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Leila Navidi
The curtain closes for the final time on Folies Bergere at the Tiffany Theatre inside the Tropicana in Las Vegas.
Published Wednesday, Jan. 20, 2010 | 5:45 p.m.
Updated Wednesday, Jan. 20, 2010 | 6:09 p.m.
The cast and crew gather for a post-show meeting after one of the final performances of Folies Bergere.
Manya Johnson, who worked on the wardrobe of Folies Bergere in 1967-1969, sits on stage after the final performance of Folies Bergere at the Tiffany Theatre inside the Tropicana in Las Vegas Saturday.
Performers finish the final Can Can number during the final performance of Folies Bergere at the Tiffany Theatre inside the Tropicana in Las Vegas.
When the most positive assessment you can make for a showroom is that it looks good when the lights are low, maybe it's time to gut and renovate that showroom.
That's the prevailing thought at Tropicana. New hotel president Tom McCartney said Monday night that Tiffany Theater, in its current throwback design of table seating and rounded crimson booths, is about to go bye-bye birdie. This is some old Tiffany; the theater dates to 1975, when it replaced the Sammy Davis Jr. Superstar Theater. The showroom was the site of one of the more mind-boggling bookings ever in Las Vegas when Beck performed there in May 1999 (and read the esteemed Geoff Carter's review of that show here). It is most famously known as the home of "Folies Bergere," which closed in March. At the time, the showroom reflected the same signs of aging as the stage production, with the dusted-over purple curtain closing a show that itself was pretty tattered.
Thus, shortly after Wayne Newton's "One Before I Go" production clears the hall in April, work will begin on a new theater that will most resemble the Luxor Theatre (when it's empty, of course). The new Tropicana theater will be fully seated, with space added at the back of the space to increase capacity from today's 800 to about 1,000. The back of the venue will be built up to facilitate the additional rows of seats. Work should be finished between September and the end of the year as part of the massive refurbishing of the entire property being forged by owner Alex Yemenidjian, McCartney and F&B whiz Tom Recine.
Also in the plans are a new restaurant, Biscayne (as in, "Key"), to take over the spot Legends steak house now occupies. The pool area, at once grand and largely forgotten, will be an area of emphasis, with a new indoor-outdoor nightclub set to open in time for New Year's Eve. It'll remind you a lot of XS at Encore.
There is a plan, too, at to bring live boxing to the hotel's pavilion, which is why Yemenidjian was spotted Saturday night sitting next to his friend, fight promoter Bob Arum, ringside at The Joint at the Hard Rock Hotel for the Vanes "Nightmare" Martirosyan-Kassim Ouma fight card (I used to hang out with a bartender in Chico nicknamed "Nightmare" who could drink an entire bottle of Jager in one sitting, but I digress). The hotel could tie into the new lineup of Saturday fights on Fox Sports Net, which broadcast the card from The Joint.
What else? Oh the rooms, which already are fairly large by standard-room standards, are being renovated. And for some information about a band that might work its way into the hotel's plans, read on ...
Santa Fe & The Fat City horns, taking a spin through Tiffany Theater at Tropicana.
Santa Fe, Fat City ... and horns
Monday night, Santa Fe & The Fat City horns performed the first of two trial-run shows at Tiffany Theatre. They were great, which was a given, opening with an Earth Wind & Fire medley, performing a few original songs and even flaunting a funky version of "Come Together." Afterward, a couple dozen Old Vegas musicians assembled in the lounge outside the showroom for a vintage Vegas post-show hang. I say vintage Vegas, because Chris Phillips/Zowie Bowie was there.
The band plays again at 10:30 p.m. Monday, and Kissy Simmons of "Lion King" at Mandalay Bay has plans to sing with the band. Catch this show for free, while you can, because if it all works out this would be a ticketed show, maybe $20 apiece, at the new and improved Trop.
Follow John Katsilometes on Twitter at twitter.com/JohnnyKats.
Ah the good old Tropicana ! It used to be a fun spot to gamble back in the early to mid nineties when it was "The Island Of Las Vegas". They had a lot of loose slots in the high limit area (the main floor before it was moved into the champagne area) The follies show was a must see for the vintage costumes and cancan girls. Also a little risque with some topless routines.I still have my "Island" themed coin bucket..yeah the slots actually used real coins once upon a time..Ah the good old days..
It was beautiful and my favorite room was 702!! Corner suite, looking out over the Strip. The hosts were friendly, winning was good and the steak house was fantastic! The swim-up blackjack was a big to-do and the place was busy. Now it's merely a skeleton of it's old self with very few video poker machines to choose from. I miss the nature walk upstairs and all those beautiful birds! Oh well - just another Strip Hotel that'll be losing the sparkle and glitter that Vegas once was. No wonder tourism is down, who wants to see a glassed in office style looking casino? Not me!
I'm excited for the new Tropicana! And I'm happy that Santa Fe will be playing there going forward...last Monday night the concert was great.