Columnist Joe Delaney: Costs rising year-round for production shows

Cirque du Soleil's "O" at Bellagio is enjoying excellent business, with prices of $100 for the lower level and $90 for the upper seats. ... Ticket prices for Siegfried & Roy (Mirage) are $89.35, and Danny Gans (Rio) now has a $83.75 tab. ... "Chicago," the hit musical at Mandalay Bay, can cost $75 or more for the best seat locations.

Caesars Palace has charged $100 or more for Celine Dion. ... Remember these are regular prices, not the inflated tabs for a New Year's Eve period. ... Which reminds us that New Year's Eve 1999 will have mega-star attractions at top hotels with prices to match.

MGM Grand's "EFX" has a $70 top; Bally's "Jubilee" can cost $66 or more, and Michael Flatley's "Lord of the Dance" (New York-New York) is $60-plus on Fridays and Saturdays. ... With dinner, early shows at the Flamingo Hilton can top the $60 mark.

What once was

Many years ago, one could see a dinner show for $25 or less in a major hotel. ... Back then, in the 1970s, there were two shows a night, a dinner show at 8 and a midnight drinks-only show seven nights a week. ... Cocktail shows would cost $10 for two drinks. ... The Union Plaza had 90-minute versions of Broadway shows for prices that never exceeded $12 for show and dinner or $8 for drinks-only at midnight.

That was then, when LV's credo was "The most and the best for the least amount of money and for free, if possible." ... With the coming of the corporation and movement of control from the casino to the hotel side, dinner shows were done away with and the credo was changed.

Times and the cost factors have changed as well. ... Today, it's whatever the traffic will bear. ... Who can argue when occupancy rates are 90 percent or better and the people are willing to pay today's prices?

Star-policy rundown

It's George Carlin-Dennis Blair (Bally's); Gladys Knight (Desert Inn); Clint Holmes (Golden Nugget); Jeff Beck, tonight only (Hard Rock Hotel); Faith Evans and Dru Hill, also tonight only (House of Blues); Rodney Dangerfield (MGM Grand), plus 'EFX" starring Tommy Tune; Siegfried & Roy (Mirage) and Lance Burton (Monte Carlo).

There's more: Crystal Gayle (Orleans); Michele LaFong (O'Shea's) and Melissa Manchester, tonight through Sunday (Rio). ... Nick Lewin is back doing his "Comedy Magic" at the Maxim. ... Catch top female guitarist-singer Cheryl Justice and her band, Justice, at the Barbary Coast, evenings starting Tuesday.

The hot musical, "Chicago," at Mandalay Bay, has five-star performers in Chita Rivera, Ben Vereen, Stephanie Pope, Marcia Lewis and Ernie Sabella, whose "Mr. Cellophane" number is a column favorite. ... This is a production that can be enjoyed more than once.

Local events

Michael Flatley's "Lord of the Dance" will give a special 6 p.m. performance Friday at New York-New York, with the proceeds going to help build a new LV Performing Arts Center. ... Those purchasing the $150 Special Sponsor tickets will receive Golden Circle seating and be able to attend the VIP reception in the Staten Island Room on the third floor. ... Call 457-7919 for more information on this worthy cause.

Congrats to Dick Feeney and all concerned in the Stratosphere's "Viva Las Vegas," celebrating that show's eighth anniversary at today's 4 p.m. show. ... This is LV's longest-running afternoon show, still doing capacity six days a week in the hotel's Broadway showroom.

The Liberace Museum is celebrating its 20th anniversary today with special tours and exhibits. ... The museum is one of the chief funding sources for the Liberace Foundation for the Performing and Creative Arts, which has funded more than $3.6 million in scholarship grants to date.

Jazz notes

Support good jazz, now available Wednesdays at the Green Shack; Thursdays with Carl Lodico's Big Band (Pepper's); and Fridays at Pogo's. ... The Santa Fe has the Mike Breene Trio, Wednesday through Saturday evenings, and The Jazz Organization, Sundays, starting at noon. ... The Ernie George Quartet -- Ernie, Tom Ferguson, Joe Lano and Gus Mancuso -- swing from 8 p.m. to midnight Sundays at Carollo's restaurant.

More jazz: It's "Jazz and the Word," poetry and jazz, Sunday at 2 p.m. in the Whitney Library Recital Hall, presented by the LV Jazz Society. ... Mondays, it's Don Menza's Big Band (Riviera). ... Steve Lawrence and Eydie Gorme have postponed this weekend's scheduled Caesars Palace date to May 21-23. Eydie is ailing. ... See you Friday.

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