Palms’ Brenden Theatres reopening along with resort
The Palms is reopening this month. That means its movie fortress is also firing up again.
Brenden Theatres is returning to business April 29, two days after the resort’s formal relaunch. New amenities are in place, including a new lobby and lounge, bar, hallways lined with graffiti art, and the theater’s IMAX experience with luxury, reclining seats.
“I know a lot of people who have been waiting for this,” Johnny Brenden, owner and operator of Brenden Theatres, said in a statement. “I talk to customers all the time who drive here from other parts of town because they know this is the best place to see movies, the way the people who made the movies meant for them to be seen”
The cluster of theaters will be open in time for highly anticipated summer releases “Top Gun Maverick,” “Thor” and “Doctor Strange,” among other feature films.
Brenden also plans special events for Las Vegas-based organizations. The company supports Boys and Girls Club of Southern Nevada and Candlelighters for Childhood Cancer of Southern Nevada, among other charitable causes.
“We have the advantage of truly being part of the community because we are independently owned and operated,” Brenden said. “That’s a huge part of who we are.”
The Pearl waits
No formal word, yet, on operational plans for Pearl Concert Theater. But we have every reason to believe the venue will again be booked by Live Nation, the venue’s partner in the days Station Casinos owned the hotel. Billy Idol, Styx, Lady A, Alanis Morissette and Blondie were among the headliners who rocked the Pearl, pre-pandemic.
Discovery mission
Zak Bagans is extending his afterlife on Discovery+.
Bagans checked in Thursday to report that he has extended his partnership with the streaming platform for three years. The proprietor of Zak Bagans’ Haunted Museum in Las Vegas will continue to host “Ghost Adventures” on the service, and also “The Haunted Museum” series with filmmaker and actor Eli Roth, among other projects in development.
“I’m thrilled to continue my relationship with Discovery+, and in addition to Ghost Adventures, to develop exciting new projects in the paranormal and horror genres,” Bagans said Thursday afternoon. His new commitment runs through 2025.
The new agreement also calls for Bagans to produce and star in more than 100 hours of new material for Discovery+ companies. Bagans became a cable-TV phenomenon when his series debuted on Travel Channel in 2008. The series moved to discovery+ in January 2021. “GA” has consistently appeared in the top five of the service’s trending section ever since.
Bublé-BTS connection
Michael Bublé hadn’t realized it until this week, but one of his albums pops up in the BTS “Tiny Desk Concert” video.
In the clip, BTS member V (real name Kim Tae-hyung), who is a jazz fan, is shown singing into an orange microphone during “Dynamite” while seated in front of a collection of albums at a record store. He is just in front Bublé’s section, with the 2018 album “Love” in clear view.
Bublé, who opens at the Theatre at Resorts World on April 27, hosted a Twitter Q&A on Monday. A fan asked if the Canadian recording star liked K-Pop, specifically BTS, and mentioned the “Tiny Desk” segment.
“I don’t know enough, but I’m definitely open to it, I love all kinds of music,” Bublé responded. “I didn’t know that there was a previous album that appears in their ‘Tiny Desk’ video, but now that I know that I’ll definitely reach out.”
Vax acts
Heads up, music fans. Lady Gaga and The Killers are both requiring proof of COVID vaccination or a negative COVID test within 72 hours of showtime for their performances on the Strip. Gaga’s “Jazz + Piano” residency production is back at Dolby Live at Park MGM. The Killers are playing the Chelsea at the Cosmopolitan on Friday, Saturday and Sunday.
‘VTS’ returns
“Vegas! The Show” was, along with “Zombie Burlesque,” the final show to perform on the Strip prior the state-enforced COVID shutdown on March 17, 2020. The steeped-in-Vegas variety show is finally back on May 4, at Saxe Theater at Miracle Mile Shops at Planet Hollywood. “VTS,” as it is known in shorthand, opened in 2010 and has been the conrnerstone of the Saxe Productions roster.
Down the promenade at V Theater, Enoch Augustus Scott’s “Tiger King” parody is also being moved to the first week of May. The working title is “Tiger Joe: The Vegas Show.” Scott, the emcee of “Zombie Burlesque,” plays the lead role of Joe Exotic. Penny Wiggins portrays Carole Baskin, the performer known as The Shocker (Greg Dow) as Doc Antle, and John DiDomenico as Donald Trump in video cut-ins.
A four-member dance squad, has been cast, too. Scott and producer David Saxe are both very high on the “Tiger King” concept. It’s just a matter if enough ticket-buyers will respond to the Netflix series, which was a pandemic sensation in 2020.
Cool Hang Alert
The Italian songstress and great show woman Giada Valenti is back at Myron’s at the Smith Center at 7 p.m. Wednesday. “A night of Romance & Fun” is the title, and also Valenti’s mantra. We are reminded that Valenti has appeared twice at Carnegie Hall, in 2018-2019, and has appeared with Andrea Bocelli for a concert for his charitable foundation, also in 2019. Tickets are $39-$59 (not including fees), info at thesmithcenter.com.
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.