Job hunt begins for ‘Folies’ juggler

Michael Holly has been doing his Internet research on Branson, Mo. "I hear that's nice," he says.

Holly is the comic juggler in "Folies Bergere," which is sending him on a job hunt by closing on March 28.

Entertainers are vagabonds and gypsies by trade. They have a higher threshold for job insecurity than a lot of us. Still, you can get kind of spoiled in Las Vegas. "I've been in a show for three years, where I haven't had to get on a phone and talk to a producer," Holly says. "I haven't had to play salesman in three years."

In the wake of the 2001 terrorist attacks, air travel became a nightmare and entertainers flocked to Las Vegas. Comedians such as Rita Rudner and George Wallace settled into "four-wall" operations, working without salary guarantees but not spending hours in airport lines waiting to take their shoes off.

Now, many of them are packing their suitcases again. "People come here with luxury money, and right now they don't have any," says Frank Scinta, whose sibling act The Scintas will close down shop at the Las Vegas Hilton in the next few weeks.

The Scintas plan to play both cities where they already have a fan base and new ones where they don't. Part of the motive is to collect footage for a sitcom/reality-show hybrid they're trying to sell. But it's also because they figure a night out in one's hometown is cheaper than buying a ticket to Vegas.

"People still want to get out," he says. "We're going to go where the money is."

Holly came to town in 1987 and since then has worked far more on the Strip than as a "fly-on" entertainer for cruise ships. "When you have a family, you want to keep your kids' life stable," he says.

Ironically, it was a post-Sept. 11 drop in visitation that spelled the end of Holly's star moment with his own afternoon show at the Sahara. But ventriloquist Ronn Lucas rode out that stretch to become an afternoon staple. That is, until late last summer, when he says the cruise ships became a more lucrative proposition.

Holly says the ships now are tightening their belts as well, but he is tapping contacts such as Mario & Daniel, a former "Folies" specialty act now producing a tango revue for Royal Caribbean. "You've just got to let people know you're out there," he says.

Entertainers still tend to be an optimistic breed who take things in stride, even when they have mortgages. On this morning, Holly says he has been playing his tuba. Working a tuba into the juggling act is part of the ongoing effort to keep it fresh.

"I want to see this town change," Frank Scinta says of the place The Scintas first staked out in 2000. "It's a strong town."

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