Hilton shaking up its shows

It's "time to mix it up a little bit" at the Las Vegas Hilton's Shimmer Showroom, as marketing executive Rick White puts it.

Lani Misalucha, one of the city's great "Voices," already closed her showcase. But the singing sisters of "Nunsense" will step up to the tourist zone after years of community productions.

Producer Jay Harvey figures the 25-year-old musical could use some marquee value. Cindy Williams, best known for "Laverne & Shirley," will headline the first six weeks of the show with a tentative deal to open Sept. 1 to run at 4 p.m. in the smaller of the Hilton's two venues.

If you want one last look at the "Sin City Bad Girls," you better get there this weekend. The topless revue headlined by Lorena Peril bows out Sunday, after a year-plus run. There is talk of Peril moving over to "Fantasy" at Luxor; this might separate the duties of "host" from that of "guest star" Angelica Bridges, according to "Fantasy" producer Anita Mann, who was trying to sort this out.

Trent Carlini will move his Elvis tribute from Mondays in the Hilton's main room to five nights in Shimmer, trading the bragging rights of playing the King's actual stage for the traction of four more shows per week.

"Voices" producer Angelo Giordano says he hopes to relaunch Misalucha's showcase in a new venue on the Strip he also will operate. "It's time to move on (from the Hilton), but it's too good to let go," he says. "I think we branded the show." ...

Look out Paula and Rachael! There's a better-dressed kitchen diva looming up behind you. Frank Marino, producer-drag star of "Divas Las Vegas," will sign copies of his cookbook "Dining with the Diva" at 5:30 p.m. today at the Imperial Palace. It's a benefit for the Make-A-Wish Foundation. ...

New fans of "America's Got Talent" contestant Michael Grimm can catch up to him at his pre-TV stomping grounds Saturday. Ovation at Green Valley Ranch hosts a release party for Grimm's disc "Leave Your Hat On" starting at 7 p.m. ...

Zowie Bowie makes a full-circle return to the Red Rock Resort, which launched the colorful lounge duo, on Friday nights starting Sept. 3. The team of Chris Philips and Marley Taylor gave up their hometown popularity in Scottsdale, Ariz., for Red Rock in 2006.

Zowie most recently anchored The Pub at Monte Carlo. Oddly enough, The Pub will mirror the Red Rock lounge by offering small-ticket concert acts: Colin Hay of Men At Work fame on July 30 and Ratt on Aug. 5. ...

Penn & Teller may be the first Las Vegas act to attend San Diego's Comic-Con as guests, not mere fans. Once just a big comic-book convention, Comic-Con is now a major celebration of all things pop culture. The duo offer a panel called "35 Years of Magic & B.S." today. ...

Instead of trying to ignore them, Elvis Presley Enterprises has sanctioned The Ultimate Elvis Tribute Artist Contest, a two-day showdown among impersonators Friday and Saturday at the Fremont Street Experience. The winner goes to the finals in Memphis. ...

And now, a trip to the woodshed.

Concert promoters on the Strip last weekend might have fired up a satisfactory cigar and said, "Not here."

Customers waiting in line might have said, "Never again."

Las Vegas, a town that prides itself on customer service, needs to do some soul searching if it wants to avoid the well-publicized woes of the summer concert season, which include Rihanna dropping other cities from her tour that played Mandalay Bay on Saturday.

Fans arriving there for separate Ziggy Marley and Rihanna concerts were fused into one long box-office ordeal with waits of 45 minutes or more.

The night before, the line for Tool at Planet Hollywood stretched through the Miracle Mile retail shops. The doors to admit the audience didn't seem to open until minutes before the show. Tool had its biggest album in 1993, but the crowd was treated like a security risk.

Things seemed more in control for Saturday's ultra-mellow Carole King and James Taylor concert at the MGM Grand Garden. Patrons in a long will-call line were still nervous. But attendants walked the line to make sure people needed to be in it, trouble-shooting special cases.

But, as with many an MGM date, ticket-holders still faced one more challenge: a hot cattle pen of a wait for metal detectors and cursory handbag inspections.

Concert fans already deal with inflated ticket prices, hidden service charges and pricey concessions. Do they have to wait in long lines as a reward for all this? The problem is simple to identify: Everyone buys online now, and almost no one arrives at the gig with tickets in hand. Seems like knowing the problem would be halfway to solving it.

Contact reporter Mike Weatherford at mweatherford@ reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0288.