Denise Truscello
The “Heartbreak Hotel” cast really does it all.
Thursday, May 2, 2019 | 2 a.m.
Welcome to the first edition of Curtain Up, a new Thursday column at LasVegasSun.com dedicated to show news, openings and closings, performers and productions in Las Vegas. This piece of our entertainment puzzle is always changing shape so I’ll try to keep you up-to-date on that evolution every week, right here. Let’s go!
“Elvis Presley’s Heartbreak Hotel in Concert” celebrated its grand opening Sunday night at Harrah’s Las Vegas and the producers of this new show, Scott Prisand and Seth Fass of Los Angeles-based Robbins Lane Entertainment, are taking the best possible approach to creating a new Elvis experience for Vegas — the show is all about the music, and the cast is absolutely incredible. Broadway vet Eddie Clendening is not playing Elvis as much as he’s fronting a talented, passionate band whose members take turns stealing the spotlight from each other: Matt Codina torches his guitar; drummer Cole Maxwell and upright bass expert Jonny Bowler control a booming backbeat; singer/guitarist Geno Henderson and pianist/music director Colte Julian splash their own musical personalities all over the proceedings; and “back-up” singers Jackie Wiatrowski, Fana Hughes and Tymara Walker bring powerful pipes to the forefront. The whole crew tells the story of the King’s rise using all the hits you love and all the early tracks you need to know about. It’s Elvis like Vegas has never seen him and I can’t wait to go back. “Heartbreak Hotel” plays at 8 p.m. Wednesday through Monday with a 3 p.m. show on Sunday at the Harrah’s Showroom and tickets start at $49.
Tickets are on sale Saturday, May 4 for the just-announced headlining residency by Paul Abdul, “Forever Your Girl,” set to open August 13 at Flamingo Las Vegas. The singer, dancer and choreographer known for an incredible run of pop hits in the late ’80s and ’90s and as one of the original judges on “American Idol” will be moving into the classic showroom set to be vacated by 10-year-plus Flamingo fixtures Donny and Marie Osmond. They’ll wrap up on November 16 and the Donny & Marie Showroom will ostensibly be renamed. Abdul, in Vegas this week for Wednesday’s Billboard Music Awards, has 20 dates lined up from August into January.
Criss Angel has adjusted the “Mindfreak” schedule at Planet Hollywood. The illusionist extraordinaire is taking his show on the road later this month, including eight shows on Broadway in July, and will continue at his namesake theater at Planet Hollywood through at least 2024. But he recently announced on social media that he’s suspending the 9:30 p.m. second show of “Mindfreak” indefinitely due to a torn rotator cuff injury that he’s planning to repair with surgery in early 2020. Hanging upside down over your audience while escaping from a straitjacket every night will do that. The show continues its 7 p.m. shows Wednesday through Sunday.
Murray the Magician with the "Ryan's Mystery Playdate" crew.
The Naked Magicians are going to be taking it off a little while longer. The Aussie duo of Mike Tyler and Christopher Wayne opened their uproarious magic show at Brad Garrett’s Comedy Club at MGM Grand in February and have extended their run through June. Considering the uniqueness of their act and their ideal 10 p.m. time slot (nightly except Tuesday), don’t be surprised to see these guys stick around even longer.
Murray SawChuck, aka Murray the Magician who stars at the Tropicana’s Laugh Factory six nights a week, recently guested on Nickelodeon’s “Ryan’s Mystery Playdate,” a TV show based on one of the top kids YouTube accounts in the world, Ryan ToysReview. This savvy bit of promotion should come as no surprise as the Magic Murray YouTube channel is creeping up on 1.4 million subscribers who tune in to watch the veteran comic magician pull pranks and astound with tricks and jokes.
This week’s announcement about a brand-new Cirque du Soleil show coming to the Strip may have overshadowed the info that this year’s One Night for One Drop event, presented by MGM Resorts International and Colgate at the Bellagio’s O Theatre on March 8, raised more than $6 million for the One Drop foundation, created by Cirque founder Guy Laliberté with the mission of providing sustainable access to safe water and sanitation to underserved communities around the world. ONOD was exposed to a greater audience than ever before this year as it was broadcast on CBS for the first time.
One more cool tidbit from my long conversation this week with Cirque President and CEO Daniel Lamarre: Since that new show “R.U.N” sounds like a Hollywood action movie brought to the Vegas stage, I asked Lamarre if there is a particular film or strong visual reference that helped inspire the vibe. “I would say most of the major action movies you have seen, maybe ‘Pulp Fiction.’ It’s that look and feel,” he said. The Quentin Tarantino classic is always a choice influence, and considering Tarantino has collaborated frequently with “R.U.N” writer Robert Rodriguez, it’s a logical mention. Composer Tyler Bates, who’s tasked with soundtracking the new show opening at Luxor on October 24, created some music for “Grindhouse,” the sci-fi/horror homage double-feature Tarantino and Rodriguez made together in 2007.
Speaking of Luxor shows, “Fantasy” will honor military personnel with a special performance at 10:30 p.m. on May 9, offering complimentary tickets for 50 active-duty military members and their guests and a special patriotic pre-show by lead singer Lorena Peril. Audience members will be invited to meet the cast and take photos after the show. To access those 50 tickets, make an email reservation by May 8 at [email protected].
