Las Vegas Sun

March 19, 2024

Curtain Up: Cherry Boom Boom, Tape Face, Atomic Saloon Show and more

Cherry Boom Boom

Cherry Boom Boom” is back, this time at Hooters.

Cherry Boom Boom,” a rock-and-roll and go-go live dance show, is back in Las Vegas next month with a new residency at the Night Owl Showroom at the Hooters Casino. Previews being August 15 with a grand opening set for September 5. Created by original Pussycat Doll Lindsley Allen, “Cherry” had a short run at the Tropicana in 2016 and then returned to Los Angeles at the Sayers Club and Harvelles. Now it’s been redesigned specifically for Vegas with more than 15 numbers and five dancers plus “one bawdy host swinging above you and crawling beside you.” The burlesque-influenced show also takes the place of a somewhat similar production, “Little Miss Nasty,” which opened in October at the Night Owl and has since relocated to the 172 Live Music club at the Rio.

One of my favorite smaller-room shows on the Strip just celebrated reaching a magic number at its custom Vegas venue. Okay, maybe three magic numbers. Tape Face marked his 333rd performance at the House of Tape at Harrah’s Las Vegas on July 13 by performing three additional minutes of new material. The modern mime also introduced a new piece of merchandise that will be available in September — the “Stay Weird” trucker hat first worn by Howie Mandel during TF’s appearance on “America’s Got Talent: The Champions.” Catch Tape Face nightly except Mondays at Harrah’s.

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Criss Angel and his whole team celebrate 100 shows at Planet Hollywood.

Another special night in the show world: Criss Angel and his cast and crew celebrated the 100th performance of the new “Mindfreak” production at Planet Hollywood on July 12. Angel was surprised onstage with a Mindfreak cake presented by his producing partners at Caesars Entertainment and Base Entertainment. The innovative and immersive version of the show opened in December and continues Wednesday through Sunday at 7 p.m. at the Criss Angel Theater on PH’s mezzanine level.

The latest Spiegelworld creation is already making history, sort of, with the first-ever Las Vegas opening night in Scotland. "Atomic Saloon Show," which the producers of “Absinthe” and “Opium” are billing as “Blazing Saddles” meets “America’s Got Talent” meets “Westworld,” is set for a proper opening in September at the Grand Canal Shoppes at the Venetian, but first it will debut at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival at George Square Gardens on August 6. I won’t be able to attend but my invitation did have a Spiegelworld signature quirky detail—it notes the show is set to run on the Strip from 2019 until 2059. Sounds like a long-term lease.

SPI Entertainment continues to dominate this column. Between renovating the Thunderland Showroom at the Excalibur, expanding “Thunder From Down Under,” bringing in mega-magician Hans Klok for a new show set to open on July 29 and managing four other Strip productions, how did Adam Steck and company find time to develop something new? They did. It’s Cesar Millan’s “My Story: Unleashed,” which will find the famed “Dog Whisperer” telling his story of coming to America from Mexico, struggling to find success and buddying up with celebs like Oprah Winfrey, Mark Zuckerberg, Jerry Seinfeld and more. It’ll play at the David Copperfield Theater at MGM Grand September 12-18, and that venue draws another similarity to Mike Tyson’s “Undisputed Truth” shows that SPI also developed. Tickets for Millan’s live debut are already on sale.

Something different is coming to the Cosmopolitan this fall. Cast members of the critically acclaimed Pop TV series “Schitt’s Creek” will bring a live, interactive, “Up Close & Personal” show to the Chelsea on October 19, a night of conversation, commentary and laughs featuring behind-the-scenes footage, stories from the actors and creators and a Q&A session. Slated to appear are Eugene Levy, Catherine O’Hara, Daniel Levy, Annie Murphy, Emily Hampshire and Noah Reid. The sitcom premiered in 2015, following a wealthy family that suddenly finds itself broke and forced to live in a small town its members bought as a joke. Tickets for the Chelsea gig go on sale Friday.