Denise Truscello
Frank Marino, shown here with cast members from “Legends In Concert” at the Tropicana.
Friday, Nov. 13, 2020 | 2 a.m.
If I was in charge of Las Vegas and could choose which production shows would reopen during this uncertain era, “Legends In Concert” would be at the top of my list. The musical tribute show is the longest running production on the Strip and an instantly recognizable crowd pleaser, and its 850-seat theater at Tropicana is the right size and feel to comfortably fit a socially distanced audience of 250. The style of the show and ticket price is a good fit for the current Vegas visitor demographic, and since last fall, ‘Legends’ has included the longest running Strip headliner, Frank Marino, as host — actually Marino’s iconic portrayal of Joan Rivers as hostess.
But the Trop has only been reopened since September. Its Laugh Factory comedy club resumed shows last week and headlining comic magician Murray SawChuck will bring his show back to that room on November 27. There’s no sign yet of a “Legends” comeback or the other long-running musical tribute that shares the Tropicana Theater, “Purple Reign.” But it’s in the works.
“There’s no specific date set. Our CEO is working closely with the Tropicana and [resort owners] PNG [Penn National Gaming] and it’s everybody’s hope we can get open as soon as possible,” says “Legends” Vice President Gina Capecci, who is based in Las Vegas. The show runs several versions in other cities and touring editions as well. “What we’re seeing is the town is relatively empty during the week and a little busier on weekends, so we’re toying with a couple different options, opening with an abridged schedule or jumping into a full schedule or other things.”
Penn & Teller
Not all Strip shows have had the midweek success that “Legends” has traditionally enjoyed, so the current Monday-through-Thursday slowdown on the Strip could be a key factor in its delayed return. Originally debuting in Las Vegas in 1983 at Imperial Palace, the show moved from Flamingo to Tropicana early last year.
“We are thrilled to be at Tropicana, it was always looking terrific for us there and we still think it’s going to look terrific, it’s just getting across that hurdle to get up and open,” Capecci says. “We’re a 35-year brand, the longest running show in Las Vegas, and we have every intention of getting people back onstage as soon as is physically possible and safely possible. We’re working on it 24-7.”
Marino says he’s happy to be on the show sidelines for now, watching and learning how others are doing it before the time comes to help bring his fellow “Legends” back to life. He recently attended “Thunder From Down Under” and “The Australian Bee Gees Show” at Excalibur and was impressed at how smoothly everything ran, and his longtime partner, Alex Schechter, is senior vice president at SPI Entertainment, producer of both shows.
“I wanted to see how it worked with the audience being distanced and I wanted to see the clean-up in between [the shows],” Marino says. “They did everything very well and I was so happy to see the girls at ‘Thunder’ going just as crazy as ever, but staying in their little pods. The good thing is, now people know we’re in this together and they’re more than happy to follow the rules.”
Marino’s crystal-ball guess is “Legends” could be back at the Trop in February, but I think it could return any time after the first of the year, as long as Southern Nevada can fight off a virus spike and the state isn’t forced to tighten restrictions. “Legends” usually takes the month of January off because it’s the type of entertainment that doesn’t benefit from CES and other large conventions. Without those business events, there could be an opportunity for shows like this one to make it work.
Of course, I have more from Marino, and this stuff is good stuff: His Majesty, The Queen has been working on a new form of “Divas Las Vegas,” which ran for eight years at the Linq, with the team at SPI. Could it open sometime soon? It could. Where might it play? “Let’s just say I could cross a bridge from the Trop and get to the new venue,” says the chief diva, who’s also planning another pair of “Diva-Licious Brunch” afternoon shows local restaurant fave DW Bistro for December 6. Keep your eyes open.
The Rat Pack is Back
We now know when some other longtime headliners will be back in action. Penn & Teller helped announce the Rio’s reopening date of December 22 this week and while the magical duo did not disclose exactly when the show will return, expect it will happen sometime in December.
Tape Face at Harrah’s, which made its triumphant return Wednesday night, is not the only show that returns this week. “The Rat Pack is Back,” still going strong after more than two decades at several different venues, returned to the Tuscany Thursday, relocating to the larger Florentine Ballroom space from the Copa Room. Performances continue at 7:30 p.m. Thursday through Saturday.
Ready for a powerhouse team-up? Headlining rockers “Vin A” Adinolfi of the Bronx Wanderers and Jimmy Denning of “Tenors of Rock” have created an unholy union resulting in “Vin & Jimmy’s Downtown Hootenanny,” a guest star-laden, genre-crossing musical party set for 7 p.m. November 18 at Notoriety at Neonopolis on Fremont Street. This is definitely going to be fun. Get tickets at whichwayrecords.com.
Jennifer Romas is taking a different version of her “Sexxy” revue to the Hustler Club for supper club-style performances on November 19-21. The gentlemen’s club’s mezzanine level will transform into a sultry showroom for the Westgate Cabaret show’s sizzling cast of dancers, aerialists and pole acrobats, complemented by a special dinner menu. For more info, visit vegashustlerclub.com.
Speaking of the pod: Derrick Barry, one of the co-stars of the sensational new “RuPaul’s Drag Race Live” at the Flamingo Showroom, tweeted a simple but informative tweet this week: “See you in January.” If that’s when the show comes back, it would confirm what Piff the Magic Dragon told us last month on the Sun on the Strip. Piff moved into the big room at Flamingo when he resumed performances just before Halloween.
