Friday, July 28, 2006 | 7:49 a.m.
How does Jon Lovitz plan to pull off his first headlining gig in Las Vegas - which is to be centered on a Hawaiian theme but will not feature any of his famous "Saturday Night Live" characters?
By acting!
The one-time Master Thespian (among his many distinctive "SNL" skit creations) brings his revamped stand-up act to the Orleans Showroom tonight through Sunday with an adult comedy show, "The Jon Lovitz Hawaiian Beach Party Show."
It's an R-rated, strictly stand-up performance from the veteran TV and film actor who is asking fans to dress in Hawaiian attire. "We'll be handing out leis at the door," Lovitz said during a phone interview from Los Angeles. "I'll talk about myself, politics, religion, sex and relationships." Lovitz has crafted a solid career on TV and in film over the past 20 years, and a foray into stand-up comedy on a Vegas stage would seem unnecessary.
But Lovitz enjoys the challenge.
"A sketch is like a mini-movie, with a beginning, middle and an end. It builds to a climax and has a resolution at the end. You're acting with other people, usually satirizing other people, and it can be formulaic. In stand-up, you are by yourself, talking directly to the audience. You take all the blame and get all the credit."
Lovitz says he finds Las Vegas "highly enjoyable" and related his first visit to the city.
"I was on a ski trip in high school and we stopped at Circus Circus," Lovitz said. "This is 1972. It was this amazing place, like we'd escaped reality. I never imagined I'd be performing here. It was a Disneyland for adults."
NoteMart
It's been a busy week for Riviera PR man John Neeland, who on Wednesday night escorted a technical crew from "CSI" around the casino (stopping at the famous bronze "Crazy Girls" statue) for a crucial scene in the series' season opener. Also on hand was former industry liaison and Riv exec Yvonne Hillier, who more than 10 years ago coordinated the shooting of "Casino" with Martin Scorsese ... Our favorite French horn-playing radio personality, Beth Lano, is filling in this weekend with the orchestra for "Phantom: Las Vegas Spectacular." For her day job Lano is teamed with Mike O'Brian on the "Mike and Beth in the Morning" show on KSTJ 102.7 FM
County Commissioner Lynette Boggs McDonald is scheduled to sing the national anthem Tuesday prior to the Las Vegas 51s-Iowa Cubs game at Cashman Field. Odd? Not really: During the talent portion of the 1989 Miss Oregon and Miss America pageants, Boggs McDonald sang "I Am Changing" from the musical "Dreamgirls." The Killers are all from Las Vegas, the band vaulted to fame from Las Vegas and the title of its new album is Sam's Town, named for the locals casino on Boulder Highway in Las Vegas. So where did the band hold its official CD release party on Monday? New York. The band is planning for a North American tour beginning in November and, for the first time, will bring a fifth musician onstage, Las Vegas multi-instrumentalist Ted Sablay.
The Strip and the American Stock Exchange collided Thursday morning, as Wayne Newton rang the exchange's opening bell.
Newton was on hand to kick off his show at BB King's Blues Club & Grill and to raise money for the United Service Organization (USO) Following up an item from a few weeks back, Engelbert Humperdinck visited his ill brother, Irwin Dorsey, when Humperdinck was in town for a set of shows over the weekend at the Orleans Showroom. Dorsey underwent surgery in May to remove an orange-sized tumor from his brain, and Humperdinck sat with his brother (who works as an usher at Bellagio's O Theater) every day from July 19 through Monday at Sunrise Hospital.
Have a cold one: On Saturday the Las Vegas Police meet the Vegas Valley Fire in a hockey match dubbed "Guns & Hoses" at Fiesta Rancho's Sobe Ice Arena. The puck drops at 6 p.m. (and the first public servant drops at 6 p.m. and 5 seconds); the after-party is set for 8:30 at Club Tequila. Tickets are $5 (children 12 and under are admitted free), and proceeds are to help pay for the teams to compete in the 2007 Police & Fire World Games in Australia. For anyone interested in yoga, or hearing an inspiring story, or both, stop by the demonstration by Kimberly Fowler at Niketown at the Forum Shops at Caesars from 1 p.m. to 1:45 p.m. Saturday. Fowler was left temporarily crippled after being hit by a car during a bike race in 1982, and has survived an inoperable brain tumor. She was not expected to live past 30, but today is healthy at 48 and says the power of yoga is the reason
Reader checks in with the plate on a Ford Expedition stuffed with kids: RM4NINE.
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