Roseanne replacing Johnathan at Sahara

Roseanne Barr is the Strip's next resident comedian, with an open-ended run at the Sahara starting March 1.

Barr returned to Las Vegas stand-up almost a year ago, with six weeks of "All You Can Eat Comedy" at New York-New York.

This time, producer Bill Caron says, she probably will be billed simply by name in late shows five nights per week. The 55-year-old comedian has family ties here, noting last year that performing in Las Vegas gives her a chance to visit nieces and nephews.

Barr replaces The Amazing Johnathan, who left after accounting disputes with Caron and the casino. He also remains at legal odds with the Sahara over alleged spying on female performers with hidden dressing-room cameras.

"I talked to Roseanne and she told me if they hide cameras in her dressing room to watch her get changed, that will be punishment enough for them," he says.

Sahara spokeswoman Andrea Sun notes that the dressing-room camera dispute involves the hotel's previous owner, Gordon Gaming Corp., not the current SBE Entertainment Group and Stockbridge Real Estate Funds, which took over casino operations last summer. Sun said "both parties mutually agreed" to end the comedian's show.

Johnathan plans to reopen at the Harmon Theatre/Krave nightclub by the end of the month, after "Fashionistas" closes.

No show has been very successful in the venue that doesn't connect from the inside of the Miracle Mile Shops. "Fashionistas" was heavily subsidized by its producer.

But the comedian hopes "I can bring my magic there like I did to the ghost-townlike theater at the Golden Nugget," where he revived business in 2001. He also will have a 9 p.m. time slot, an hour earlier than at the Sahara. ...

It has been a while since Lance Burton, Louie Anderson or Carrot Top worked a lunchroom. But the three entertained Monte Carlo cleanup crews during their last week "just to keep everybody cheered up," Burton said. "Everybody's working real hard to reopen the place."

Beyond that, Burton was getting in a lot of treadmill time earlier this week, "trying to stay in shape and not to gain any extra weight" while waiting for the thumbs up to reopen. There was no water or smoke damage to his ground-level theater.

The morning of the fire, Burton was safely at home in Henderson. "I was just waking up having some coffee and my phone started ringing," he recalls. At one point, "I had four TVs going. It was very surreal. That's been my home for 11 and a half years." ...

Friends will honor late showgirl Jahna Steele both in a memorial service Monday and a musical tribute on Feb. 29.

Steele caused quite a stir in 1992 when a tabloid TV show revealed the "Crazy Girls" star was a transsexual. Las Vegas was smaller then and "Crazy Girls" had a higher profile at the Riviera.

Steele, 49, died Jan. 24, apparently of an accidental overdose while undergoing in-patient treatment for a drug habit.

Services are 2 p.m. Monday at Canyon Ridge Christian Church, 6200 W. Lone Mountain Road.

Longtime friends Michelle Rohl-Justice and Lon Bronson are coordinating the Feb. 29 tribute at the E String Grill & Poker Bar, 2031 W. Sunset Road, Henderson. Those who want to participate or share photos should contact Rohl-Justice at celebratingjahna@ cox.net.

Donations can be made in Steele's name to the We Care Foundation for substance abusers, 2216 S. Sixth St. ...

Saturday's "Fab Four Mania" show at the Sahara will celebrate the real Beatles' first appearance on the Ed Sullivan show in 1964 and also remember the late George Harrison with a benefit for the Nevada Cancer Institute. Tickets for locals are priced at $24.95 for Saturday only. Call 735-2515 for details. ...

Finally, for all the corporate consolidation on the Strip, rarely do you see much cross-promotion; most shows are contracted to rival producers.

But the "3 Redneck Tenors" plan a succession of Rat Pack-style guest stars at Luxor this week. The group's creator, Matthew Lord, pitched the idea of visits from the MGM Mirage entertainment family while the trio changes costumes for the finale.

"They took it and ran with it," Lord says of drop-ins from the likes of afternoon ventriloquist Ronn Lucas and "Fantasy" star Stephanie Jordan. "They'll always come through the outhouse door."

Lord says he "brought two things up in the first meeting with all the guys from the Luxor." The first was the guest stars and the other was, "You gotta put the Redneck Tenors above the urinals in every bathroom."

That one, he says, they weren't so keen on.

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