Tom Gorman finds it difficult to decide what 32 members of his family should eat and see or where they should stay during a Las Vegas reunion

Wednesday, March 8, 2006 | 7:25 a.m.

I can empathize with event planners who help conventioneers plan their time in Las Vegas.

The Gorman Family Reunion will be held in June. I'll give you one guess where it's going to be held.

Yep. And there are all sorts of issues to resolve: Where should all the relatives stay? How should we feed them? And the biggest problem of all: Which one-size-fits-all show on the Strip should we see?

I welcome your advice and prayers for patience and wisdom.

We expect 32 people will show up: siblings and their spouses, children of all ages, an aunt and a couple of cousins. Oh, and Mom. She turns 90 this year so we'll celebrate her birthday while we're all together.

Family is coming from Southern California, San Francisco, Santa Fe, Kansas City, both coasts of Florida and Long Island.

We purposely bought a small house when we moved here to avoid times like this when we might otherwise be pressed into the dormitory business.

We have room for Mom, and that's it. We found a nice, nongambling inn down the street where we can reserve a bunch of rooms and get a group discount. It's the kind of place with microwaves and minifridges, and a free continental breakfast.

(I'm hoping that every morning the gang will grab a bunch of bananas, minimuffins and little boxes of cereal and bring them over to our place.)

Alas, at least two couples have announced that, by God, if they're coming to Las Vegas, they're going to stay on the Strip! Thankfully they haven't asked for any advice; in the old days they might have stayed at Tam o' Shanter or the Glass Pool Inn, so I'm curious where they'll end up.

As for food: I don't think we'd have a very good time going out to restaurants Friday or Saturday night. "Table for 32, please. Nonsmoking." Nice restaurants work for couples, not for clans. You can't really socialize.

I thought about a buffet, but knowing the Gormans, everyone would just pull their chairs up to the trough.

Maybe we can set up tables on the back patio and do brats and beer. One night we'll celebrate Mom's 90th birthday so we could make it fancier. Brats and bourbon.

Jeanne thinks we ought to hire a caterer. Maybe do Italian one night and barbecue the next - but the aroma might attract neighbors, and that wouldn't be good unless they bring presents for Mom.

We'll put out veggies and dip, and cheese and crackers, for grazing during the day, and fill tubs with ice, beer and sodas.

So everything is falling into place except for one detail: Which show should we see?

In the old days, we would have taken the gang to "Siegfried & Roy."

We'll do a Cirque du Soleil show. But which one? "Zumanity" is out because of age restrictions and so-so reviews.

Maybe "Mystere." Jeanne and I have seen it twice. Loved it both times. Family-friendly, whimsical, lots of energy, a guaranteed crowd-pleaser. "The Ed Sullivan Show" on steroids. But it's a bit generic, similar to what you might see in a Cirque du Soleil road show. I want something that cries out as a unique Vegas experience.

Maybe "O." We saw it years ago and were entranced by its stunning display of aquabatics. It's also a big hit among my co-workers. But our son and his wife worry that it may be too complex, and maybe a little dark, for first-time Cirque-goers.

That leaves "Ka," which Jeanne and I have not seen but which Paul and Sarah recommend. It is the most theatrical of the three shows, with a good-versus-evil story line, some fun Cirque-esque characters and a technologically boffo stage that is the star of the show. But others criticize it as slow and weird.

So there it is. I can't decide among the safe, whimsical "Mystere," or the two more daring and totally Vegas shows - the beautiful "O" or the cutting-edge "Ka."

I'm not complaining, mind you, about the difficulty of choosing among A-list shows to celebrate a family reunion in Las Vegas.

Fellow-Sun columnist John Katsilometes just returned from a family reunion. In Boise.

Now that's an entertainment quandary.