Adult shows are growing up

By Jerry Fink (contact)

Monday, June 12, 2006 | 7:23 a.m.

What: "X Girls The Show"

When: 10:30 p.m. Saturdays through Thursdays; dark Fridays

Where: Aladdin's V Theatre

Tickets: $45 and $56

Information: 785-5000

What: "Bareback"

When: 10:30 p.m. Mondays through Wednesdays and Saturdays; 10 p.m. and 12 midnight Fridays; 7:30 p.m. (covered) and 10:30 p.m. Sundays; dark Thursdays

Where: Harrah's Clint Holmes Theater

Tickets: $49.95

Information: 369-5000

What: "Headlights and Tailpipes"

When: 8 p.m. Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays; 9 p.m. Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays; dark Mondays

Information: 732-6235

Tickets: $43.95, $54.95 and $65.95

One adult show on the Strip has been revamped, another is new and a third is both new and revamped.

The three shows include "X Girls the Show" (revamped), "Bareback" (new) and "Headlights & Tailpipes" (new and revamped).

Of the three "X," at the Aladdin's V Theatre, may be the sexiest - and it's the only one in which the girls aren't topless.

Husband and wife producers Matt Stabile and Angela Sampras are limited by zoning restrictions on how much skin their troupe of seven can reveal, so they hired performers with extensive dance backgrounds to create a show that is full of energy and at times very sensual - though not consistently so.

To augment the talent, Enrique Lugo - co-choreographer of "Fashionistas" - was hired recently to choreograph five new numbers.

Lugo was the right man for the job.

"Fashionistas" is at Krave, the alternative nightclub attached to the Aladdin, and therefore bound by the same restrictions as "X," with no overexposure permitted.

Even though hampered by zoning, "Fashionistas" has managed to be one of the most erotic shows in town, though a little too avant-garde for some tastes.

Building on Lugo's creations, the "X" producers updated other numbers in the production.

New costumes have changed the overall feel of the show, putting more emphasis on motion than breasts. When the show premiered at the Aladdin almost two years ago, the girls' breasts where partially covered with black tape in the shape of an "X."

One of the most thrilling acts in the show continues to be the silk rope number featuring Yelena, who has added a new number to the routine.

Among the many other changes in the production is a different comedian. James Bean is out, replaced by Dave Russo, runner-up in Wayne Newton's reality TV series "The Entertainer."

'Bareback'

While "X" can't go topless, this production by veteran producer Greg Thompson doesn't need to be topless to be enjoyed.

It is, but it doesn't go overboard.

The lively show amounts to a country music concert featuring some of the top songs of the day, with a little skin thrown in along the way.

And the skin isn't limited to the five female dancers.

Thompson (who also produces "Erocktica" at the Rio) is an equal-opportunity employer - five male dancers round out the show, providing something for both sexes.

He makes good use of the songs, playing off the lyrics to create an adult revue that gallops right along at a good pace, although it isn't particularly erotic, but for a couple of exceptions.

"Save a Horse Ride a Cowboy" (Big & Rich) and "Honky Tonk Badonkadonk" (Trace Adkins) lead to some sexy scenes by the girls.

The males do a raunchy strip to "Double XL" (Keith Anderson).

Garth Brooks' "Rodeo" is a natural lead-in to a sexy scene on a mechanical bull.

Upbeat songs by Toby Keith ("Let's Get Drunk and be Somebody"), Chris Wall ("Trashy Women"), Joe Nichols ("Tequila Makes Her Clothes Fall Off"), Shania Twain ("Honey, I'm Home") and several others make the listening as enjoyable as the watching.

"Bareback" replaces Thompson's production of "Skintight."

Vocalist/dancer Darryl Ross had the lead in "Skintight," but is relegated to being one of the cast members in "Bareback," although he makes the most of it with such songs as "Georgia."

Comedian John Padon, noted for his adult humor, provides the comic relief.

"Bareback" is the second topless country show in Vegas. The other is "Buck Wild," produced by David Saxe at the Sahara.

Whether the town is big enough for two productions cut from the same cloth - even though not much of it is worn - remains to be seen.

'Headlights & Tailpipes'

Producer Jeff Kutash has given his topless production a minor tune-up since it opened at the Stardust in April.

While the dance numbers are good, the earlier shows were slowed down by several bits that fell flat.

One of the worst was a Q&A conducted by Lauren Anderson, the July 2002 Playboy cover model.

Thankfully, Kutash deleted the scene.

He would do well to pull another bit - one involving two performers dressed as crash dummies riding human transporters (the gyroscope-balanced scooters you stand on).

Comedians Lonesome Dave and Ludo Vika (who are husband and wife) provide the comic relief, but not much.

On opening night neither garnered many laughs. On a follow-up visit to the show, the laughs weren't much better.

One element that has been added to the show has the potential of increasing the drawing power - guest celebrities as hosts.

Actor Lorenzo Lamas was the recent guest.

However, he wasn't utilized well. He did nothing more than open and close the show and was not an integral part of it.

For it to be effective, the guest stars need to do more than simply introduce themselves and say on with the show.

The producers say it is their intent to do just that in the future.

Lamas says when he returns for another guest shot, he will be performing.

Hopefully not as a crash dummy.