Nikki Glaser shakes up career in Mirage comedy series
Nikki Glaser has achieved what would seem to be an impossible comic trifecta: Within 12 months she has headlined Life is Beautiful in downtown Las Vegas, Jimmy Kimmel’s Comedy Club at Linq Promenade, and on Sunday in her Aces of Comedy series debut at the Mirage.
Glaser also worked in a club (Kimmel’s) during a genuine Las Vegas Vegas earthquake.
It was the 7.1-magnitude quake on July 6, which hit when Glaser was backstage with fellow comic Emil Wakim. Andrew Collin was onstage. Glaser quickly posted an Instagram story about the event, which played out like a parody of a disaster film.
“Yeah, I was terrified, so I went under the nearest table,” Glaser said in a recent phone chat. “I was the only one to take shelter, and do what you’re supposed to do in an (expletive) earthquake. I’m like, ‘Get under the table!’ And Andrew’s like, ‘Whoo! It’s shaky!’ We’ll never forget that show. It was wild.”
Aside from her current tour, Glaser released released her stand-up special “Bangin’” on Netflix in October. She hosts the podcast” You Up? With Nikki Glaser” on Sirius XM for four hours each weekday morning, which is why her voice is often raspy.
“I talk to much for a living,” she says.
Glaser also recorded her segment on the Netflix comedy series “The Degenerates” last September at Backstage Bar & Billiards on Fremont East. Her debut in the Aces series advances her live act, placing her in a lineup with such established Strip headliners as David Spade and Ray Romano, Ron White, George Lopez, Tim Allen and Daniel Tosh.
“My time in Vegas has been some of my favorite road experiences in a long time,” she said. “I’ve loved it. Afterward the summer, I wrote my agent and said, ‘I need to get back there as soon as possible,’ and this is the next step.”
On the topic of comedy …
Reps of Eddie Murphy are reportedly seeking a top-line Vegas theater when the comedy superstar returns to stand-up in 2021. Let the bidding commence …
Barry’s back
Barry Manilow has resumed his residency at Westgate Las Vegas’ International Theater. His Valentine’s Day show coincided with the release of “Night Songs II,” a follow-up to his 2014 “Night Songs” collection of standards. “My Funny Valentine” is sure to melt any Fanilow’s heart. The release is available on all digital platforms, and soon Westgate’s Manilow gift shop.
Swooping in
Helping to gentrify a downtown Las Vegas historic district might be a lot to ask of a sandwich shop. But the Swoop Building, anchored by an expanded, deli-styled Capriotti’s, bears attention. The new restaurant at Huntridge Shopping Center, 1122 S. Maryland Parkway at Charleston Boulevard, opened Thursday. It is connected to a new Roberto’s Mexican eatery (itself a Vegas institution), and faces the long-closed Huntridge Theater across Maryland Parkway.
Developer J Dapper owns both the midcentury-modern Swoop Building and the stoic Huntridge, which opened in 1944 and closed in 2004 and was host to acts ranging from Ice-T to Porno For Pyros to early-era The Killers. The new businesses are not only giving a needed shine to the neighborhood, but should attract business to a corner most motorists/pedestrians have long ignored.
And for the first time, a Capriotti’s restaurant is offering beer and wine at the new location — expect that option in March. We’ve long hoped for some animation on or near the Huntridge Theater parcel. The new businessesswooping in (sorry) represent a start.
Blues’ Golden moment
Beerhaus at The Park showed support of Jay Bouwmeester of the St. Louis Blues by displaying a sign reading “WE’RE BLUE FOR YOU #PRAYFORJAY” Thursday at the club’s entrance. The message was in reference to Bouwmeester’s collapse on the bench because of a cardiac episode during a game in Anaheim on Tuesday. Bouwmeester had surgery Friday to insert a defibrillator to restore his heart’s normal rhythm.
Blues star David Perron took note of the message and posted “Classy move by this establishment in Vegas on the way to the rink …”
Beerhaus GM Lee Lardner and counter worker Ashley Oddieo — who is also medically trained as a cardiologist assistant — came up with the idea.
Great Moments In Social Media
Last November, attorney Michael Avenatti listed “Ben Affleck, Jane Fonda, Gerald Ford, Pulp Fiction, 24 Hours of Le Mans (c’mon man) Iowa and Michael Avenatti” in a Twitter post. He followed with the “Jeopardy”-styled question, “What are the answers that James Holzhauer didn’t know on Jeopardy?”
Friday, Holzhauer retweeted Avenatti with, “Good news! I learned your name today!” Avenatti’s conviction of extortion has sent him into a new category.
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.