Jenna Bush Hager joins the fray ‘Magic Mike Live’
I’m often asked if Channing Tatum performs in “Magic Mike Live” at Hard Rock Hotel.
He does not.
But Friday night, one of George W. Bush’s daughters did wind up in the show.
Jenna Bush Hager and “Today” West Coast anchor Natalie Morales happily joined a number on one of the auxiliary stages in Club Dominia (the onetime Body English nightclub). The number came about halfway through the show when members of the troupe take up instruments and play as a live band.
A drum set descends at the middle of the stage to launch this piece, and Bush Hager, closely tailed by a film crew, grooved with guitarist-dancer Brandon Foster and dancer-pianist Jeremy Denzel Williams. Morales was perched atop that piano, and the two unbilled guest stars smiled and hugged the cast members as the scene went dark. It seemed as if most of the revved-up audience, howling through most of the performance, realized exactly who was onstage. The frivolity is expected to be aired Monday on NBC’s “Today” show.
Tatum, star of the “Magic Mike” films and co-producer of the show, came onstage at the end and repeatedly called out, “I love you all!”
Out of sight in the VIP booth, Tatum was said to have been dancing it up, male revue-style, with his wife, Jenna Dewan Tatum. I have no independent verification of this, but there was a lot of kinetic energy coming out of that area.
KMA auction action
A couple of days ago, I wrote a column detailing some of the more interesting online auction items up for bid at Thursday night’s 21st annual Keep Memory Alive Power of Love gala at MGM Grand. Now those twin towers of musical arts — opera superstar Andrea Bocelli and top EDM performer Steve Aoki — are being heard from.
Joined by his wife, Veronique, Bocelli is donating a private jet flight from Las Vegas to Rome to in the fall to watch him perform with Elton John at the Colosseum. As in, the actual Roman Colosseum, where only 400 guests can attend because of the historic amphitheatre’s decaying condition.
The show is part of a five-day, VIP trip that includes Larry and Camille Ruvo, Reba McEntire and Brooks & Dunn, and famed producer David Foster. Larry Ruvo is hoping to sell the unique VIP package to 20 couples.
Bocelli (who is unable to attend this year’s gala) has also donated a private Las Vegas concert for the highest bidder of the Steinway piano he’s had carved out of a single block of marble.
Aoki, originally scheduled to perform at the event but now unable to attend, , is offering an afternoon at the Aoki Playhouse in Las Vegas. This is as advertised: A giant party enclave, with a plunge pool foam pit and a recording studio known as the Neon Future Cave.
The collective take of these three lots alone should exceed $1 million. Funds raised for the event go to the Cleveland Clinic Lou Ruvo Center for Brain Healthto support its programs and research into diseases including Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, Huntington’s, frontotemporal dementia, multiple system atrophy and multiple sclerosis.
Bidding adieu
A guitar signed with a silver Sharpie pen by country music star Toby Keith sold for $19,000 on Saturday night at the Governor’s Bash at Southern Highlands Golf Course. The event capped the three-day Governor’s Black Tie Invitational. Keith closed the night with a performance in a big tent set up next to the SHGC clubhouse.
The Southern Highlands Charitable Foundation expects this year’s event, which benefited eight Las Vegas charities, to exceed $1 million.
Who Was Where
Former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani having lunch Saturday at Shake Shack at New York-New York … Jackson family patriarch Joe Jackson, Saturday Brio Tuscan Grille at Tivoli Village.
John Katsilometes’ column runs daily in the A section. Contact him at jkatsilometes@reviewjournal.com. Follow @johnnykats on Twitter, @JohnnyKats1 on Instagram.
