Frommer's Las Vegas 2004

250
CHAPTER 10 . LAS VEGAS AFTER DARK
only you can make. (Though no one we’ve personally sent has come back regretting
that they went.) But we can say this: Watch this show, and you know where
a good chunk of the money is going (in other words, they spend a bundle
nightly to mount this thing). Note that no tank tops, shorts, or sneakers are
allowed. In Bellagio, 3600 Las Vegas Blvd. S. & 888/488-7111 or 702/693-7722. Tickets $90–
$136 (excluding tax). Wed–Sun 7:30 and 10:30pm.
Cirque du Soleil’s Zumanity Surely by now you’ve gotten the message—Vegas
is not for families anymore. Need further proof? New York–New York, the hotel
most like a theme park, is offering up this, yet another Cirque de Soleil (which
started, let’s remember, as a circus) show, with all the artistic imagery and astonishing
human feats we’ve come to expect, but this one is . . . topless. Occasionally.
We think. It won’t open until after we go to press, and in typical Vegas fashion,
everyone is being cagey about exactly what is going to take place and how much
of it will be bare, but the words “provocative,” “arousing,” “sensuality,” “desire,”
and best of all, “created for adults over 18” are being thrown around. Also, there
is some cabaret stool seating, and, even more tellingly, “Love Seats” and “Duo
Sofas.” You do the math. While you are doing that, we are getting in line, because
anything Cirque does is all right by us. We think. 3790 Las Vegas Blvd. S. (in New
York–New York). & 702/740-6969. www.zumanity.com. Tickets $190 (for sofas), $150 (love seats),
$75 (theater seats), $55 (cabaret stools), all including tax. Tues–Sat 7:30 and 10:30pm.
Crazy Girls Crazy Girls, presented in an intimate theater, is probably the raciest
revue on the Strip. It features sexy showgirls with perfect bodies in erotic
song-and-dance numbers enhanced by innovative lighting effects. Think of
Penthouse poses coming to life. Perhaps it was best summed up by one older man
from Kentucky: “It’s okay if you like boobs and butt. But most of the girls can’t
even dance.” In The Riviera Hotel & Casino, 2901 Las Vegas Blvd. S. & 877/892-7469 or
702/794-9433. Tickets $33 (excluding tax). Fri–Wed 8 and 9:30pm.
Clint Holmes Who? “My name is Michael, I’ve got a nickel.” Oh, right. So
why should you go? Because you miss, or simply still long for, the days of pure
Vegas entertainers, you know, guys who sang (competently), told jokes and selfdeprecating
stories (competently), and dared the audience to love him with great
confidence and, well, competence. No tigers, no magic, just a strong band and a
strong sense of self—which is interesting as it’s been hard to market this guy,
because he doesn’t offer magic, tigers, or any other kind of flashy gimmick, and
has a bit of talent to back up his confident and competent stage manner. You will
hear some originals, some covers (“Banana Boat Song,” “What Kind of Fool Am
I?”), in addition to stories of how Holmes was influenced by Sammy Davis Jr.,
which explains a lot, and we mean that in a positive way. He’s good, but you need
to want to see this kind of retro entertainment, and we mean that in a positive
way as well. In Harrah’s, 3475 Las Vegas Blvd. S. & 800/392-9002. Tickets $60 (excluding tax).
Mon–Sat 7:30pm.
Danny Gans: The Man of Many Voices In a town where the consistent sellouts
are costly, elaborate extravaganzas, it’s a tribute to Danny Gans’s charisma and
appeal that his one-man variety act can draw the same crowds with nothing more
than a back-up band and a few props. Gans is “the man of many voices”—more
than 400 of them—and his show features impressions of 80 different celebrities,
usually a different mix each night depending on audience demographics.
The emphasis is on musical impressions (everyone from Sinatra to Springsteen),
with some movie scenes (Hepburn and Fonda from On Golden Pond, Tom Hanks