Tape Face to remove the tape in Harrah’s return

Tape Face has said that he was far ahead of the trend of wearing face covers in public. Now his audiences will hear from him, at least for a few minutes, with the black gaffer tape removed from his mouth.

The inventive mime and prop comic is returning to his headlining residency at Harrah’s, but at Harrah’s Showroom rather than his smaller House of Tape. The relaunch date is Nov. 11. He’s opening each show by taking questions from his socially distant perch 25 feet from the first audience members.

“It’s rare for fans to see me outside of the Tape Face character,” the performer, whose legal name is Sam Wills, said in a statement. “With the new Tape Face show structure, we will include a meet and greet from stage for me to chat with the entire audience every show. After so much stress and worry, it’s time to bring back some laughter and positivity to the world. I want the chance to not only entertain the crowds but really connect with everyone as we bring back the funniest show in Las Vegas.”

The news release had the “funniest show in Las Vegas” claim in all caps, lest we miss the point.

Wills has rewritten the show with some older routines, including a plate-spinning routine that he says “has nothing to do with the plates and everything to do with everything else.” Sidekick comic Christy Balonek, as merch huckster Phyllis Vanillis, is also back. But she won’t be selling souvenirs. “We’re moving her over to sanitation specialist,” Wills says. “We might have her with hand sanitizer in water guns, something like that.”

The revamped show will seat just under 200 guests, with the theater seats taken out and cabaret tables installed in front of the first row of booths. The show runs 7:30 p.m. daily, dark Mondays and Tuesdays. Tickets start at $66, not including fees, and are on sale beginning Oct. 30. Face covers are required for the audience members throughout.

Wills entered the Vegas scene as an “America’s Got Talent” Season 11 finalist in 2016. He signed a three-year residency at Harrah’s in 2018. He has since trained a pair of Tape Face performers to carry the act on the road and in select dates in Las Vegas.

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.