Palminteri explains audience participation; Mazer has no problem with Flowers’ ‘Flamingo’ release

By John Katsilometes

Saturday, May 1, 2010 | 4:20 p.m.

If you're paying attention as Chazz Palminteri performs rudimentary mathematics during "A Bronx Tale," you can't help but detect him in error.

The mistaken equation surfaces as Palminteri performs as a young version of himself, pitching dice against an unseen wall.

"Six and nine!" he calls out, making his imaginary dice rolls known as he uses no props in the show. "That's 14!"

You want to shout, "Fifteen!" because Palminteri is both wrong and so very accessible in his depiction of the characters who make up "A Bronx Tale," which concludes its current run at The Venetian on May 9. You feel as if you're invited to talk directly to him, or in this case correct him. And during Wednesday night's performance, a guy did shout, "Fifteen!"

Breaking from the storyline but not from character, Palminteri offered that the person shouting at him might leave the theater. Involved was an F-bomb. Then another.

Cynics would suspect that the whole exchange was staged. Not entirely. But Palminteri has used that wrong calculation in the show each night to see if anyone actually shouts, "Fifteen!"

"It's funny, the genesis of this was on Broadway," Palminteri said during a phone interview Friday morning. "One night I said, 'Six and nine, that's 14!' accidentally, and somebody said, 'It's 15!' They jumped right in on me. It's a really freewheeling scene, so I said, 'I don't know, you tell me! It's 14? Yeah, but why don't you stand up and walk yourself out of the f-ing theater? You wanna be in show business now? Get outta the f-ing theater!' The audience laughed so hard, I kept it in. Usually someone says, '15!' but even if they don't say it, I'll make it that way — I'll say, 'I know, that's 15...' and play it that way, knowing that I've screwed it up."

Palminteri also keeps the show's comic tension in place by requiring a low temperature in the theater. Members of Wednesday's audience practically were shivering in their seats. That characteristic of the show, too, is no accident.

"I like it cold. Comedy and warmth is death," he said. "I don't want them to get too warm, y'know?" When it's mentioned that David Letterman's studio is famously cold, Palminteri says, "Oh yeah. I keep it at 67 degrees, and Letterman's show is 10 degrees cooler. Fifty-seven. It's freezing on that show."

Palminteri also performs the full 90 minutes, talking and moving almost nonstop, without even a gulp of water. He's often asked about how he can keep talking without drinking.

"There are areas in the show where I could. The bar scene, I could take a drink there, but when I come out I want to hypnotize the audience to take them through this story," he said. "If I stop to take a drink, I break the spell. But before, I drink tons of water, trust me."

Flamingo's Flowers

Harrah's exec Rick Mazer stopped in on a roundtable of comics helping Improv Comedy Club founder Budd Friedman celebrate his 15th year at the hotel. Mazer is president of the five-hotel cluster of Harrah's, O'Shea's, Imperial Palace, Bill's Gamblin' Hall & Saloon and Flamingo.

So naturally, I asked Mazer about Brandon Flowers' decision to give his first solo album the same name as one of those hotels — O'Shea's.

Hah. "Flamingo," actually.

Unveiled Friday on the Killers' official website was Flowers' new album title, and the accompanying red, neon-like artwork hints at a Vegas casino. Mazer had not been aware of the naming of Flowers' album until I mentioned it to him, and when he heard about it he laughed.

"Well, I hope it does well," he said. There is no problem with naming the album "Flamingo," he said, because, "It's the name of a bird, so it's fare game." So to speak. No release date has been announced for "Flamingo."

A bout time at Trop

Tropicana held the first of what hotel execs hope will be a recurring series of pro bouts in its pavilion area Friday night. About 1,800 fans turned out to see lightweight Roberto Guerrero stop Roberto Arrieta in the eighth round with a drumbeat of left hands. Reinforcing the property's new fighting identity was Mike Tyson, seated ringside next to Trop owner Alex Yemenidjian. Former great Tommy Hearns also showed up during the main event.

Friday's was a Golden Boy Promotions card, and Yemenidjian is also friendly with Top Rank head Bob Arum, and what that all means is look for more Friday night bouts at the Trop.

You gotta be startin' somethin'

Taking a flyer from by good friend Kelly Clifton... I mean, Clinton, I note the appearance of another Michael Jackson tribute artist hoping to spin his way into a Strip production. Appearing at Bootlegger Bistro on Las Vegas Boulevard South at Robindale Road in Clinton's weekly Sunday showcase Isaiah Mercado, who plays five instruments (but not all at once) and should be in either "American Superstars" or "Legends," so great is his Jackson impression. But no matter how good, I still own the best Tito Jackson impression in Vegas...

Anyway, catch Mercado at 8:30 p.m. Sunday at Bootlegger, if you're not too terrifically busy. It's always a cool little hang.