Lady Gaga announces fall dates for Strip performances
Lady Gaga says when she was originally negotiating to perform on the Strip, she had to convince MGM Resorts International officials to approve a jazz show to go along with her pop show at Park MGM
The jazz show is now the only show she’s confirmed to perform at the venue.
Gaga’s is returning her “Jazz + Piano” passion project to the now-Dolby Live for a dozen dates this year. The shows run Aug. 31; Sept. 2-3, 6-7, 9-10, 28, 30; and Oct. 1, 4-5. Tickets go on sale to the general public at 10 a.m. Friday.
A limited number of on-stage seats also will be available. Tickets can be purchased at Ticketmaster.com or GagaVegas.com.
Featuring members of Santa Fe & The Fat City Horns in the orchestra, “Jazz + Piano” is where Tony Bennett made his final Las Vegas appearance, in June 2019.
The announcement arrives as Gaga broke her silence about the death of her legendary friend and collaborator, posting on Instagram, “I will miss my friend forever. I will miss singing with him, recording with him, talking with him, being on stage together.”
The deal to bring Gaga back this year reportedly happened over the past month. As recently as June, it seemed unlikely she would be back until ’24.
Expect Gaga’s longtime friend and bandleader Brian Newman’s “After Dark” to return to the Strip during this run, at the intimate NoMad Library adjacent to the 5,200-seat Dolby Live. His shows begin at about 11:30 p.m. in the venue Gaga referred to as “the library,” a name that stuck and was adopted formally.
The status of Gaga’s pop show, “Enigma,” is far less certain. She might still star in a pop show in ’24, but not necessarily “Enigma.” She toured “The Chromatica Ball” from September through July. The two shows have been presented as a single, two-pronged residency, though Gaga has not performed “Enigma” since December 2019, not returning after the pandemic shutdown.
Gaga most recently appeared at the theater in May 2022, a show remarkable as Tom Cruise and now-Strip headliner Kylie Minogue visited Dolby Live. The show is a mix of Gaga’s hits and jazz standards from such legends as Frank Sinatra, Dinah Washington and Sarah Vaughn. The show also blazes with such rearranged Gaga staples as “Paparazzi” and “Poker Face.”
Haus of Gaga, the 1,600-square-foot display space next to Dolby Live, remains open to the public.
Iconic items displayed include the custom bodysuit Gaga wore during her performance of “Paparazzi” at the 2009 MTV Video Music Awards, the Versace gown worn to an inaugural ball for President Obama in 2013, the custom Alexander McQueen lace gown worn in the Alejandro music video and the cigarette glasses from her 2009 “Telephone” video.
Gaga is also busy as a film actress. She is starring opposite Joaquin Phoenix in the second installment of “The Joker” in 2024.
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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.
