Friday, May 27, 2005 | 9:04 a.m.
I might have to see "X An Erotic Adventure" again just to make sure I didn't miss anything vital.
About halfway through the 75-minute adult production my glasses began to fog over.
This is one of the sexiest shows on the Strip -- and the women aren't even topless, although they are as close to being naked as they can get and still be within the guidelines of their license to operate.
The V Theatre in the Aladdin's Desert Passage (where the show is performed) is not zoned for topless performance, so the women cover up the no-show zone with electrician's tape.
Somehow, that makes them even sexier.
The revue was created in 2002 by former "Crazy Girls" dancer Angela Sampras and Bobby Boling, who has had extensive experience in producing shows.
It premiered at Aladdin's 400-seat CenterStage Showroom, which was the show's home until October 2003 -- when the Aladdin took back the location to build a room for magician Steve Wyrick (whose show has since been closed by the casino so the venue can build a showroom for Clear Channel and its stable of performers).
Sampras and Boling opened a version of the show at Harvey's at Lake Tahoe.
In November, with the "X" still at Harvey's, the partners reopened the show in Vegas at the Aladdin.
A few weeks ago Sampras bought out Boling and brought aboard two new co-producers -- Matt Stabile (owner of Stabile Productions) and Marla Gomes, also a graduate of "Crazy Girls."
Sampras says the production at Harvey's is closing and she and producer David Saxe (who has the V Theatre) are going to open another "X" in Atlantic City -- and perhaps more shows in other cities around the world.
The other shows will have to go a long way to top the women in Vegas.
Not only are they gorgeous (although a couple of them may be a little on the lean side), all of them are excellent dancers -- some classically trained.
It is an international cast, including Roberta Lorincz (Romania), Yelena Lagereva (Russia), Meeka Thompson (South Africa) and her sister Shakira Onstead (Malta), Yulia Koriaguina (Russia), Michelle Thibodeau (New Orleans), Melania Del Santos (Reno) and Phoenix natives Ruthie Gastanaue and Kristi King.
The cast also includes comedian James Bean, who has toned down his routine since Sampras took over the show. The last time I saw Bean perform he was more gross than funny, but now he seems more determined to make you laugh than to simply push the envelope with the sexual content of his material.
Sampras has quickly put her imprint on the show.
For example, she did away with former Playboy playmates -- one of the signatures of the show had been to bring in different playmates from time to time to be special guests.
Several new numbers have been added, including a "puppet" bit in which three girls use bungee cords to manipulate themselves as puppets, a very interesting scene.
More video has been added to the production.
Lagereva does a breathtaking routine with silk ropes, one of the highlights of the show.
There have been some costume changes, with more to come.
Thankfully Sampras kept one of the sexiest scenes in the show, the inclined bed on which Lorincz and Lagereva cavort seductively.
She also kept a scene that I have never particularly cared for -- three of the cast members dressed as schoolgirls (short, pleated skirts and white blouses) and trying to tell jokes.
Although the routine is still a little lame, Sampras has made a valiant effort to make it more interesting and less offensive (in the past the jokes were aimed at various presidents and their sexual behavior).
Now the bit opens with a film showing animals mating, which is always good for a laugh.
Also still in the show is a "Mile High Club" bit in which a volunteer is brought to the stage accompanied by women dressed as flight attendants, placed in a seat and teased. A screen then is placed between the volunteer and the audience, and a few minutes later the screen is taken away and his clothes are all askew.
About the only change to that scene was lighted trays filled with condoms that the girls take into the audience and distribute among the fans.
"As you know, the difference between good and great are the little things," Sampras said.
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