Columnist has close shave for charity
IT had to happen at Harrah’s, which rhymes with “Hair-was,” which is how we stand today. Bald once more, we shaved it down with the “Menopause The Musical” cast Wednesday night at Harrah’s Cabaret.
The event preceded that night’s performance. It was also the opening act, of sorts, for Saturday’s shave-a-thon at the plaza on New Yorknew York’s Brooklyn Bridge, just outside Nine Fine Irishmen. That event kicks off at 10 a.m. and runs through about 6 p.m.
St. Baldrick’s is the nationwide campaign to battle childhood cancer. The Las Vegas campaign was launched by Brian and Lynn Mcmullan of Mcmullan’s Irish Pub in 2007.
The couple joined the national effort to honor their daughter, Kyra, who died of brain cancer in 1997. She was 2½ years old.
Wednesday’s shave was performed by “Menopause” cast members Vita Corimbi-drew (cast as Earth Mother in the show), Lisa Mack (Professional Woman), Jacquelyn Holland-wright (Soap Star) and Lori Legacy (Iowa Housewife); along with Cherity Harchis, who swings all the roles. Professional hair stylist and entertainer Tony Torres, whom we’ve most recently seen in “Legendary Divas” at the Trop, performed the “clean-up” work.
Despite jokes to the contrary, “Menopause” is no hot flash. This show has run for 16 years, in a town where shows often flame out in a month. It is easily the longest-running musical ever on the Strip. The show opened at Shimmer Cabaret at Las Vegas Hilton (Westgate, today) in February 2006, moving to Luxor’s Atrium Showroom in February 2009, and to Harrah’s in February 2015.
“Menopause” is also the city’s only Actors’ Equity production in Vegas.
Corimbi-drew, an original cast member, said in July 2021 as the show returned to the stage after the pandemic shutdown, “The longevity factor is because it is funny, and it’s relatable. All of the songs are recognizable — the Beach Boys, Aretha Franklin. It is the soundtrack of people’s lives. People immediately hum along.”
“California Girls,” “Good Vibrations” and “Help Me Rhonda” are the Beach Boys songs parodied in the show. A cover of “Chain of Fools” from Franklin is in the set list. “Heard it Through the Grapevine,” “I Got You Babe,” “Stayin’ Alive” and “What’s Love Got to Do With It” are all performed, live from the stage. The songs are mixed satirically. “My Guy” is “My Thighs.” “I’m havin’ a hot flash,” is the swapped-out lyric in “Heat Wave.”
Wednesday night, I had a walk-on role as a chef (this was the second time this year I’ve dressed as a chef in a Strip show, along with my appearance in the sinceclosed “Bat Out of Hell” at Paris Theater). No spoiler, but I carried a big menu.
She’s in the driver’s seat
Adele is planning to perform at the Colosseum at Caesars Palace past this month.
This we can be assured as her show is being offered in the $5 million Emperor Package for the Formula One Las Vegas Grand Prix in November.
Two tickets to Adele’s show at Caesars Palace are listed in this package, available for $5 million during the
Nov. 16-18 race. This is the first (and so far, only) formal listing of Adele performances beyond her March 24-25 shows.
Speculation has intensified this week about Adele’s plan to extend on the Strip. We expect the superstar to return sooner than November’s race, in mid-june, as she adds dates to her hit “Weekends With Adele” series.
The Emperor Package was announced in December, meaning Adele’s extension has been expected for months. But the information was positioned as “an added gift,” near the bottom of all the other luxury amenities. The connection between the ticket offer and November race dates went largely unnoticed by most of Adele’s worldwide following.
From that release, “As an added gift, Caesars Palace will invite the Emperor Package holder and a guest to attend the sold-out and critically acclaimed residency “WEEKENDS WITH ADELE” at The Colosseum at Caesars Palace.”
Adele has consistently sold out her “Weekends” run at Caesars. Tickets for her shows this weekend are running between $2,000-$7,000 on the secondary market.
His steak in Vegas
Jimmy Garoppolo and his family held his first celebratory dinner as a Raider at Michael Mina’s Stripsteak at Mandalay Bay on Thursday night. Garoppolo had an 8:30 p.m. reservation, party of six. Jimmy G. was “incognito” and didn’t take photos (we need to fix that) on a quiet night out.
Garoppolo also wore a natty suit to his news conference at Raiders headquarters in Henderson. “I get to wear black now,” he commented. That suit was turned around in 24 hours by custom menswear designer Tom Marchitelli’s Gentlemen’s Playbook fashion outpost. “Custom menswear for the urban man,” is its motto. And from the company Twitter account, with a photo of Garoppolo in his new ensemble, “Jimmy G. wasn’t playing fair today. And you should get used to it.”
Cool Hang Alert
Toscha Comeaux with the Uli Geissendoerfer Trio (John Belzaguy and Peppe Merolla) play Dispensary Lounge at 8 p.m. Tuesday. This spot at 2451 East Tropicana Ave. (southeast corner of Trop and Eastern) is a jazz hang, not a cannabis club, but spirits are high just the same. And we have renamed the stage the Waterwheel Lounge. Get there and you’ll know why. Go to thedispensarylounge.com for info.