Las Vegas Spotlight: March 2010
At the top of the list of shows to see this month is that guy who writes the songs that make the young girls cry. That’s right — Barry Manilow himself debuts his new show at Paris Las Vegas. Beginning March 5, the celebrated singer-songwriter begins his two-year run with his new, re-imagined stage show that promises to enthrall generations of Manilow fans. Directed by renowned stage and film choreographer and director Jeffrey Hornaday, the show has been tailor-made for the intimate Paris Théâtre.
Legendary Lily Tomlin is bringing her uproarious one-woman show, Not Playing With a Full Deck, back to MGM Grand’s Hollywood Theater (March 11-17). If you missed her limited Vegas engagement in November, now is your chance to see Tomlin live and in person, performing her brilliant, critically acclaimed comedy.
March also brings some hard-rocking music acts to Vegas. A decidedly different group of “Jersey Boys,” Bon Jovi, brings their “The Circle World Tour” to the MGM Grand Garden Arena on March 6. If “Bad Medicine” isn’t your thing, maybe Bad Religion is — the hardcore band plays the House of Blues at Mandalay Bay March 26-27. At the Pearl Concert Theater at The Palms, it’s the American Gangster, rapper Jay-Z (March 27), who is also a producer of Broadway’s Fela! Experience Hendrix, the fourth edition of the biennial concert tour featuring an all-star line up of music greats paying tribute to the one and only Jimi Hendrix, will be making a stop at The Joint at the Hard Rock on March 6. Included in the lineup are Joe Satriani, Jonny Lang, Eric Johnson, Kenny Wayne Shepherd, Aerosmith’s Brad Whitford, Doyle Bramhall II, Ernie Isley, Living Colour, Double Trouble’s Chris Layton, along with bassist Billy Cox, and David Hidalgo and Cesar Rosas of Los Lobos.
The Orleans Showroom is where you’ll find a couple of all-time fan favorites. Engelbert Humperdinck will answer the musical question “Quando, Quando, Quando” from March 5-7. And Dennis DeYoung, best known as the former front man of Styx, brings his recognizable voice (and Styx songs) to Vegas on March 13-14. R&B singer Teena Marie is playing at the Las Vegas Hilton on March 13, and she’s joined by special guests (and fellow protégées of the late Rick James) Mary Jane Girls. And you’ll be dancing on the ceiling all night long when superstar Lionel Richie comes to The Colosseum at Caesars Palace on March 26-27.
Some top comedians are bringing laughs to Vegas this month. Martin Lawrence, comedian turned sitcom star turned movie star appears at The Pearl Concert Theater at Palms Casino on March 19-20. And another former star of an eponymous sitcom — and currently the host of late night talk show Lopez Tonight — George Lopez, will be performing at the Las Vegas Hilton on March 5-6. Comedian/ventriloquist Jeff Dunham is back at The Colosseum at Caesars Palace (March 19-20), juggling and comedy troupe the Flying Karamazov Brothers are at the Orleans Showroom (March 27-28), and Russell Peters will bring his cutting edge comedy to The Joint at Hard Rock (March 30).
As for legit works, The Nevada Conservatory presents Joanne Bogart and Eric Rockwell’s satirical The Musical of Musicals (the Musical!), March 12-21 at UNLV’s Black Box. The play tells the story of ingénue June, who can’t pay her rent… five different times, in five different musical styles, from Sondheim to Webber, with all stops in between.
And at the Summerlin Library, Signature Productions presents Joe Pietro’s All Shook Up (March 22-April 24). Loosely based on William Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night, the tuner is the tale of Chad, a hip-swiveling roustabout who breezes into town, exciting the local women… and infuriating the local men. With the songs of Elvis Presley, including “Hound Dog,” “Heartbreak Hotel” and “It’s Now or Never,” driving the action (and the women wild), All Shook Up will have you… well… All Shook Up.
