The Katz Meow ARCHIVES

Did You Hear the One About…?    

Non-stop laughs at the Comedy Stop at the Sahara

Sometimes it’s good to do something just for laughs. If that’s an idea that tickles your fancy, you might want to make a comedy stop—at the Comedy Stop, which last year moved to the Sahara after 19 years at the Tropicana.

The long-running comedy club, which opened in Atlantic City in December 1983 (and is still operating) and in Las Vegas on May 1, 1990, is nationally recognized as one of the Top 10 comedy rooms in the country. According to owner Bob Kephart, that is something that didn’t happen by accident.

“I’m an old showbiz guy from Philadelphia,” he notes. “I worked as an usher in a beautiful theater there when I was 16, and I realized early on that the show had to start when the curtain came up. You can’t expect people to sit through two mediocre comedians waiting for the big guy. What made Comedy Stop different from the beginning is that I always spent more money on the opening acts than other comedy clubs —many of the openers were headliners in other rooms. It was like an investment. I wanted to create excitement and fun from the start of the evening and then build to a crescendo.”

At the Sahara, Comedy Stop can be found building in the Congo room seven nights a week. As always, there are three new acts every week, with the changeover occurring every Monday night. Kephart, who has 150 comedians in his stable, says that he uses a lot of the people he has used for years

because he knows that their material is original—having been there when they wrote it—and that they hit a home run every time. He also introduces three or four new faces every year.
Aug-23 - Aug-29
KEVIN KRAMIS
CHRISSY BURNS
QUINN DAHLE (pictured)

“We’re very critical; we only want the best of the best,” he maintains. “We have to get these acts on their way up because once they hit, we can’t afford them. I have always had a secret weapon: I have a God-given ability to see talent. Before I take comedians, they have to do 10 minutes in front of a live audience. I have to see them work an audience, and if they’re successful, they may have a shot at a slot.”

While Comedy Stop started out attracting a 25-40 demographic, it now gets audiences from 25-75. Much of that is attributable to the fact that Kephart doesn’t let the comedians get into X-rated material.

“I tell the comics that if you can’t write material without using the F word, don’t even come in,” Kephart says. “That doesn’t happen in other comedy clubs.” Go to www.comedystop.com for specials.

Guns, Roses and Marriage at Fitzgerald’s

It’s enough to drive you to drink… and eat… downtown

There are many good shows in Las Vegas but downtown at Fitzgerald’s Casino & Hotel there is one that totally “kills “—up to four victims every evening, in case you’re counting.

Dinner guests drop like flies, the mystery unfolds all around you and you find yourself totally involved in Marriage Can Be Murder, the longest running comedy murder mystery dinner show in the city. Having celebrated its 11th anniversary on July 14, marking a year since it opened at the property, it is an interactive experience in which you’ll be caught up in both the murderous deed being done and the “whodunit”—all the while you are enjoying a three-course meal.

This eat, drink and be buried-type of experience, contains lots of surprises and audience participation. I took a guest from out of town this past week and our faces hurt from laughing. Much of the humor of Lieutenant Eric Post and his ditzy cohort, Dee Dee (played by his real-life wife, Jayne Post), is off-the-cuff and designed to slay you, hitting its mark every time. This four-dimensional theater concept was created more than 20 years ago by the Posts, both veteran actors, whose theatrical interaction with each other is reminiscent of George Burns and Gracie Allen. It has been seen by more than 250,000 audience members in the past 10 years

The evening begins as everyone is seated at the tables. “People aren’t who you think they are,” ditzy Dee Dee informs the crowd. “Do you have the board game ‘Clue?’ Well, this is nothing like that. People will be murdered here this evening. So shake the hand of your neighbor and say goodbye. You’re all wearing name tags so that we’ll know who you are when you die. You’ll see shootings, stabbings, and poisonings. Just keep eating. Here you die, eat—and pay for it.”

With those sage words, the fun and food begin. Guests have their choice of one of three entrees and they also get salad, dessert and one non-alcoholic drink; the tip is also included in the price. In addition, there is a VIP package that features premium seating, a souvenir T-shirt, one complimentary well cocktail, domestic beer, or wine, and includes the tip, as well as there being special pricing for Nevada residents.

Amidst the shooting, stabbing, poisoning and eating, the audience gets to analyze clues to who the murderer is and submit their guess for a prize at the end of the evening on a form placed at each seat at the tables. The show changes every few months and there is a new killer and a new theme.

The evening is to die for.

Lights, Camera, Action

Jersey Boys has gone Hollywood, Louie Anderson has moved down the street and Barry Manilow is on board for a new Las Vegas run

If you caught the new flick The Other Guys, starring Will Ferrell and Mark Wahlberg, which opened on August 6, you couldn’t have missed the scene in which the characters attend a performance of Jersey Boys in the Big Apple. Well, it may have looked like New York City but the scene was actually shot at The Palazzo in Las Vegas with the Las Vegas cast of the show. The comedy is about two mismatched police detectives who try to prove themselves as the city’s top cops but things don’t go exactly as planned.

As for Jersey Boys, which continues to do great business at The Palazzo, that is a true accounting of Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons, and as wont in real life, things didn’t always go exactly as planned there either.

The group that began on a street corner in New Jersey and culminated in one of the most popular rock ‘n roll groups in musical history, with more than 175 million records sold, embodies a story that has all the aspects that audiences can relate to. The Four Seasons – Frankie Valli (Rick Faugno), Travis Cloer), Bob Gaudio Erich Bergen), Tommy DeVito (Deven May) and Nick Massi (Jeff Leibow) – all had very universal human needs. They wanted to belong; they wanted to win; they wanted to be respected; they wanted a home. Along their journey, they did well, they screwed up, and, in the process, they created some humorous moments.

“Doing this show has been one of my biggest challenges professionally,” admits Faugno, “The story is so deep. I’ve been doing Jersey Boys for three years and have been playing Frankie since the day the show opened at The Palazzo and just when you think you’ve discovered something, you see that there’s so much more to discover.”

Comedian Louie Anderson is taking a well-deserved break, preparing for his move from the Excalibut to the intimate 250-seat Anderson Theater at Palace Station. The name of his show, due to open in mid-September, is “Louie: LOL” and it’s being presented by Bonkerz Comedy Productions. With it, Anderson will become the first resident headliner in the history of Station Casinos. This also marks the first time that the comic will have a showroom named after him. Station Casinos jumped at the chance to have Anderson headline in his own showroom with its intimate setting and diverse mix of a local and tourist audience.

“Very few headliners in the history of Las Vegas have had the privilege of having their own theater,” Anderson says. “I’m ecstatic to be joining the Station Casinos family and am looking forward to playing to more locals as well as tourists in my own theater.”

After a very successful first five months, AEG Live and Paris Las Vegas have  announced new performance dates for legendary singer-songwriter Barry Manilow’s new resident show at Paris Las Vegas. Manilow will perform 27 new performance dates from September 2 – January 16. Tickets for Manilow’s new, re-imagined stage show went on sale Saturday, August 7 at 10 a.m. Manilow is currently performing 78 shows a year for two years at the Paris Théâtre at Paris Las Vegas.  The shows are produced by Stiletto Entertainment in conjunction with AEG Live and Paris Las Vegas. 

The Name Game

News from beyond the neon lights

Popular duo Zowie Bowie is going to be getting its piece of the Rocks once again every Friday night beginning September 3.

After three years of performing at the Red Rock Resort, which they opened in 2006, Zowie Bowie, a.k.a.  Chris Phillips and Marley Taylor, followed their dream of performing on the Strip at the Monte Carlo. But realizing that performing for their fans at Red Rock is where they really wanted to be, the Las Vegas mainstay will be returning to the Rocks Lounge at Red Rock to bring their unique blend of today’s hottest dance, hip-hop and Top 40 music to audiences.

Zowie Bowie features the musical talents and unbridled energy of Phillips, Taylor and a high-voltage band that creates a sizzling and sexy sound. While according to Taylor, Phillips might quip that what accounts for the duo’s popularity is a lot of Crown Royal, she views their show as being a fresh approach to the nightclub concert scene. Wanting to keep live entertainment and the spirit Las Vegas was built on alive, the duo creates a party atmosphere that people come back to enjoy week after week and there is also a lot of audience participation.

“It’s like weekly therapy,” Taylor says.

The duo moved here from Arizona, where they met and lived , to open Red Rock and quickly became on of Las Vegas’ hottest band. Ever wonder how they got their name? I interviewed them a little while back and this is what Marley told me.

“Chris was doing the more disco ‘80s thing and I, being a songwriter, was doing more original music in the adult contemporary vein,” Taylor said. “He had been performing in the Arizona Valley for years and he had the name Zowie Bowie. Previously a heavy metal rock drummer, Chris was asked to cover for the lead singer of a friend’s band who had gotten sick. Chris told him that he would cover for the guy but not under the name Chris Phillips. So being a big fan of David Bowie, he went under the name of Zowie Bowie. It just came up and it fit the moment.”

“David Bowie actually does have a kid named Zowie Bowie,” she added. “But he changed his name to Joey or something like that. His mother, Bowie’s ex-wife, lives in Arizona and gave us permission to use the name since her son isn’t using it anymore.”

Not all the stars on the Strip are human. In honor of its 10th anniversary, which it is celebrating all summer long, Shark Reef at Mandalay Bay introduced the newest member of its family, a Bowmouth Guitarfish, better known as a Shark Ray. 

The female Shark Ray is one of less than 12 such animals in aquariums throughout the U.S. It was acquired from the California Academy of Sciences Steinhart Aquarium after she outgrew their facility. Listed as a vulnerable species, little is known about this fascinating creature.  The 5-foot, 90-pound Shark Ray, now residing at Shark Reef Aquarium, is acclimating well to her new home within the facility’s 1.3-million-gallon shipwreck exhibit.

  Here’s one with a real “under” story. Hard Rock’s high-end lingerie store Love Jones is celebrating National Underwear Day, Thursday, Aug. 5, with a buy one pair, get one free in intimate apparel. Top brands such as Hanky Panky, Mary Green, Sexy Panties and Naughty Knickers, Undrest and Elle Macpherson are included in this one-time offer exclusively at the sexy lingerie boutique.

Angelica Bridges, playboy model, “Baywatch” actress and star of the Las Vegas headlining adult revue FANTASY at Luxor, performed at the “Playboy Summer Solstice Party” at the Playboy Mansion with her band, Strawberry Blonde on Saturday, July 24. The radiant redhead and all-girl pop group took center-stage at the Playboy Mansion, where they performed four of their signature hit songs including, “Everybody Wants You,” which was written by Bridges herself. The event, which also included a poker tournament and a “Concourso Exotic Car Show,” raised more than six figures for the “Rescue for Humanity” charity for an orphanage in Nepal.

Shooting from the “Hip”

Tom Jones and Bob Mackie share and Cher alike

It hasn’t been easy keeping up with the Jones these days.

While the MGM Grand is his home of choice in Las Vegas and he will return there August 5-18, for the past several months, Tom Jones has been overseas recording a new album (releasing July 26). For those who haven’t seen him lately, he’s also sporting a new look these days, letting his hair and beard go gray, feeling that’s who he is. It all adds up to the fact that at an age where many are breaking theirs, Jones is becoming increasingly “hip.”

So what’s new, Pussycat?  His latest album is called Praise and Blame and Jones calls it the “most natural sound he’s ever recorded,” noting that the album sounds like it’s been done in a room as opposed to a recording studio. Jones actually debuted the gospel-inspired album in a church last month. The singer notes that the songs, such as “Strange Things Happening Every Day,” “If I Give My Soul,” “Trouble Me,” and Bob Dylan’s “What Good Am I?” are so strong that they didn’t need a lot of orchestration. Jones has been signing gospel for a very long time—in fact, he and Elvis used to get together and sing gospel music after their shows.

Jones, who turned 70 in June, still has those fabulous pipes. He says that recording this album was like going back to the start of his career when he was singing in pubs, clubs and dancehalls in his native Wales before Gordon Mills discovered him and co-wrote the song (with Les Reed) “It’s Not Unusual” that brought Jones to prominence. The singer calls Praise and Blame a concept album and says that it’s something he’s had inside him for years.

Jones seems to be taking on a lot of challenges as of late. When I interviewed him in his dressing room at the MGM a couple of visits ago, he was excited about his new CD at that time, 24 Hours, which was his first album released in the United States in 15 years. What’s more, with the exception of three songs: “Sugar Daddy,” penned by Bono; “I’m Alive,” originally recorded by Tommy James and the Shondells, and Bruce Springsteen’s “The Hittest,” Jones co-wrote the entire CD with four young, new female writers in England and told me he was giving the public a peek into who he really is—both things he had never done before.

Ever wonder what it’s like to design clothes for the world’s biggest stars? 

I had a chance to interview famed designer Bob Mackie about what it was like creating all the costumes for Cher’s show at the Colosseum at Caesars Palace. The first question I asked Mackie, who told me that after designing for Cher since the ‘70s that he feels like they are joined at the hip, was where the ideas for all that awesome stage fare came from.

“Cher’s the big boss. It’s her name on the program,” Mackie told me. “It’s her taste, her fans, her idea of what her fans expect the costumes to be. They love her outfits. Every time she changes clothes, it brings a huge response. It’s a lot of fantasy dressing. In the old days, I would design the clothes and she would just come in for fittings. She trusted me. She still trusts me but for this show, I had to show her sketches and get her approval. I understand it, though. She has to wear the costumes for the three-year duration of her contract so she really has to love them.”

It’s the outrageous aspect for which Cher is known for that makes designing for her fun for Mackie. With each costume he created for “Cher at the Colosseum,” he had the challenge of trying to top himself—17 times. This is the number of garments he designed and Cher initially wore until she was forced to cut her show down to 90 minutes, leaving about 12 costume changes in the show.

“Cher said to me, ‘Doesn’t every performer want these kinds of clothes to perform in?’” Mackie laughs. “I replied, ‘No, they’re not clothes—they’re get-ups.’ But she’s so down-to-earth and real that she can be all dressed up as an Egyptian goddess and be talking to the audience like she’s on a street corner in her jeans and little T-shirt. There has never been anyone like her. Most performers couldn’t handle it. It takes a certain kind of ease to not be intimidated by your clothes.

“She has a look that has come and gone, and gone and come back again,” he adds. “On stage, she wears a peasant blouse that I designed for her and she wanted a pair of jeans to go with it. She has about 500 pairs of jeans and she’s always looking for the perfect pair. I told her, ‘Don’t look at me. I’m not going shopping for jeans.’ So she ordered about 100 pairs of jeans in different styles and colors." -- Bobbie Katz