‘Vegas! The Show!’ star Josh Strickland heading to Germany for Tarzan role
Josh Strickland is answering the call of the wild. Again.
An original member of “Peepshow” at Planet Hollywood and co-star of “Vegas! The Show” since September 2013, Strickland is returning to the jungle for a stint in “Tarzan.” He’s joining the company in Oberhausen, Germany. His last performance in “Vegas! The Show is March 6; he’ll finish his run in Germany on Aug. 1.
Strickland starred in the Broadway version of “Tarzan” about two years ending in 2007, just as “Peepshow” was being cast by director Jerry Mitchell in New York.
“It’s crazy how life has come full circle for me,” Strickland said Thursday. “I’m looking forward to getting back into that role. I’m a little older and hopefully a little wiser.”
Strickland has been working with a personal trainer for the last five months to prepare for his return to, shall we say, less-restrictive wardrobe. He’s also been taking German lessons, as he is required to sing and speak all of his lines in that language.
“I’m just super-excited,” says Strickland, a real Broadway belter and a first-class stage performer. “It’s a challenge, physically, because let’s face it, I’m not 20 years old anymore. But I’m going back up in the air.”
Mitchell brought Strickland to Las Vegas when “Peepshow” opened at Planet Hollywood in the spring of 2009. Strickland joined Mel B and Kelly Monaco as the show’s original leads. After six months, Mel B and Monaco left and Holly Madison was cast as the show’s main female lead. She and Strickland remain close friends.
Strickland and his husband, ex-“Jersey Boys” cast member Todd DuBail, plan to keep calling Las Vegas home. Strickland’s parents recently moved to the city, and he plans to tour with Disney productions beginning this fall.
“I love it here,” Strickland says. “But one thing about Las Vegas, time really does fly here.”
INTENSE ‘VOICE’ ACTION
I’m hearing that construction on Vanity at Hard Rock Hotel will begin soon after “Magic Mike Live” opens March 30, and that a stage version of “The Voice” is moving into that space. A lot of heat, for weeks, about this show. But nothing as yet formally confirmed.
OPEN TERRITORY
The Backstreet Boys have blown the drape off the balcony at Axis theater. Tickets are being sold in the upper level for their performances on March 4, 11 and 18. This is the first Axis residency where those upstairs seats, typically covered to cap the attendance at about 4,300, have been offered for sale.
THE FRANCO 500
About 30 shows have closed in Las Vegas since Mat Franco opened at Linq Showroom in July 2015. The Season 9 winner of “America’s Got Talent” and only magician to claim the show’s top prize celebrates his 500th show Saturday night. His preference of performing “parlor”-style magic, more intimate tricks (many of them using a deck of cards) set him apart in a city teeming with magic shows.
“In Las Vegas, people expect grandiose shows with large boxes, laser beams and smoke machines,” he said this week. “It’s a little bit gutsy to be the antithesis of that. But being in the right place at the right time, having some luck, all play into it.”
The 28-year-old Franco prides himself on performing as an energetic, unpretentious host.
“After years of searching, I figured out that I don’t play a character onstage,” he said. ”I’m probably not a great actor, so onstage I’m just a more outgoing version of myself.”
DOWNTOWN GRIMM
On the topic of Las Vegas winners of “AGT,” Michael Grimm (the show’s Season 5 winner) appears at 8 p.m. Tuesday at Freedom Beat at Downtown Grand. Dubbed a “one-night-only” performance, Grimm’s appearance is a no-admission experience.
A BIG STAR
Pete Vallee, more commonly known as “Big Elvis,” during his years in VegasVille, is being honored with a star on the Las Vegas Walk of Stars. The ceremony is set for noon Monday at Vallee’s current haunt, the Piano Bar at Harrah’s. Celebrating 15 years as a Strip performer, Vallee is keeping his regular Monday schedule of performances at 2 p.m., 3:30 p.m. and 5 p.m.
WHO WAS WHERE
TV personality NeNe Leakes and a table of eight friends Wednesday night at Beauty & Essex in the Cosmopolitan … Dancer/actress/”Dancing With the Stars” pro/Las Vegas Academy grad Julianne Hough on Wednesday at Kumi Restaurant and Bar at Mandalay Bay.
John Katsilometes’ column runs daily in the A section, and Fridays in Neon. He also hosts “Kats! On The Radio” Wednesdays at 8 p.m. on KUNV 91.5-FM and appears Wednesdays at 11 a.m. with Dayna Roselli on KTNV Channel 13. Contact him at jkatsilometes@reviewjournal.com. Follow @johnnykats on Twitter, @JohnnyKats1 on Instagram.
