Las Vegas headliner Shania Twain to be named Woman of the Year
Man, she feels like a winner.
Shania Twain is joining a list of regal Las Vegas women as her “Let’s Go” residency opens at Planet Hollywood.
Twain is to be the next Nevada Ballet Theatre Woman of the Year, the honoree at the annual NBT Black & White Ball on Jan. 25 at Caesars Palace. Twain opens her series at Zappos Theater on Dec. 6.
The superstar recording artist, who has sold more than 100 million records worldwide, is the top-selling female country solo artist ever. She tapped into her own lyrics to express her gratitude.
“I would like to thank NBT for having an award that acknowledges women’s achievements,” she said in a statement Friday. “Ballet is such a formidable discipline and I am honored to be recognized as a patron of this art. Let’s go girls!”
For the uninitiated, that’s the spoken opening line of “Man! I Feel Like a Woman.” It’s one of the hits to be performed during Twain’s run at Planet Hollywood. We also can expect such well-known songs as “You’re Still The One,” “From This Moment On,” “That Don’t Impress Me Much,” and “Come On Over.”
Twain joins an iconic collection of women who have been honored by NBT over the past 36 years, including Debbie Reynolds, Rita Rudner, Celine Dion, Marie Osmond, Bette Midler, Mitzi Gaynor, Florence Henderson, Debbie Allen, Olivia Newton-John, Vanessa Williams, Giada De Laurentiis and, last year, Rita Moreno.
“Shania Twain is a human being of great strength, courage and resilience,” NBT co-founder and co-chair Nancy Houssels said in a statement. “Her unending talent has raised entertainment to new heights and her devotion to children who are suffering is beyond admirable. She is not just a Woman of the Year, she is a Woman of the Century.”
Twain is set to perform 23 shows through June and has an extensive performance history in Las Vegas as headliner at the Colosseum at Caesars Palace for 105 performances from 2012 to 2014. She was in attendance at Celine Dion’s finale at Caesars on June 8, and had previously scouted Zappos Theater this spring during Gwen Stefani’s headlining show.
Nine years ago, Twain founded the Shania Kids Can, a nonprofit that provides services for schoolchildren in North America who are experiencing economic hardship and food insecurity. Since 2013, the nonprofit has operated at both elementary and middle schools in Las Vegas, and the program will be offered at French Elementary School this school year.
As the next Woman of the Year says, “By creating a positive cycle for students and providing extra support, we’re giving them a better chance at personal success in the future.”
‘Potter’ in 2020
“Potted Potter” the unauthorized little farce that could, has been extended through Jan. 5 at Windows Showroom at Bally’s. The show celebrated its 100th performance last week.
“Potted Potter” takes on all seven “Harry Potter” books in 70 minutes. It is as frenetic as it sounds; in the show I caught, kids and grown-ups were laughing throughout. To this scribe, that means it’s funny.
Originators Dan Clarkson and Jefferson Turner opened the show June 4 and played the two roles through June 23. Currently, James Percy and Joseph Maudsley co-star. The show runs 8 p.m. Mondays through Sundays at the second-level showroom.
Sleight-of-screening
If you missed a shot at seeing “The Amazing Johnathan Documentary” screening in Las Vegas, you are not alone. The film’s screening at Galaxy Theatres at Boulevard Mall was announced at about noon Thursday. It was held at 8 p.m. that night.
A.J.’s wife, Anastasia Synn, said she wanted more notice, but the couple were not told of the theater’s availability until the day of the screening. There will be no other formal screenings.
The project chronicles first-time documentatian Ben Berman’s wild ride as he tracks A.J.’s final performances after disclosing his fatal heart diagnosis in 2014. A word of advice to anyone who wants to watch the film, which premiered Aug. 16 on Hulu: Don’t research the movie on IMDB or anywhere else. You are likely to run into a crucial plot point and spoil the experience. Seriously. Wade in blind.
He knocks around
Longtime column fave Frank Caliendo is a highlight of the “Hard Knocks” HBO docu-series about the Raiders. Caliendo’s send-up of Jon Gruden is, of course, terrific. “I gotta stop (expletive) cussin’, man!” Caliendo-as-Gruden says, with the real coach sitting nearby and laughing … “I’m gonna yell for no (expletive) reason!”
Caliendo headlined a show at Monte Carlo years ago and still pops into VegasVille for weekend gigs. He’s at Aliante’s Access showroom at 9 p.m. Oct. 18. We need more of him here, and also on the HBO show. Maybe let him call plays.
f
— Lady Gaga (@ladygaga) August 25, 2019
Great Moments in Social Media
Park Theater headliner Lady Gaga tweeted a lowercase “f” and nothing else Saturday, (f)or no apparent reason.
Probably a purse dial. At this writing, the post is still up.
Cool Hang Alert
David Perrico is always a CHA contender, and an inspiration for this entry. His Pop 40 and Pop Strings continue to rattle glasses at Cleopatra’s Barge at Caesars Palace from 10 p.m. to midnight Fridays and Saturdays. Pop Retro is moving to Interlude Lounge at the Cromwell from 8 p.m. to 10 p.m. Sept. 3. Pop 40 also plays Cabaret lounge at Paris Las Vegas on Mondays from 9 p.m. to 1 a.m. No cover charge, no tracks ever (and you know who you are). Buy drinks or FizzyWater and be one with the Hang.
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.
