Mario and Courtney Lopez party sky-high at Palms in Las Vegas
The Kats! Bureau at this writing is Palazzo Theatre, at the eighth annual NF Hope Concert. Former “Jersey Boys” cast member Jeff Leibow and his wife, Melody, host the all-star show to fight neurofibromatosis, a condition with which the couple’s daughter, Emma, was born.
The performers include All-4-One, Human Nature, Clint Holmes, MO5AIC, Jasmine Trias, The Bronx Wanderers, the cast of “The Cocktail Cabaret,” Ava Della Pietra (from the musical “School of Rock”), Nicole Pryor (“Phantom of the Opera”) with the Las Vegas Academy choir.
The level of fellowship around the theater is palpable — palpable, I tell you! The guys from Human Nature met one of their inspirations, All-4-One, just off the red carpet. They immediately gathered for a photo until realizing they were under the sign reading RESTROOMS. Someone, or maybe everyone, called out, “Wait, let’s move!” Not a good optic.
Classic meeting action ... @HumanNatureLive @All4OneMusic @NFHopeConcert pic.twitter.com/i31KqKPv0j
— John Katsilometes (@johnnykats) October 21, 2018
Lopez action at Apex
Who was feted with a Los Angeles Dodgers birthday cake at a nightclub high above VegasVille? If you said Mario Lopez, you would only be half right. Lopez and his wife, Courtney, hung at 55th-floor Apex Social Club at the Palms on Friday night. He’s 45; she’s 36.
The party arrived a night after Mario helped helm Britney Spears’ appearance at Toshiba Plaza to officially announce her “Domination” residency at Park Theater.
The Lopezes were delivered their Dodgers cake amid the requisite pyrotechnics (sparklers, specifically) and join a list of Apex birthday celebrants that includes Matt Goss, Emily Ratajkowski, Tinashe, Ne-Yo, Scott Disick, Travis Barker, Rick Ross, Serayah, Ajiona Alexus, Scheana Shay and Blake Griffin.
What works in Vegas …
Been a moment since I’ve posted under that header, but Andrew Dice Clay sold out all of his shows at Laugh Factory at Tropicana on Oct. 12-14. Acting alongside Lady Gaga in “A Star is Born,” a critical and box-office hit, helps the sales. But Dice routinely fills that room.
So very Perry
Venerable Jane’s Addiction vocalist Perry Farrell is set to release his first solo album in more than 18 years, “Kind Heaven.” The upcoming album is scheduled to be released at the opening of Kind Heaven, the $90 million entertainment fortress at The Linq Hotel. Farrell is a creator and partner in the project.
“Kind Heaven” is the highly anticipated follow-up to Farrell’s “Song Yet To Be Sung” 2001 solo album.
A Sinatra at the Copa
The Copa Room at Bootlegger Italian Bistro is been striving to achieve the look and feel of old Vegas and has booked a singer with classic roots: AJ Lambert, Frank Sinatra’s granddaughter, is headlining the live-performance space Saturday. Doors at 5 p.m., show at 5:30.
Lambert, who performed at The Space in 2017, is covering her granddad’s great albums “In The Wee Small Hours” in Act 1 and “Frank Sinatra Sings for Only the Lonely” in Act 2.
Venue owner Lorraine Hunt-Bono’s son Ronnie Mancuso has helped reinvent the elegant space with dark drapes, new lighting and a robust sound system. The room is best known as the home of Santa Fe & The Fat City Horns on Mondays and also has brought in the tribute band Bee Gees Gold.
“Our family and the Sinatra family have a long history of food, music and Las Vegas,” Hunt-Bono says. “I grew up hanging out with my high school friend Carol Entratter, whose dad, Jack Entratter, produced Frank’s shows at the Sands, and Frank frequented our family’s restaurants.”
Tickets cost $20-$40, with seven-seat VIP booths for $230, available at Bootlegger Bistro from 11 a.m.-11 p.m. (for information, e-mail info@bootleggervegas.com). Hors d’oeuvres will be passed between sets, and a post-show hang with Lambert is also offered. A portion of the ticket sales will be donated to the Las Vegas Jazz Society.
New room at Alexis Park
Pete Housley’s Admit VIP production company is expanding to Alexis Park. Indeed, there will be live entertainment at that nongaming property on Harmon Avenue, across from Hard Rock Hotel. The Pegasus Showroom, a 150-200 seat theater, will start with two new shows (one music, one magic) in November.
Housley is attempting to fill the void for independent production shows that can’t break into existing venues operated by resort companies. Adventurous in its booking strategies, Admit VIP has the keys to Night Own Showroom at Hooters, where Gordie Brown headlines and such shows as “The Hilarious 7” (seven comics in seven minutes), “Little Miss Nasty,” “Motown Extreme” and “Peti & Taller: The Hooligans of Magic” are in rotation.
‘Marilyn — A New Schedule’
Tickets have been taken off the Caesars Entertainment and Ticketmaster sites for “Marilyn! The New Musical,” which was scheduled to return to Paris Theater on Nov 9. The show has not rescheduled its new opening date, but don’t expect it to be back before the end of February.
The production is also not formally committed to Paris Las Vegas. It could conceivably wind up at any Caesars Entertainment Corp. hotel. More announcements are expected about the production that opened May 12 and performed a total of 23 shows (including previews) before closing June 18. The original return date was announced as Sept. 4, then Nov. 9.
LaBove’s midnight madness
Column fave Carl LaBove has sauntered from Windows showroom at Bally’s to the midnight Fridays and Saturdays slot at Laugh Factory.
Hang on. Wrong time. Showtimes are 11:59 p.m.
But get to LaBove, and see every minute. His impression of staggering Vegas tourists is worth the trip.
Cool Hang Alert
Jump Interactive at Indigo at Bally’s. Justin Michael Rodriguez and Paige Strafella head up this unique act and concept. The band races through Top-40, Latin and oldies hits, while posting videos of the show on Facebook Live (I found myself in one of these, in full groove, a few weeks ago). The shows are from 10 p.m.-2 a.m. Fridays and Saturdays. “Come be the show,” they say, and there is no cover charge.
The Review-Journal is owned by the family of Las Vegas Sands Corp. Chairman and CEO Sheldon Adelson. Las Vegas Sands operates The Venetian/Palazzo/Sands Expo & Convention Center.
John Katsilometes’ column runs daily in the A section. Contact him at jkatsilometes@reviewjournal.com. Follow @johnnykats on Twitter, @JohnnyKats1 on Instagram.
