Casa de Shenandoah shines amid stars; Piff parlays ‘AGT’ run into headlining gig

By John Katsilometes

Friday, Sept. 18, 2015 | 6 p.m.

The Kats Report Bureau has been canvassing some well-known Las Vegas properties over the past several days, among them Casa de Shenandoah and Luxor.

The Wayne Newton museum is now open, and the VIP party Thursday night drew an impressive and wide-ranging collection of Las Vegas name-checks. Carrot Top; Lance Burton; Clint Holmes and Kelly Clinton-Holmes; Sabrina Bryan; Melody Sweets of “Absinthe”; Mark Shunock, Troy Burgess and Robert Torti of “Rock of Ages”; Jennifer Cox; Chippendales guest host Tyson Beckford and members of that production at the Rio; and members of Thunder From Down Under and “Fantasy.”

Also hanging out, not attracting so much attention, were Lacy and Dorothy Harber, who originally got together with Wayne and Kathleen Newton about five years ago to plan the Shenandoah museum. Lacy Harber’s history in Las Vegas dates to 1959 when he worked at the Nevada Test Site. The Newtons and he first talked of a Shenandoah museum “about six years ago,” as he said, before the plans “got all wadded up” in court. But the museum concept was too tantalizing to let die.

“So Wayne and I just got together and I said, ‘I’ll fund a few dollars, and you do it.’ He did all this … all the work, and I think they did a great job with it.”

The Harbers split time between Texas and a home in Spanish Hills formerly owned by Randall Cunningham. “We also bought Nicolas Cage’s house (in Spanish Heights),” Harber said. “We resold that.”

Newton. Cunningham. Cage. If nothing else, the Harbers — through real estate transactions — are well-connected with famous Las Vegans.

More from the VegasVille neighborhood:

• Piff the Magic Dragon may not have won the “America’s Got Talent” top prize — not “may not have,” he did not win, sadly — but he has secured his own show at Flamingo Las Vegas through his run to the finals. He’s set to perform Mondays and Wednesdays at Bugsy’s Cabaret as part of the Stabile Productions empire beginning the first week in November. Piff and the little pooch, Mr. Piffles, will remain in the “X Comedy” lineup at Flamingo through the end of this month, joining co-hosts John Bizarre and Nancy Ryan and comics Dennis Blair and Todd Paul.

Piff, and “AGT,” factor in the next item, too. Read on …

• How do Penn & Teller remain national names? In part, by appearing on national TV. The duo appeared Wednesday on the finale of “AGT” to support Piff, who has worked with them in developing acts in their Rio show (including the Elsie the Vanishing African Pygmy Elephant). A night later, P&T also appeared on NBC in the “Mat Franco’s Got Magic” primetime special.

Having hit two NBC shows on consecutive nights, Penn continues to work on his book about his recent, astonishing weight loss, and Teller is focusing again on the stage. He is opening “The Tempest,” which premiered last year at the Smith Center’s Symphony Park, at Chicago Shakespeare Theater. The production opened Thursday and runs through Nov. 8.

• If we were reminded of anything this week, it’s that the Strip remains heavy with “AGT” activity. The new show’s champion, ventriloquist Paul Zerdin, is headlining an “AGT” lineup Oct. 22-24 at Planet Hollywood. He’ll be joined by Piff and runner-up Drew Lynch, whose standup act, performed through a pronounced stutter, won over judges and fans.

Zerdin is connected to Las Vegas through his friendship and professional partnership with the reliably inventive set designer Andy Walmsley. Those two met 20 years ago when Walmsley was the set designer for the British TV talent show “The Big Big Talent Show,” and Zerdin won that competition, too.

Rightfully, Walmsley said watching Zerdin win “AGT” was “major déjà vu.”

• SLS Las Vegas has long been trying to figure out how to most effectively animate the Sayers Club, and concurrently Las Vegas artists have eyed that room as a choice spot for showcasing independent projects. Those two ideas are meeting as the Sayers Club has been hosting the Bunkhouse Series of concerts left without a venue after the closing of that downtown Las Vegas music haunt.

On Sept. 23, the Sayers Club and the Bunkhouse Series features a regular Strip performer, Lisa Marie Smith of “Pin Up,” whose band opens for The Lemonheads. Doors are at 9 p.m., and the show starts at 9:30 (cover is $22) with Lisa Marie (as she is opting for that stage name) mixing originals and covers. Backing her is a band of expert and experienced players: Las Vegas producer and musician Jason Tanzer and Charles Henry on guitar; Gregory Delcore on bass; Mike Spadoni on keyboard; Nick Oshiro on drums; and Glo Vivelo and Jenn De La Torre as backup singers.

The Sayers Club often crops up in discussion of a room that could be used more effectively, and it could become something of a locals’ destination if more shows like this are booked.

A graduate of Las Vegas Academy, Smith has recently signed a one-year extension for “Pin Up” at the Stratosphere. But this show will not look, sound or feel like the Strat’s production. “It’s a very ’70s classic-rock vibe,” she says, and we’ll turn the calendar back that far for this one. Should be a cool thing.

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