Special agent tells Strip revue to hold its horses
On Wednesday afternoon on the Las Vegas Strip, a troupe of male dancers stripped to their skivvies while wearing plexiglass masks.
Then things got weird.
A rehearsal by the adult revue “Aussie Heat” had just finished at Mosaic on the Strip when a gentleman arrived at the bar, wearing a face cover and flashing a real-looking badge.
I thought he might be part of the “Aussie Heat” act. But no.
His name was Drew Renter, a special agent with the Clark County Business License Enforcement Unit. He was there to inform venue operator Dean Coleman of SRP & Productions that he needed proper licensing to stage entertainment at the venue.
Mosaic was prepping the “Aussie Heat” adult revue premiere Wednesday night as part of the venue’s reopening for live entertainment. Also on the horizon are “Piano Men: A Tribute to Billy Joel and Elton John” starring Kyle Martin, set for July 28; “A Mob Story,” late of the Plaza and tentatively targeted for August; and “MJ The Evolution,” which has bounced around from this weekend likely to January.
All of those shows are now on indefinite hold.
As Renter told Coleman, “You need to be cleared to have events here,” adding that Coleman needed to look up the closed-event description of the state’s Phase Two protocols. That directive states that only live entertainment events staged as digital streams, with no audience, are permitted in Phase Two.
On Thursday, Clark County officials met again with Coleman at the venue. The result is Coleman is holding his business license, and his liquor license, intact at the venue. But he is not permitted to present live entertainment.
A Clark County spokesman issued the following statement.
“Businesses that provide live performances with spectators, such as shows and concerts, are not allowed to be open under the governor’s directive for Nevada’s Phase 2 reopening. We have advised the business of the statewide restriction and they have said they intend to comply. Businesses that do not comply with the governor’s orders may be fined or have their business license suspended.”
After Thursday’s meeting, Coleman said he took full responsibility for the “miscommunication” in interpreting the Phase Two reopening directives.
“I’m trying to stay within the directive,” Coleman said. “I’m just confused, but the positive development is I’m now dealing directly with the county on this.”
Many venues on the Strip — which is in unincorporated Clark County — and in the city of Las Vegas have been allowed to present “ambient” entertainment as bars and restaurants have reopened. But theaters and entertainment venues — and Mosaic is certainly one of those — are to remain closed in Phase Two.
Coleman refers to such supper clubs as Mayfair at Bellagio and Rose. Rabbit. Lie. at The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas as those presenting entertainers, while guests dine and hang at bar.
“They were the model of what we wanted to do at Mosaic,” Coleman said. “We wanted a supper club, with no more than 50 people in the venue.”
Nonetheless, these shows scheduled are extensive productions. “Aussie Heat” is a full-scale dance revue. “A Mob Story” plans to be back on stage with a cast of 10.
Coleman said that he had been legally advised that he was clear to advance his vision of staging live entertainment in a socially distant facility. He had shown off the venue’s spaced-out seating arrangement and talked of its carefully planned entrance-exit protocols. The cast wore face covers, and masks are available at the door. The place is being routinely disinfected.
Coleman also noted that performances in the two-story facility were considered “private events.” Mosaic is in a dinner partnership with Red Palm Mediterranean restaurant, which shares the same strip mall with the theater, just north of Hard Rock Live on the Strip.
As Renter said, SPR & Productions would need a proper catering and banquet license to even begin to comply with this plan. Coleman says the venue does have a catering license.
“For the public, they buy a dinner with their show ticket,” Coleman said. “It’s a dinner-and-a-show package.”
Though deemed private, packages for the show were listed at $44-$94, in line with such revues as “Thunder From Down Under” at Excalibur and “Chippendales” at the Rio. It’s not a stretch to say producers of both shows would question why “Aussie Heat” could be performed, and those shows in modified venues could not.
SRP & Productions has operated the venue, most recently the Tommy Wind Theater, since August. After refurbishing the venue, the company launched its event schedule in February with a send-off party for then-presidential candidate Andrew Yang, who had just announced he was dropping from the race.
The venue had gained traction as a live entertainment venue. “Aussie Heat,” produced by Simon Farrow, leases the venue and was leading the pack to return.
“We’re really just trying to get ahead of the curve,” Coleman said, before the county official arrived on the scene. Afterward, he emphasized, “I don’t want to do anything that is in violation of the rules.”
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.