the dusting off of the title song from “The Velvet Rope” for the first time in live performance since 1999, and reviving “I Want You” for the first time in 20 years, and “Twenty Foreplay” for the first time since 2017.

But many fans, especially a crowd of Strip tourists seeking the classics, take an escapade before enjoying the song, deep in the set list. That song is paired with insistent, dance-provoking “Better Days,” a crowd-pleaser and among the night’s many highlights.

“What Have You Done for Me Lately,” “Nasty” and “Pleasure Principle” are also strung together. Jackson’s team asks that the crowd put their phones away and put the drinks down. That directive is no match for the image-capturing, theater crowd during this particular stretch.

A nearly six-year break

In her second Strip residency, following a run at Dolby Live opened in 2019, Jackson performs through Friday and Saturday, returning Feb. 5-15.

The 58-year-old headliner still commands the stage. Similar to “Metamorphosis” at Dolby Live, Jackson’s choreography — and that of her backing troupe — is tight, fun and aggressive. She alternately grins and glares as she struts across the stage. Those who have been wowed by her videos over the decades will not be disappointed.

Jackson sports a dash of flash, of course. Highlighted costumes included a shimmering gold bodysuit that brought to mind an Oscar statue come to life. A cobalt-blue-checked, rhinestone-encrusted number is especially fantastic, as if a designer grabbed a suit from Stitched and directed, “Make a bedazzled, Janet Jackson version of this.”

The closing message

Starting modestly with just her backing band and dancers, Jackson summoned the pyrotechnics (in winding cylinders, flanking the stage) for “Black Cat” and “Rhythm Nation.” The show could have closed there, with the audience roaring.

But Jackson landed with 2001’s “Better Days,” which closed “All For You,” and a song the superstar once was “untying the knots that were choking me.”

She sang, “The blindfold’s off my eyes, and now all I see for me is better days.” It is the right way for this generational figure to close out a year, and start a new one.

Your VegasVille Moment

Katherine Jackson, the 94-year-old mother of all the famous Jacksons, was in the theater at least for the show’s early section. The keen eye of our friends at Vegas Revealed spotted Jackson in her wheelchair near the back of the orchestra section, house right (or, stage left for those who face the audience).

This marks the second time I’ve been in the same room as a Jackson parent in Las Vegas. In 2008, I ran into the late Joe Jackson at a Yellow Brick Road show at Rocks Lounge at Red Rock Resort. I introduced myself. He asked who was the band, and I gave him a 22-second bio. We hung for two songs, then he nodded at me and left.

All that Jacko

The Jackson legacy lives on healthily in Las Vegas. Cirque’s recently revamped “Michael Jackson One” at Mandalay Bay is the predominant Jackson tribute worldwide. Producer Dick Feeney’s venerable concert show “MJ Live” has been toggling with Donny Osmond at Harrah’s Showroom since November. Dean Coleman’s chronological, biographical stage production “MJ The Evolution” is reportedly working a deal at Orleans Showroom. In regards to the Jackson legacy (and this is the last pun of the year), we don’t stop ‘til we get enough.

Cool Hang Alert

Vegas institution the Lon Bronson Band plays Myron’s at The Smith Center at 7 p.m. Saturday. We forecast a sellout, common for Bronson since his band opened at then-Cabaret Jazz in 2013. But keep checking thesmithcenterlv.com for updates. Bronson’s next show at Myron’s is Feb. 28.

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.