Fator ‘super-excited’ for return to stage
HE’S gonna get giddy. We speak of ventriloquial star Terry Fator. He’s returning to the stage on Thanksgiving, thankful to be performing anywhere at anytime.
“I am super-excited to be coming back. I’m looking at experimenting, doing some different things,” Fator said Thursday after announcing his limited engagement at New York-new York, beginning on Thanksgiving and running through Dec. 31. “We’ll be a little bare-bones onstage, but will be doing stuff we haven’t done before. I am honestly going to be giddy when I walk onstage.”
Titled, “Who’s The Dummy Now,” Fator’s show runs 7:30 p.m. Thursdays, Fridays and Sundays, and 7 and 9:30 p.m. Saturdays. Tickets start at $34.95, not including fees, available at mgmresorts.com or ticketmaster.com. Fator thus steps into the theater recently left open by the closing of Cirque’s “Zumanity,” which closed permanently after running for 17 years.
An 11-year headliner at The Mirage whose contract expired during COVID, Fator says he’s been reviewing options at MGM Resorts International since October 2019. That includes the “Zumanity” theater at New York-new York.
“I have always loved New York-new York, and I think my show will do well there,” Fator said. “I think, as a family show, it will have a lot of appeal.”
Fator’s show will follow socially distant spacing protocols and COVID directives for mass gatherings. “We’re going to really make sure that everything is super-safe,” Fator said. “We are being stringent with all the protocols and social distancing.”
One segment will serve as a new, shall we say, innovative form of social distancing. Fator plans to do a duet live with a recorded version of himself operating his figures. For instance, he will voice and operate his Justin Bieber character while singing with little Emma Taylor on video on “Shallow.” And Fator will employ his Willie Nelson puppet while swapping lines with Fernando (with his unmistakable Julio Iglesias vibe) on “To All the Girls I’ve Loved Before.”
Fator is also incorporating his backing musicians, cut loose in August 2019. The band is being reassembled to create all of the backing tracks for the New York-new York run.
Fator said he will return his Donald Trump puppet, eventually, but “not at first.” The figure was shelved in November 2019 as the presidential campaign intensified.
The 55-year-old Fator is the second “America’s Got Talent” champion this week to announce he is reopening on the
Strip. Mat Franco is returning to the Linq Hotel on Dec. 17.
Fator has performed select ticketed and private shows since announcing, in the first week of March, his show at The Mirage would close. He regularly posted new comic bits and songs on social media. But as they say, there is no substitute for a live audience.
“I am so looking forward to it,” Fator said. “We’re adapting to the times, we’re being safe, and we’re ready to unveil it on Thanksgiving.”
Skye goes boom
Column fave and Rose. Rabbit. Lie frontwoman
Skye Dee Miles has opened a Wednesday night series at Cork and Thorn on 70 West Imperial Ave., between Main and Commerce, in the Arts District. Miles is joined by a few players in her RRL band in a scene reminiscent of her “Boom Boom Room” show several years ago at the Tropicana Lounge.
“It’s a mild ‘Boom Boom Room,’” Miles says. “It’s one ‘Boom.’ You start with one, and work your way up.”
Miles is the queen of Kings in this show, sampling B.B.,
Freddie and Albert. We’re even trying to persuade her to work Carole King and The King himself, Elvis, into the set list. It all starts at 9 p.m., with an extensive drink menu and noshes available. It’s relaxed, and Miles says, “We’re gonna roll with the times, whatever they bring.”
LMS sidelined
Mayfair Supper Club vocalist and Vegas native Lisa Marie Smith has experienced a few firsts in 2020. She’s engaged to trumpet great Isaac Tubb. She headlined her first solo cabaret series in October at The Vegas Room. And she is fighting off COVID, having tested positive on Nov. 7. Smith, a swing singer in Mayfair Supper
Club at Bellagio, has been offstage since her diagnosis. She believes she was exposed just before then, during a trip to Southern California for an engagement-photo shoot.
“It’s been rough, and for a hot minute I was really scared,” Smith, who has battled fatigue, breathing problems and a loss of taste, said Friday. “I have been very careful, too. It takes a toll on your psyche. I just say be extra vigorous because this is really frightening.” Smith won’t sing again until at least next week while her lungs recover.
Heads up
Expect an announcement soon, like within the week, of a Vegas production moving into a larger venue to adhere to socially distant directives. This show will plan to open just after New Year’s.