Despite controversy, comic sees silver lining

Carlos Mencia is getting used to mixed blessings and silver linings.

On one hand, the comedian is making a quick return to the Palms on Saturday after packing The Pearl for two shows in March. And he finally received word earlier this month that Comedy Central has ordered a fourth season of "Mind of Mencia."

On the other hand, his running feud with comedian Joe Rogan has eclipsed some of that success, and smackdowns such as his No. 12 showing on Maxim's "Worst Comedians of All Time" have spilled over into a name check on "The Simpsons."

"'The Simpsons' references pop culture. If someone took the time to write a joke where I'm a punch line, that means a lot. That means I'm pop culture," Mencia says.

He's certainly pop culture as defined by viral video. The Internet is crawling with footage of Mencia and Rogan -- who plays the House of Blues at Mandalay Bay on Dec. 28 and is the loudest of several comedians who accuse Mencia of stealing material -- going at it onstage at The Comedy Store in Los Angeles earlier this year.

"It's the price of becoming popular," Mencia says. "When you become more popular, more and more people take shots at you."

Later in the phone conversation, he mentions "The Simpsons" reference again, saying he's glad it came at a point in his career when he was prepared for it and "where I get it."

His advice to detractors is, "Don't come and see me perform. Feel free to go to 'O.'

"I have to write my own stuff, I have to write stuff for the (TV) show, I've got movies that I'm writing right now, I've got auditions to go to, I have phone calls like yours to make. I have a wife, I have 18 brothers and sisters to take care of, a mom and dad, I have a kid that's 10 months old. Trust me, I'm really, really busy trying to keep my world afloat. I don't really pay attention to people who think I'm not funny."

Well, there are those guys who pick apart the cable show in a manner he compares to "Star Wars" fans who grouse about "the one with Jar Jar in it, and what I would have done to fix those movies."

"I have people who watch every single one of my episodes and go online and say what was wrong with the show. They actually watch more shows than people who love my show," he says.

Mencia says he tries to stay focused on those who do buy tickets and enjoy his work. Saturday's two audiences will see different shows, he says, and the goal is to "make them love my ability to make people laugh, not my jokes. So that they come to see me, not, 'You gotta come see this one bit that he does.' " ...

This is no town for subtlety. Legions of women in the Red Hat Society made an early (and continuing) hit of "Menopause The Musical" at the Las Vegas Hilton. So what's coming in January? "Hats!" is a musical "inspired by the fun-loving lifestyle encouraged by the Red Hat Society," according to the musical's press materials.

The show opens at Harrah's Las Vegas Jan. 12, sharing what is becoming a very crowded stage with Mac King, Rita Rudner and late-evening hypnotists. The only room left in the schedule was a 6 p.m. time slot, but producer David Gravatt sees that as a positive, quite compatible with the target audience.

"Hats!" features seven women in a story about easing one of them through the pain of turning 50. That sounds as though comparisons with "Menopause" don't end with the marketing, but Gravatt says it "only takes 10 minutes to see that it is very different, more of a full-scale show than a cabaret revue."

While "Menopause" rewrites pop standards from the '60s and '70s, "Hats!" offers original tunes from familiar songwriters including Melissa Manchester, Kathie Lee Gifford and Pam Tillis. "It has the substance of a book show but the appeal of a variety show," Gravatt says.

Gravatt works for Las Vegas-based producer Dick Foster, who licensed a longer, more theatrical version of the show first produced in Denver, and adapted it for a 14-week run at Harrah's New Orleans last year. The Las Vegas version will be different still, with new costumes and choreography. ...

With so many awards shows and special events staged in Las Vegas, it's hard to keep track of them. It doesn't help that "The Steve Harvey Morning Show" doesn't air on Las Vegas radio, creating even more confusion about Harvey's Hoodie Awards on Saturday at the Orleans Arena.

The awards honor various categories of small businesses around the country. Harvey hosts the live show, which counts Robin Thicke among its performers and comedians Mo'Nique and Cedric The Entertainer on its list of presenters. ...

Finally, a perfect -- meaning less unfair than most -- description of Las Vegas entertainment in a nutshell: Last Sunday and Monday, ventriloquist Terry Fator twice sold out the 1,800-seat Las Vegas Hilton with a puppet that sings "At Last" in an Etta James voice.

And last Friday through Sunday, the real Etta James played the 800-seat theater at The Orleans.

Mike Weatherford's entertainment column appears Thursdays and Sundays. Contact him at 383-0288 or e-mail him at mweatherford@reviewjournal.com.