John Katsilometes on how a clasp of hands between ‘La Cage’ star Frank Marino and Norbert Aleman was likely a tip-off that their feud has come to an end

kats@lasvegassun.com

Friday, March 3, 2006 | 7:46 a.m.

Frank Marino and Norbert Aleman were spotted holding hands (each other's) last week during the airplane-hangar launch party for Las Vegas Magazine.

That clasp of mitts was, it seems, a signal of something more than just a handshake agreement between the two.

Marino, for more than 20 years the star of "An Evening at La Cage," at the Riviera, and Aleman, the show's producer, have been working on an agreement that would keep Marino on board as the show's headliner. Unless something gets snagged in the next few days, expect Marino to be secure for at least five years as the star of the production that has made him a Strip headliner for more than two decades.

Keeping Marino's heels on the Riviera stage is no small feat. Last winter he and Aleman feuded over creative control of the production. Marino - who has resources to launch his own production just about anywhere in Vegas - was said to be exploring a way to ditch the Riv for his own theater.

In November, attorneys for each side met to work out the issues; nothing is yet official, but fans of Marino's camped-up impression of Joan Rivers can be confident that he will be on the Riviera stage for years to come - maybe for as long as the hotel stands.

NoteMart

They were blown away - by the music and by Irv, who sat with us during breaks and regaled us with stories about his rich musical history - inside stuff about Artie Shaw and Thelonius Monk ("Erroneous Monk," according to Irv), among many others. We alternately talked to Irv and listened to great jazz for hours.

Finally, as we walked through the parking lot to leave, we heard someone yell, "Hey! Idaho!" It was Irv, scampering out to hug us goodbye. Inside we heard the band, absent its drummer, wailing away ...

Another shot of spray: For "Hairspray," the cleaving of two shows per week and addition of a Sunday matinee is merely business as usual, company spokeswoman Jenn Michaels said Wednesday. The second shows on Tuesdays and Thursdays have been lopped; Sunday's schedule is for a 4 p.m. matinee show, replacing the 10 p.m. performance (the changes go into effect March 12). "We needed to use the preview period to determine the best permanent schedule, interest and find the best schedule for the show," Michaels said, adding that "the show is doing well" and that its upbeat, uplifting themes would play well in the 4 p.m. matinee slot. Don't expect any more schedule changes, either. "This is the permanent show schedule," Michaels said ...

Socks fan: During an interview Wednesday with Dave Berns on KNPR 88.9-FM's "State of Nevada," Siegfried & Roy and Muhammad Ali manager Bernie Yuman said he wears the same Miami Dolphins aqua-and-orange socks every day. A Miami native and friend of former Dolphins coach Don Shula, Yuman says he has worn Dolphins socks since the team first took the field in September 1966 ...

Tennis, anyone: Reader Paul Johnson checks in with the plate TENSE1, which he spotted in Summerlin, in the vicinity of the Tennis Channel Open at Darling Memorial Tennis Center.

Fabulous Las Vegas runs Sunday, Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday in the Las Vegas Sun. John Katsilometes can be reached at 259-2327 or 812-9812, or at kats@lasvegassun.com.