Columnist Jerry Fink: Magnitude of show is no illusion

Friday, Dec. 17, 2004 | 8:30 a.m.

It's being billed as the largest illusion show ever.

"It's the biggest in terms of size and amount of illusions," magician Paul Haynes said.

The Las Vegas resident, through his Creative Illusions and Production Stageworks company, has made a career out of designing and building grand-scale illusions for such legendary magicians as Siegfried & Roy, David Copperfield and Lance Burton.

But for the past four years he has been creating illusions for himself to use in "SpellBinder: The War of the Wizards -- A Rock 'n' Roll Illusion Spectacular."

"SpellBinder" will premiere at 8 p.m. Jan. 28 at the Orleans Arena. Tickets are $32.50, $42.50 and $52.50. For information call 284-7777.

Stan Silverberg is executive producer. John Stuart ("Ovations" at Lady Luck) is co-executive producer.

Haynes describes his creation as a combination magic show, rock concert and theatrical production with a storyline that threads through the entire show.

"The whole thing is very high energy," he said.

There will be 20 illusions.

"Huge ones," Haynes said.

The illusions will segue from one to the next.

"And it's all based on songs, not dialogue," he said, "This is really a rock concert."

And it is all original music.

"It has elements of Aerosmith, Led Zeppelin and the Rolling Stones, but in a much more modern way."

Haynes says "SpellBinder" is a $3 million production.

"The cost would have been greater," he said, "but I created everything myself at my premises."

There is a pyrotechnic show within the production.

"Probably the most extensive ever produced," Haynes said.

There is a 16-member cast, which includes a five-piece rock band. The show lasts 95 minutes.

"Within that range, it's easy to touch all of the emotions," Haynes said.

Ultimately "SpellBinder" will be a traveling show, perhaps based in Las Vegas.

"It is designed to have the flexibility to tour," Haynes said.

Haynes (the show's star) is a native of Los Angeles, Calif., where he grew up torn between magic and music.

"I leaned more toward the magic," Haynes said.

But now he is combining the two.

"A lot of times when fans are watching a magician onstage, things happen behind a wall or in a box," Haynes said. "But in this show things happen right before your eyes."

Streak ends

News this week that stunned me even more than the announcement that Barry Manilow was coming to the Las Vegas Hilton was that Ricky & the Redstreaks have called it quits.

After more than 36 years the California-based show band, one of the most popular perennial after-hours entertainment groups at the National Finals Rodeo, has disbanded.

Their final performance was Dec. 11.

Maybe.

Group co-founder Ray Brown, who does impressions of Pat Boone and several other performers, says there is a possibility that the Redstreaks may re-emerge in the future, but it won't be the version that made them so popular.

The reason for the stunning announcement is that the band's other co-founder, Ricky-John Jackman (aka Ricky Zucchini), is unable to continue because of ill health and personal reasons, Brown said.

Jackman is -- rather, was -- the most zany member of the cast, the one who energized the crowds and even got some of the female fans to expose their breasts during some of the wilder moments.

Jackman didn't show up for last week's 11 p.m. performances at the Stardust, when thousands of rodeo fans normally go to party into the early morning hours.

His absence upset a lot of fans.

"We can't ever play the NFR again," Brown said. "Our name is mud there."

The Redstreaks tried to forge on without Ricky, but fans were walking out, even after the cover charge was dropped.

"You know, it's one thing onstage when you feel good, but when you're lacking a key person -- we were all kind of tired, and it just emotionally killed us," Brown said.

Fans can be unforgiving, Brown said. One year, Jackman broke his back.

"They wanted to know if he was still going to perform," Brown said.

The show was a blend of cabaret corn, sexual innuendo and great music, mostly old-time rock 'n' roll -- Jefferson Airplane, Creedence Clearwater Revival, Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens and ZZ Top.

Jackman and Brown graduated from high school in Placerville, Calif., in 1968 and formed a rock 'n' roll band called the Train, which played top 40 hits.

"It was a way to pay our way through college," Brown said.

But when they graduated from college and it was time to get a job, they couldn't find one as good as the band, so they stuck with it.

For years they played small clubs across the country.

In 1976 they happened to be performing in Cheyenne, Wyo., at the same time the Cheyenne Frontier Days Rodeo was going on.

The rodeo cowboys and their fans dropped in on the rock 'n' roll band, and by the end of the rodeo the Redstreaks were the biggest draw in town.

Since then they have been a favorite on the rodeo circuit, playing 10 or more rodeos a year in addition to regular dates.

But the curtain has closed on the Redstreaks fans have known and loved.

"We had a great run," Brown said. "That's the way I'm looking at it."

Chilling fun

Bundle up the family and take them to "Legends on Ice -- The Stars Are Out Tonight" at the outdoor skating rink at Caesars Palace's Roman Plaza Amphitheatre.

It will be a fun evening under the stars, sitting in the crisp air watching some of the most talented skaters in the world performing in an intimate surrounding.

Performances are at 7:30 p.m. Saturdays and Sundays through Jan. 16. Admission prices are $25 and $50. For information call 866-1600.

Among the Olympic skaters performing are Rudy Galindo, Elvis Stojko, Viktor Petrenko and Paul Wylie. Other featured performers include Dan Hollander, Karl Baumann and Irina Grigorian.

Wylie will headline performances on Saturday and Sunday; Petrenko on Christmas weekend (with a special show on Dec. 24); and Stojko on New Year's weekend (which also includes a special show on Dec. 31).

"Legends on Ice" is co-produced by B.J. Parker and Gary Visconti, both professional skaters.

25th anniversary

Summerlin resident Bob Sidell will be the featured guest from 10 p.m. until 3 a.m. Monday on KDWN 720-AM's "Coast to Coast AM" show.

He will be talking about his unusual role in aiding the CIA's rescue of six U.S. Embassy workers from Tehran, Iran, during the embassy takeover by Iranian militants 25 years ago.

When 66 embassy staffers were taken hostage on Nov. 4, 1979, six escaped through a back door as militants were breaking down the front door. The six eventually took refuge at the Canadian Embassy.

Before the 67-year-old Sidell started his own makeup company, California Cosmetics, he was a well-known makeup artist in the Hollywood film industry. He moved to Las Vegas 10 years ago.

A close associate of his worked with the CIA in helping them create disguises for agents in the field.

After the hostages were taken, an agent came to Sidell and his associate to seek help in setting up a bogus motion picture company.

The intent was to send a large contingent of people, allegedly working for the film company, to Iran for pre-production work. The six Americans hiding in the Canadian Embassy would slip out of the country with the "motion picture" crowd.

The CIA wanted a fake film company set up in Hollywood, so that if the Iranians checked on its existence, it could be verified.

The ruse worked so well that by the time the six hostages were rescued, screenwriters had submitted more than 20 scripts for consideration.

Seconds

After more than three years in Las Vegas the Second City improv troupe at the Flamingo Las Vegas has had an almost complete makeover. Only one of the original cast members, Seamus McCarthy, remains.

The new lineup includes Lauren Dowden, Martin Garcia, Bridget Kloss and Brian Shortall. Most of them began in the last two months. Dowden has been in Vegas since May.

All of them are veteran improv actors, and it didn't take them long to adjust to the show, which they have spent the last month or so writing.

Garcia says the main difference between the show put on by the current cast and the previous production is that the new show is more about relationships.

"And I think we take our time with it a little more," he added.

Dowden performed with the previous cast briefly before they went their separate ways. Since the new cast has come onboard, she and the others have been busy rewriting the script.

Shows are 8 p.m. Thursdays through Tuesdays (dark Wednesdays) and 10:30 p.m. Thursdays and Sundays. Tickets are $29.95. For information call 733-3333.

Toy raiser a hit

The first "Christmas for Kids -- A Musical Event" at Bootlegger Bistro on Dec. 12 was a resounding success.

Vocalist Joey Gian says he plans to do it again next year.

Gian and Ron Mancuso, son of Bootlegger owner Lt. Gov. Lorraine Hunt, organized the show to collect toys for children at the Child Haven shelter.

"We collected every kind of toy imaginable," Gian said. "There were tons of toys, and clothing."

Cash donations totaled more than $2,000.

The restaurant at 7700 Las Vegas Blvd. South was standing room only for fans who turned out to hear more than 20 entertainers.

"The audience had a ball," Gian said, "and so did the performers."

Among them were Gian, Clint Holmes (a surprise guest), comics Pat Cooper and Joey Villa, vocalist Ruth Brown (co-host of the event) and a dozen or so others.

Television and motion picture actress Bonnie Hunt (a friend of Gian's) came to Vegas to attend the benefit. She helped Gian with the raffling of prizes.

On Wednesday the toys (more than 200) were loaded onto trucks and taken to the children's shelter.

Marilyn at Le Bistro

While many shows will be dark or have raised prices for New Year's Eve, "An Evening with Marilyn" at the Riviera's Le Bistro Theatre will be open for business at the usual prices.

"The prices stay the same, plus people get two free drinks," said the show's star, Roxanna Bonilla-Giannini.

The performance will be from 7 p.m. until 8 p.m. Dec. 31. Tickets are from $29.95 to $39.95.

Mas Cuba

Las Vegas now has two Cuba-themed shows, at least temporarily.

"Havana Night Club," featuring a cast of Cubans who recently defected to the United States, has been at the Stardust (off and on) for three months.

"Tropical Passions," featuring popular Cuban music and rock 'n' roll from the '50s, will be at the Hilton for three days -- Dec. 29 through Jan. 1.

Performances by Miami-based entertainers are at 8 p.m. Dec. 29-30 and Jan. 1, and 9:30 p.m. Dec. 31.

Tickets are $55-$85 for the Dec. 29-30 and Jan. 1 shows and $110-$170 on Dec. 31. For information call 732-5755.

The production features the music of Latin Grammy nominee Tropicana All Stars (a 23-piece orchestra). Tunes will include mambo, cha-cha, guaracha, rumba, blues and rock.

Music that will be covered includes that of Cuba's Benny Moore as well as Peggy Lee, Nat King Cole, Elvis Presley and Josephine Baker.

The show is produced by Miami-based Recaredo Gutierrez, a Cuban-American entrepreneur, and his company, Regu Productions.

Jesus Sanfield is choreographer, German Piferrer is musical director and Rolando Moreno is costume designer. The cast includes 22 dancers and performers, among them featured singer Israel Kantor.

Bluesy Christmas

The Southern Nevada Blues Association and the Emergency Room Lounge (3550 S. Decatur Blvd.) will sponsor the Las Vegas Homeless Veterans' Christmas Benefit Concert from 2 p.m. until midnight Sunday.

The price of admission is a donation of canned goods, nonperishable food, clothing or cash donation.

Bands donating their talents include Scot Rhiner & Moanin' Blacksnakes, Sweet Al & The American Band, Spellcasters, The Shuffle-Aires, John Earl & The Boogie Man Band, Junior Brantley & Friends, Billy Ray Charles Trio and Monk & The Po' Boys.

Comedy Tour a hit

The monthly Hollywood Comedy Tour at the Palms, produced by Paul Hughes and Cort McCown, is a huge success.

Every show is sold out, even with the addition of extra seats to accommodate more than 200 fans who don't mind standing in line as long as it takes to get in to see the show.

Hughes and McCown are working hard to bring the best comedians in the business to The Lounge, the venue inside the Palms where the shows are held.

The next shows will be at 8 p.m. and 10:30 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 15. Tickets are $25. For information call 474-4000.

Skating spectacular

The Brian Boitano Skating Spectacular at Mandalay Bay Events Center will be taped at 8 p.m. Saturday and air on NBC (Channel 3) on Jan. 1.

Tickets for the taping range from $26.25 to $68.25.

The production stars Boitano, Kristi Yamaguchi, Stojko, Steven Cousines, John Zimmerman, Silvia Fontana, Yuka Sato and Jason Dungjen, Elena Leonove and Andre Khvalko.

The musical guest star is Diana DeGarmo and there will be a special performance by Carly Patterson, all-around 2004 gold medalist.

Barely educated

Cast members from the adult-themed "Thunder From Down Under" at the Excalibur and "Midnight Fantasy" at the Luxor were guest lecturers for the Sex, Dance and Entertainment class at UNLV recently.

Several performers from each show visited the class and participated in an open question-and-answer session with the students. The performers bared their souls, but not their bodies, for the inquisitive students.

The more than 90 students were given complimentary tickets to the shows and will write about their experiences as part of their class work.

"Thunder" guest lecturers included Grant Prestwidge, Ben Staadan, Adam Hughes and his brother David Hughes.

"Midnight" lecturers included Jennifer Young, Stephanie Smith, Jennifer Lynn and Christine Jenks.

Korean Christmas

Korean vocalist/actress Lee Jung-Hyun will perform at the Las Vegas Hilton at 7:30 p.m and 10:30 p.m. Dec. 25.

Jung-Hyun, who made her movie debut in "Ggoht Yip" in 1996, has recorded five albums. Her latest, "Passion," was released earlier this year.

Tickets range from $59 to $150.

For more information call 732-5755.

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