Friday, April 10, 2015 | 12:15 p.m.
The Kats Report Bureau at this writing is the Dream Midtown hotel in Manhattan. It’s a dank day here, threatening to rain with the wind kicking up just enough to make it feel as if it is freezing. Skaters are circling the rink at Rockefeller Center at the moment as spring is still being held in check.
Tonight awaits a great experience, as a Las Vegas entertainer performs in a sold-out show at Carnegie Hall. The performer is Frankie Moreno, the show is “Let’s Be Frank,” and the lineup of singers joining Moreno is Ryan Silverman, Tony DeSare and Storm Large.
The New York Pops orchestra is the backing musical ensemble, with 80 pieces of proficiency on parade. The Pops shows rarely sell out the main Isaac Stern Auditorium, but the power of the Sinatra legacy — the show is to celebrate his 100th birthday, which is in December — and the unique lineup of stars brought the show to capacity Thursday afternoon.
The final, full rehearsal is later today. We’ll check back.
Until then, notes from elsewhere:
• During a walk through Times Square, we took notice of a Mazda commercial starring Penn & Teller running on an endless loop on a giant Sony LED screen. P&T are definitely international stars, recognizable to anyone traipsing through Times Square, and they open their first Broadway run in 30 years on July 7 at Marquis Theater.
Meantime, drawing back to a note from earlier this week, I am confidently hearing that the show moving into the venue formerly home to The Act at the Shoppes at Palazzo is a revived version of Teller’s own “Play Dead.” Nothing firm has been announced about the show’s return to Las Vegas, but multiple sources say it is heading to Palazzo.
The old-fashioned “spook” show is filled with macabre illusions and acts and hearkens to similar dark productions from the 1930s and ’40s. The show opened in September 2010 at the Rio and played in October and November of that year off-Broadway at the Players Theater in Greenwich Village.
• Teaser to an interview with Priscilla Presley as she preps for the grand opening of the Graceland exhibit at Westgate Las Vegas, which is April 23. She said the idea of putting Elvis’ personal items on public display was forced, in part, by a souvenir shop that opened across from the original Graceland in Memphis just a month after Presley’s death in August 1977. Priscilla found that the proprietors had rooted through hers and Elvis’ trash and put discarded items on sale.
“I saw my own fake eyelashes that I’d thrown out being sold at this place,” Presley said. “These were the really long eyelashes from the ’70s, and I knew they were mine. When I saw that happening, I thought we’d better do something to get control of the situation.”
• An idea being tossed around is for David Perrico’s Pop Strings show to expand on its dates at Rocks Lounge at Red Rock Resort and move to regular performances on Fremont Street. This is preliminary, with Perrico kicking the tires about such a booking. Zowie Bowie has drawn several hundred fans to the free shows at Third Street Stage abutting The D Las Vegas. Perrico’s own Pop Evolution show band played that stage to celebrate the opening of The D a few years ago.
• Wednesday is hammered with a busy and diverse set of performances; “Duck Commander Musical” opens that night at the Rio, and Composers Showcase of Las Vegas also is set for 10:30 p.m. at Cabaret Jazz (Clint Holmes returns to perform an original number that night). And the act that always brings the party, Zowie Bowie, is back with its Bad Kid’s Club performance of 1980s hit and deep cuts at 11 p.m. at T Spot in Tuscany Suites.
With top accommodations, first-rate entertainment, high-end shopping and a slew of acclaimed chefs, the Palazzo has positioned itself as one of the most luxurious resorts on the Strip.
More than 3,000 all-suite rooms start at 740 square feet and are decorated in a modern, yet classic, Italian style. Each room features a sleeping area, with a king or two queens, and a sunken living room area with floor to ceiling windows.
A cathedral ceiling tops the Palazzo casino, while a second 80-foot dome brings natural light to the property's lobby. The 105,000 square foot casino features more than 2,000 slots and 80 table games but lacks the stale smell of cigarettes, as the property is LEED certified with smoking off limits in most of the Palazzo — including 50 percent of the casino floor.
Dining at the Palazzo is among the best of the Strip, starting with Wolfgang Puck's CUT. Chef Simon To serves up authentic Chinese cuisine at Zine, while Sushisamba combines Brazilian and Peruvian flavors with Japanese techniques. At LAVO, club-goers can dine on Mediterranean dishes before heading upstairs to the bath house-inspired nightclub.
Carnival lasts all year at the Rio. With a float occasionally passing overhead and dropping beads while feathered dancers fire up the gamblers below, the Rio tries to keep its 120,000-square foot casino jumping with excitement. Special Brazilian mixed-drinks are also served throughout the casino. The hotel suites tend to be larger than similar priced rooms on the Strip and many offer excellent views with floor to ceiling windows.
The Rio offers some quality shows like "Penn & Teller" and "Chippendales." Many come to the Rio for the nightlife at the VooDoo Lounge, located on the 51st floor, or McFadden's Irish Pub on the casino level.
Others come for a bit relaxation at the Rio Spa or pool area and still others come to shop at the hotel's 60,000 square feet of shops. In each of these endeavors, the Rio attempts to make the experience a bit more fun and spontaneous.
The Rio also offers guests a variety of dining choices from all-American food at the All-American Bar & Grille to Gaylord India Restaurant for something a little spicier and even Carnival World Buffet for the indecisive.
Follow John Katsilometes on Twitter at Twitter.com/JohnnyKats. Also, follow “Kats With the Dish” at Twitter.com/KatsWiththeDish.
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