Curtain Up: Cheap Trick, David Lee Roth, ‘Angel of Arkansas’ and more Vegas showbiz news

David Lee Roth has cancelled his seven remaining concerts at the House of Blues at Mandalay Bay, set for January 5-22. As of press time, no official announcement has been made, although Roth posted an image on social media on Monday with the simple and cryptic phrase “A funny thing happened on the way to Las Vegas.” On December 30, a spokesperson for the House of Blues sent a statement cancelling Roth’s December 31 and January 1 shows “due to unforeseen circumstances related to COVID and out of an abundance of caution for those working and attending the shows.” Ticketholders should contact the venue if they haven’t been contacted already.

One rocker is out, a different classic group is in. Cheap Trick will start a new Las Vegas residency with four shows at the Strat Theater on February 25-26 and March 4-5. Tickets for the shows went on sale January 3. The iconic band’s current lineup includes Robin Zander on vocals, Rick Nielsen on guitar, Tom Petersson on bass and Daxx Nielsen on drums. The Strat and SPI Entertainment already broke new ground in this venue with the sold-out Sammy Hagar and Friends shows in the fall, and Brad Goldberg, senior vice president of marketing and entertainment at the north Strip property, said: “We’re thrilled to add Cheap Trick to our lineup of legendary rock residencies at the Strat for what will be a once-in-a-lifetime experience for their fans.” More dates for Hagar are coming soon. Cheap Trick showtimes will be at 9 p.m. in the 900-capacity room.

More new concert announcements: Grammy-nominated singer and actress Elle King will perform at the Westgate International Theater on March 31, with tickets on sale Friday, January 7; And bluegrass phenom Billy Strings, one of the first artists to perform at Virgin Hotels’ outdoor pavilion last fall, will return to Las Vegas at Brooklyn Bowl on April 15, and those tickets are also on sale this Friday.

The Composers Showcase will present a benefit concert reading of “Angel of Arkansas,” a new musical by Richard Oberacker and Rob Taylor, on January 30 at 2 p.m. at Notoriety, the live entertainment venue at Neonopolis in downtown Las Vegas. Oberacker is the musical director of Cirque du Soleil’s “KÀ” at MGM Grand and he and Taylor are the writers behind the Tony Award-winning musical “Bandstand.” An announcement of the full cast and band for this premiere original presentation inspired by the life of activist Ruth Corker Burks is expected soon, but Vegas and Broadway stars already slated to join the show include Ruby Lewis, Brent Barrett, Noah Rivera, Paul Johnson, Daz Weller, Chris Lash and Annette Verdolino. Tickets start at $50 and are available at notorietylive.com/event/angel-of-arkansas, with some proceeds benefitting the TCS Entertainment Community Relief Fund serving local performing arts industry workers.

If you thought you had a crazy New Year’s Eve, consider David Perrico’s output heading into 2022. The local composer, trumpeter and bandleader and his massive team of musicians and crew provided the entertainment at five major Strip properties on December 31, with more than 60 artists performing at Wynn, Aria, MGM Grand, Mandalay Bay and Resorts World. Perrico’s main outfit is the Pop Strings Orchestra big band that acts as the house entertainment for the Las Vegas Raiders at Allegiant Stadium, but his company operates various pop, jazz, soul, Latin, classical and other musical groups that are interconnected and perform at various corporate gigs and Las Vegas venues all the time. An alternate version of the Pop Strings Orchestra with a 16-piece all-female string section and four vocalists will perform a postponed holiday music show at Myron’s at the Smith Center on January 12.