Two new productions opening on the Strip

Last spring a friend turned me on to the “Newsical The Musical” production playing at Majestic Repertory Theatre in the Arts District.

The bait for this was the ruthless parody of Adele, attempting to explain why she spiked her Caesars Palace residency. Comic actress Carly Sakolove’s histrionics in that role alone were worth the trip.

“Newsical” is back, satirizing Adele, Britney Spears, Frank Sinatra and the concept of “family-friendly Vegas,” among other time-honored VegasVille subjects. This time the show is booked for an open-ended run at V Theater at Mircale Mile Shops at Planet Hollywood.

“Newsical” is paired with “A Musical About Star Wars,” which is … Well, check the title.

“Newsical” opens Nov. 16, running 6 p.m. Tuesdays through Sundays. The “Star Wars” musical 4:30 p.m. Thursdays through Sundays. The story follows Scott and Taylor, who are a pair of “moronic super fans,” as a news release states. These two are devleoping an unlicenced “Star Wars” musical of their own. They hope to find a backer at the annual ComicCon convention, a target-rich environment for such content.

Off-Broadway vets Tom and Michael D’Angora are bringing both shows to the theater, operated for two decades by Vegas producer David Saxe. The two productions won Off Broadway Alliance Awards.

Returning to the Vegas “Newsical” company is Emmy Award winner Kristen Alderson (of the daytime dramas “One Life to Live” and “General Hospital”) is returning to the Vegas company, along with holdovers Taylor Crousore and Sakolove. Dylan Hartwell who starred in the off-Broadway version, also returns.

Crousore, who co-wrote the book to “A Musical About Star Wars,” will be performing in both shows, along with Sakolove. Gregory Sullivan fills out the “Star Wars” cast.

This is not the only daring venture by the D’Angora gents. Both have served on the creative team for Barry Manilow’s “Harmony” musical, which ran from April to May at the National Yiddish Theatre Folksbiene in New York. Tom D’Angora also produces “Naked Boys Singing” at Erotic Heritage Museum. In that show, too, the title says it all.

Not seeing ‘Stars’

The San Diego Padres weren’t alone in getting thumped Saturday night.

According to multiple media outlets, the overnight ratings for “Criss Angel’s Magic With the Stars” were 0.0. That means the audience in the demographic is too tiny to measure by the traditional Nielsen ratings system.

An estimated 380,000 viewers tuned into the 8 p.m.-9 p.m. telecast. That figure trailed all network progarmming for Satuday night. The show’s debut also finished last in the coveted 18-45 year-old viewing demographic.

Game 4 of the National League Championship series won the Saturday night slot with a 0.9/4.3 million rating. The Phillies beat the Padres 10-6, and would take the series 4 games to 1 with a 4-3 victory Sunday.

The Minnesota-Penn State college football tilt on ABC was second at 0.6/3.08, the CBS legal drama “So Help Me Todd” was third with 02/1.33, and “Quantum Leap” on NBC 0.1/0.89.

That said, the overnights don’t carry as much impact as decades ago in guaging a show’s popularity. The delayed Live +3 and Live +7 numbers (the live telecast plus three days, and seven days, respectiely) are usually calculated when establishing full veiwing audiences. But even a veteran magician would struggle to positively spin a 0.0 overnight rating.

Sahara headliner Eddie Griffin hosts “Magic With the Stars,” in which two celebrities to train with pro magicians in a series of magic and escape acts. The celebs attempt to master three variations of magic and then perform them for the judges. Angel, fellow magician Lance Burton, and comic Loni Love judge the show.

A fan of this

The 36th Annual Black and White Party moved into The Theater at Resorts World because of valleywide bluster Saturday night. We’d be fine with staging the show at that venue, the former Joint, in perpetuity. More than $100,000 was raised in Saturday’s fete.

The scene rocked with performances from Kameron Michaels from “RuPaul’s Drag Race”; dancers from Piranha Nightclub (G, they were having fun), The Strat shows “iLuminate,” and “Rouge,” Skye Dee Miles and the cast of “Midnight Skye the Revival” at Ghostbar at the Palms; “Stars-N-Stilettos”starring Kenneth Blake, and singers Chadwick Johnson, Chase Brown and Nicky Saturn.

AFAN Executive Director Antioco Carrillo presented this year’s “Right To Wear Red” field of community dignitaries. On hand were Beth Auten, Bryan Chan, Nycole Cummings, Hot Chocolate (legal name of Larry Edwards), Kataluna Enriquez, Emily Jillette, Jerry Masini, Brady McGill, Rob Phoenix, Michele Rothstein and Zar Zanganeh. Honoree Michael Caprio was unable to attend after undergoing a recent back surgery. His neck brace comesoff at the end of the week.

Follow the light

The aforementioned dance show “iLuminate” celebrated its year anniversary on Saturday. Not so coincidentally, the show conceived by choreographer/computer-coding genius Miral Kotb also announced its extetion at The Strat Theater. “iLuminate” is now contracted through June 2023, running 8 p.m. daily (dark Tuesdays).Tickets for the added dates are onsale now.

Cool Hang Alert

Long-running column fave “The Cocktail Cabaret” is back for two performances at the new Concierge Lounge Showroom (which is at once a lounge, showroom and onetime concierge room). The shows are 6 p.m. Friday and Saturday; doors open at 5 p.m for cocktails.

Niki Scalera (“Hairspray,” “Tarzan,” “Footloose”) and Maren Wade (“America’s Got Talent,” “Confessions of a Showgirl,” “Pin Up,” “50 Shades! The Parody”) of the original cast are joined by bartone tenor-congenial fellow Doug Carpenter (“Baz,” “Beautiful, the Carol King Musical”) and mirthsome veteran Vegas entertainer Tony Arias as emcee. Philip Fortenberry, co-producer with Keith Thompson, is on keys; Don Meoli (“Jersey Boys”) on drums; Josh Jones (“Million Dollar Quartet”) on bass and John Summers (Lady Gaga’s “Jazz + Piano” show) on sax. Tickets start at $40 for GA, $60 for VIP (with two cocktails), go to Ticketmaster.com and be ready for some serious talent, right up in your face.

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.