Friday, June 17, 2005 | 8:34 a.m.
Producer Dick Feeney came up with a winning formula that has worked well for 14 years, first at the now-defunct Sands (where it opened in April 1991) and since 1996 at the Stratosphere's Theater of the Stars.
For $11.95 you get an abundance of comedy, magic, singing and sexy dancing showgirls.
OK, maybe the formula is as old as Vegas, but Feeney and the Stratosphere have continued to use it to the satisfaction of fans while other hotels focus on multimillion-dollar extravaganzas.
It has worked so well that "Viva Las Vegas!" lays claim to the title of the "longest-running afternoon show in Las Vegas history."
The production is so fast-paced you don't have time to dwell on the fact that you're in the bargain basement of shows -- you just enjoy the ride and are grateful that someone is giving you something of value at a very low cost in a town that suddenly takes great pride in how expensive it is.
The cast includes comedian and host Tom Walek, vocalist Robin Berry, magician and comedian Roy Shank, comedian "Big John" Bruce Mickelson and a troupe of dancers (headed by dance captain Darlene Ryan) who add a touch of glamour to the production.
There isn't anything edgy about "Viva Las Vegas!" It doesn't blaze any new trails, thrill you with death-defying routines, titillate you with bare breasts or challenge you to think very hard -- it's just an afternoon of solid entertainment suitable for the entire family (but for a couple of off-color jokes).
Berry, backed by the finely tuned dance crew, opens the show by singing "Viva Las Vegas." She has a superb voice and is as attractive as the dancers behind her, which makes for a good combination.
Walek then welcomes the fans to Las Vegas, where 24 hours a day, seven days a week there's "nothing but drinking, gambling and sex -- and that's just in Catholic churches."
When he didn't get a strong reaction to the joke, he took it in stride.
"What, too soon for that one?" he said.
Afternoon crowds can be tough. Generally, they're sober and the jokes are harder to sell.
Walek, undeterred, unleashed a rapid series of jokes, some hilarious, some old enough to draw Social Security -- but generally entertaining, and harmless:
"Doc, I have trouble seeing far away."
"Look out the window and tell me what you see?"
"I see the sun."
"How far do you want to see?"
He had some topical humor.
"You're in good hands at Allstate, but at Wendy's they give you the finger."
And he didn't mind throwing out a few ethnic jokes.
"When 'Cats' was at the Aladdin, 1,500 Vietnamese lined up outside -- they thought it was a new buffet."
"What do you call four Mexicans in quicksand? Quatro cinco."
Berry followed Walek with a medley of country songs, and then Shank entertained the crowd with comedy and magic.
Generally, his magic was better than his comedy.
One particularly impressive feat was making a duck disappear onstage and reappear in a basket being held by a volunteer in the audience.
After Shank came Berry with more songs, and finally the real star of the show, "Big John" Mickelson, a large-sized comic who wears a black Stetson and punctuates his humor with contorted facial expressions and sounds.
"People used to come to Vegas full of life," he opined. "They would stay up three days straight drinking and gambling ... now, look what we got -- you and me at 2 in the afternoon: from the Rat Pack to the fanny pack."
He lamented the roller coasters and other rides at some of the casinos.
"The only wild ride in Vegas used to be a hooker named Velma," Mickelson said. "And she didn't give coupons."
Mickelson is best known for his routine about the barbecue grill -- "the last bastion of manhood -- where men can burn meat."
He didn't disappoint his fans, as he spent 20 minutes talking about the battle of the sexes.
"We're all equal now, and it's pretty confusing for us old boys."
What isn't confusing is where to spend an inexpensive afternoon in Las Vegas.
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