Laugh factory: Notes from ‘Sin City Comedy,’ Romano at Mirage, Carvey and Garrett

By John Katsilometes

Thursday, April 21, 2011 | 11:18 p.m.

Like a Rodney Dangerfield impressionist awaiting a rim shot, I’ve been holding off writing a notes column about comedy in Vegas until … well, now.

Here goes:

• “Sin City Comedy” is moving, or is it dancing, to a weekly show on a major comedy outlet. The club at V Theater at Miracle Mile Shops at Planet Hollywood is shooting two shows Tuesday as a pilot for a new series set in the club, which is part of the David Saxe entertainment empire at the Planet Hollywood retail center, where one also can find a spiffy Ben Sherman jacket or a fine jewelry-cleaning solvent.

Two 30-minute shows will be taped Tuesday beginning at 9 p.m. at V Theater, which is being cut to a capacity of about 90 seats to allow for recording equipment. The show is being produced by Mobile Video Productions of New York, the company that has been contracted by just about every major network and cable station in the country. “Penn & Teller’s Bulls**t,” “The Dog Whisperer” and “The Dave Chappelle Show” are among the company’s projects. It also produced “The Oprah Winfrey Show” in its infancy.

Longtime Vegas comic John Padon is the producer of “Sin City Comedy,” unique in that the show blends some top comedians with the burlesque dancing of the “Sin City Dolls,” the shimmering Dorimar Bonilla and Samantha Lynn Hunt. The show will open with a sketch by stand-up Carl Labove, famous for his “cop walk” bit (you have to see it to appreciate it) and jarring Dangerfield impressions. Labove will serve as the centerpiece of skits around the city, ideally dropping in on his fellow comics, and Louis Prima Jr. and the Witnesses will furnish the music.

The idea is for an initial order of 10 shows, with two cable outfits in contention to pick up the series. Padon isn’t yet at liberty to state which stations those are, but obviously they would have to be outlets with a history of airing funny shows for television.

As the project takes shape, Padon gives a nod to the man he pays to four-wall the Sin City show.

“The success of ‘Sin City’ is not possible without David Saxe,” he said of the man whose primary show, “Vegas! The Show,” is staged at Saxe Theater. “I’m thankful to him for giving me the opportunity to make it successful.”

• Clearing up some invariable confusion about titles of entertainment series at the Mirage: “Aces of Comedy” is still in existence. Last week, I noted “The Mirage Master Series” would supplant the “Aces” series. Not so. They coexist, with such comics as Ray Romano, Lewis Black, Jay Leno and Ron White performing under the “Aces” umbrella. Such headliners as Larry King and Steve Martin and the Steep Canyon Rangers are folded into the “Masters” series.

Comics can be “Masters,” of course. But “Masters” are not comics. This is what I have deduced.

That said, the “Aces” series is among the best in the city, as Romano showed Saturday night. Those who have followed his career over the years -- and this dates to even before he starred in “Everybody Loves Raymond” -- will find a lot of his material familiar. Jokes about his 2-year-old twins, who are now adults, are admittedly from another era. So are his references to the illuminated yo-yo's sold by women strolling the casino floor carrying trays of cigars, cigarettes, lighters and the like. “Where else in the world can you get a yo-yo while gambling? You never know when a high roller is gonna snap!” Romano says. “Hey! I just dropped $10,000 here! Who do I have to know to get a yo-yo? I wanna walk the dog here!”

Romano would be wise to lose the reference to legalized prostitution in Vegas, too. Tourists are becoming aware that prostitution isn’t legal in Las Vegas, so when Romano jokes that the weather report should factor in legalized prostitution -- “It’s 119, but when you factor in legalized prostitution, it’s 80 and breezy” -- falls flat. Comics should agree that, when speaking of Las Vegas, legalized prostitution and coin cups (long gone in the advent of paper-issued slot payouts) should be retired.

But Romano is a real pro in dealing with the audience. One guy in the nether regions of the Terry Fator Theater asked him, rather brusquely, about Brad Garrett’s club at Tropicana. “What? You have an attitude about this?” Romano asked. “I’ll tell you that, since Brad isn’t here, I’m better at everything than him.” This weekend it’s Black, who, I expect, still hates bottled water.

• Garrett, meanwhile, is still fighting the good fight at Trop. One industry insider -- that always sounds so mysterious to me -- told me in November that the over-under on Garrett’s club closing was Christmas. I think he meant Christmas of 2010, which of course has passed. Garrett is moving toward his year anniversary in June and wrapped his latest appearances at the club tonight, emceeing a lineup that featured Ron Shock and Brett Walkow and was headlined by Mike Marino, the pride of the Jersey that is not the shore. The room was sold out, and Garrett's longevity at the Trop can be measured by the video he just finished that will be projected on the side of the hotel to mark his anniversary.

• When Dana Carvey began his show at Orleans on Sunday night, he walked past a grand piano in the middle of the stage. He didn’t play it, but the inert instrument was hardly noticed. Carvey worked in new impressions, spot-on mimicry of President Obama and Charlie Sheen, with the standards from his “Saturday Night Live” days. Channeled were George H.W. Bush, Johnny Carson, the Church Lady, Arnold Schwarzenegger and Garth of “Wayne’s World.” I hadn’t realized Carvey’s mastery of George W. Bush, as the second Bush administration came about after Carvey left “SNL.” The toggling between Bush 43 and Obama was particularly remarkable.

Before the show, I ran into my buddy Brody Dolyniuk, who was no doubt taking notes on the performance. Dolyniuk is still perfecting his “Brody’s World” comedy-impression-music show on the first Thursday of each month at Ovation at Green Valley Ranch.

• A booking to note: “The Anti-Social Network” on July 3 at the Palms’ Pearl Concert Theater. Hosted by Jim Norton, the three-pronged show features Dave Atell, Jim Brewer and Bill Burr. I love Atell, who loves Vegas, who loves him right back.

• Venetian headliner Rita Rudner is hosting the 8th annual Animal Foundation Best in Show dog adoption event May 1 at Orleans Arena. The doggie doors open at noon, and the show starts at 1 p.m.

This event is really (drum roll, please) bitchin’ (rim shot!). Thanks, and tip yer servers, or server your tippers, or whatever works.

Follow John Katsilometes on Twitter at twitter.com/JohnnyKats. Also, follow "Kats With the Dish" at twitter.com/KatsWithTheDish.