Mat Franco again pit boss at Linq Hotel
SPENDING a year away from his casino showroom has inspired Mat Franco to host a “casino night.”
Franco returns, finally, to his eponymous theater at The Linq Hotel on April 29. His “Magic Reinvented Nightly” show is playing to slightly fewer than 250 folks, at 7 p.m. Thursdays through Mondays, with an additional performance at 9:30 p.m. Saturdays. Tickets go on sale 10 a.m. Friday, sold in pods of two or four, starting at $44.05, on ticketmaster.com.
Franco has been giving his show what he says is “a pretty substantial revamp” and is incorporating a new segment where he performs over a blackjack table.
“I created the new ‘Casino Night’ segment as a framework to give myself an opportunity to share the latest things I’m working on,” Franco said Wednesday. “The tricks will be different, night to night.”
Despite closing in on 2,000 shows during a five-year run on the Strip, Franco allows that he is anxious in his return. He was anticipating a return in December but was halted under the statewide “pause” limiting public gatherings to 50 people.
“This is the longest break, by far, I have ever had since I started performing,” the 32-year-old Franco said. “So I am a little nervous. I don’t know how the audiences are going to react, but I’m also elated to be coming back.”
Franco is working with Brian Burke ,creative producer of “America’s Got Talent” who has helped him develop his residency show. Burke has had a hand in such Strip productions as “Le Reve” at Wynn Las Vegas, Pitbull and Lionel Richie at Zappos Theater, Celine Dion’s “A New Day …” at the Colosseum at Caesars Palace, and the sidelined “Celestia” at The Strat.
Franco is hopeful that he’ll be able to effectively deliver magic, even when audiences’ smiles have disappeared behind face covers.
“I’m just seeing light at the end of the tunnel, and I’m helping get us there,” he said. “This is what ilove. i’m alive performer at heart, and this is what I look forward to the most.”
They slay
Las Vegas-launched rockers Imagine Dragons have sharpened their Tyler Robinson Foundation fundraising campaign with “Slay Cancer With Sabers.” The band is inviting supporters to compete in a Beat Sabers virtual reality tournament in partnership with the online charity clearinghouse The Charity Gurus.
The event started Thursday and is capped by a livestreaming event June 5.
To register and for the rules of engagement, go to slaycancerwitihsabers.com. Donations are $8 (in line with TRF’S eighth anniversary), with money going to the pediatric cancer organization. To play, fans need to purchase Beat
Saber and a VR headset (for info about the VR game, go beatsaber.com).
Take a bow
Any Vegas entertainment type with a keen eye noticed members of the Las Vegas Philharmonic in Imagine Dragons’ remote performance of “Follow Me” on “The Late Show With Steven Colbert” on Tuesday night. Violin greats Deeann Letourneau, Naoko Taniguchi and Omar Shelley and viola virtuoso Moonlight Tran all joined the band’s live performance.
Burlesque back in action
The Burlesque Hall of Fame is reopening April 2 at its permanent home in the Arts District at 1027 S. Main St. Hours are 11 a.m.-5 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays, with guests directed to make reservations at bhof. link/admission. Walk-ins are accepted only when reserved slots are open. Guests arrive on a timed-entry system, limited to six admissions per hour. All COVID-19 protocols are in place.
BHOF is the largest formal collection of burlesque items in the world. Burlesque trailblazer Dixie Evans famously operated the original Exotic World Burlesque & Striptease Hall of Fame collection on an abandoned goat farm in Helendale, California. She brought the collection to Vegas in 2006.
Today, the BHOF displays thousands of costumes, photos, props and personal items from such legends as Gypsy Rose Lee, Sally Rand, Blaze Starr and Tempest Storm. BHOF President Dustin Wax says to expect a collection of theater marquees and larger items on display in the venue’s temporary space. A new exhibit on Asian American performers, centering on costumes donated by Coby Yee, opens in May.
Take ‘D Train’
James “D Train” Williams headlines Notoriety at 10 p.m. Friday. Universally known as simply D Train, the songwriter/ instrumentalist/producer hit No. 1 on the Billboard dance chart with “You’re the One for Me” in December 1981.
His backing band is a collection of Vegas vets, with Naomi Mauro on vocals, music director Lenny Underwood and Chuck Barnes on keys, Steven Lee onguitar and Pepe Jimenez on drums.
Smith’s center
This should be something special: Las Vegas vocalist Savannah Smith makes her debut at The Vegas Room, at 6:30 (dinner) and 8 p.m. (performance) Thursday, Friday and Saturday. Smith has performed with The Moonlighters and Vox Vegas and in “Vegas! The Show.”
Serious talent here. Smith draws from a wide range of inspirations, among them Shirley Bassey, Melissa Etheridge, Gladys Knight, Nina Simone, Pink and the Beatles. Michael Joy accompanies on piano.
John Katsilometes’ column runs daily in the A section. His “Podkats!” podcast can be found at reviewjournal. com/podcasts. Contact him at jkatsilometes@reviewjournal.com. Follow @johnnykats on Twitter, @Johnnykats1 on Instagram.