Warriors running fast break on Strip
NEW YORK
HE Kats! Bureau at this writing is the lobby of Hotel Edison in Midtown Manhattan. I am here catching up with the creative team from “Bandstand,” the musical written by Las Vegas composers and musicians Richard Oberacker and Robert Taylor. The musical has been doing bangin’ business at Bernard B. Jacobs Theatre since winning the Tony Award for Best Choreography (Andy Blankenbuehler claiming that honor) on Sunday.
But the news in Vegasville never halts:
TWarriors’ fast break to LV
The Golden State Warriors, who polished off the Cleveland Cavaliers on Monday night to win their second NBA championship title in three years, have touched down for some genuine frivolity on the Strip. Team owners Joe Lacob and Peter Gruber joined team members Kevin Durant (the NBA Finals MVP), Klay Thompson, Draymond Green, Ian Clark, Andre Iguodala, Javale Mcgee, David West, Matt Barnes and Zaza Pachulia are among the Dubs to hit Vegas this weekend.
The team was welcomed to town by MGM Resorts International Chairman Jim Murren, who dispatched one of the company’s private jets to fly the entourage to Vegas. They were taken to Aria and welcomed by members of UNLV’S administration and members of the Runnin’ Rebels. School President Len Jessup, new Athletics Director Desiree Reed-francois and men’s basketball coach Marvin Menzies were among the welcoming party. “This was a great opportunity for our players to get to shake hands with the NBA champs and showcase Las Vegas for the best of NBA,” Jessup said.
Several payers hit Drai’s at The Cromwell for the latest installment of “The Coolest Party Ever,” hosted by Djesco Durant, a fan of Vegas nightclubs (he reveled at Marquee at the Cosmopolitan on New Year’s Eve). They were greeted by a sign reading: “Drai’s Welcomes MVP Kevin Durant.” The champs were each presented personalized Belvedere magnums inscribed with their names.
A theft of history
In a city that too often discards its cultural artifacts, veteran Las Vegas producer Blair Farrington’s collection of stage memorabilia is a civic treasure. But Farrington, who has produced several Vegas shows (“Show in the Sky” at Rio and Britney Spears’ spectacular welcome-to-planet Hollywood show among them) was robbed of many costume pieces either late Sunday night or early Monday morning. Farrington was moving his collection out of a storage facility that is being closed and leveled on Flamingo Road and Arville Street.
The alarms at the business had been turned off, and no surveillance cameras were installed. Among the items missing: A suit of armour from the “Treasures of Russia” exhibit at Rio, an original lion headdress from “Show in the Sky,” a 3-foot-tall pink Marie Antoinette headdress from “Winter in Venice” at The Venetian, a steampunk headdress from the Black & White Ball at the Hard Rock Hotel and a pair of stilts, also from “Show in the Sky.”
Farrington, a creative consultant on “Baz — Star Crossed Love” at Palazzo Theater, says he cannot yet put a monetary value on the pilfered items and is still taking inventory on what else might be missing. “But you know, it’s not about the money, not at all,” he said. “It’s the value of history. It’s the sentimental value. When I saw these pieces missing, I felt like I’d lost a loved one.”
El Deano celebrated
Deana Martin, daughter of Dean Martin and a fine vocalist who frequently headlines in Vegas, is performing June 2324 at South Point Showroom. Her father’s 100th birthday was marked June 7, and her show on June 25 is more typical of her father’s act: Martin is hosting a roast of Dennis Bono, honoring his 70th birthday, also in the Showroom. Doors are at 5 p.m., show is 6 p.m. Bono is the longtime host of “The Dennis Bono Show,” simulcast from the Showroom on radio stations across the West.
John Katsilometes’ column runs daily in the A section. Contact him at jkatsilometes@ reviewjournal.com. Follow @ johnnykats on Twitter, @Johnnykats1 on Instagram. As of 9 p.m. Friday:
1. Political commentator and UNLV grad Tomi Lahren set for Las Vegas return
Although her show on The Blaze was canceled this year after she defended abortion rights, Tomi Lahren is far from finished in the conservative media sphere.
2. Feds seize thousands of MDMA pills after undercover operation
Federal authorities seized thousands of blue transformer-shaped MDMA pills and arrested three men on drug charges Wednesday after a law enforcement sting operation that took place two days before the Electric Daisy Carnival opens in Las Vegas.
3. Man who says he killed intruder booked on murder charge in Las Vegas
A man claiming self-defense in a fatal shooting at an apartment near Nellis Air Force Base was booked into the county jail Friday on a first-degree murder charge.
4. Las Vegas man asks to wear Dallas Cowboys jersey to his double murder trial
This week, Thomas Randolph made an unusual request. Instead of a traditional shirt and tie most incarcerated male defendants wear during trial, he wants to put on his Tony Romo jersey.
5. Corrections employee commits suicide at Pahrump federal detention facility
A corrections employee committed suicide Tuesday at the Nevada Southern Detention Center in Pahrump. As of 9 p.m. Friday:
1. Student DJS get Mccarran visitors excited for EDC
Three students who attend an after-school program at Enterprise Library held DJ sets inside the D-gate concourse at Mccarran International Airport. This served as a preview to Electric Daisy Carnival, June 16-18, at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.
2.CCSD forum on sexual misconduct policy
The Clark County School District hosts a roundtable forum to allow the public a chance to weigh in on a draft social media policy aimed at curtailing inappropriate staff-student relationships.
3. Highlights from the Golden State Warriors championship parade
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