John Katsilometes reports that an able actor and dancer with a familiar face (and voice) is set to take the lead in ‘Spamalot’

Sunday, Jan. 7, 2007 | 7:35 a.m.

Steve Wynn's ambitious new musical will revolve around the man who gave comedic spark to J. Peterman.

Word around the Wynn Las Vegas production of "Monty Python's Spamalot" is that John O'Hurley will assume the role of King Arthur in the eagerly anticipated musical moving into the space once occupied by the wickedly funny "Avenue Q." Additional information about "Spamalot" is helpfully displayed on a sign placed in front of the recently renovated 1,499-seat Grail Theater: Previews begin March 8, and tickets go on sale on Jan. 16.

The box office is quoting ticket prices ranging from $40.43 to $91.98 during the show's preview period (March 8 to March 29). After previews, the prices will be boosted to $49, $69, $89 and $99. (Those rates are in line with those for "Avenue Q" before the production cut prices after announcing it would close.)

O'Hurley is (so far) the biggest name linked to the Vegas production of "Spamalot." Formerly a cast member on several soap operas, he reached the prime-time masses as the self-absorbed J. Peterman in "Seinfeld," and more recently gained notoriety as a formidable competitor on "Dancing With the Stars" (losing controversially to Kelly Monaco in the 2005 finals but winning a rematch weeks later). Playing off his well-groomed silver hair and a pompously formal voice, O'Hurley is also the host of the syndicated game show "Family Feud" and has been rumored to be the top choice to succeed the legendary Bob Barker on "The Price Is Right." O'Hurley's wide-ranging resume includes several theater credits, including a stint on Broadway in "Chicago" as Billy Flynn, and he has also been a member of the touring productions of "Pirates of Penzance," "Gentlemen Prefer Blondes," "Brigadoon" and "Same Time Next Year."

More details on the show are expected this week.

NoteMart

Given Cirque du Soleil founder Guy Laliberte's profitable relationship with MGM Mirage and his apparent quest to bring a Cirque show to every MGM Mirage hotel on the Strip, look for a Cirque production to vault into Mandalay Bay after "Mamma Mia!" closes in August 2008. (We first alluded to this likelihood back in July.) Meanwhile, the popularity of "Mamma Mia!" shows no sign of ebbing. On Saturday a person close to the production described it as "a money spinner" with audiences consistently near capacity over the past few weeks. Repeat business is solid; one particularly fervent fan (from Pahrump, we understand) has seen it 30 times, which could be interpreted as a cry for help ...

Flo Rogers says she's glad she no longer has to worry about updating her green card. Nearly 20 years after arriving in San Diego on a student visa, the new general manager at Nevada Public Radio became a U.S. citizen Friday morning during a ceremony at U.S. Federal Courthouse at 333 Las Vegas Blvd. South. District Judge Michelle Leavitt performed the ceremony for Rogers and 80 other new citizens.

For years Rogers was a British citizen living in the States. She graduated from Coventry University in England before moving to the U.S., and earned master's degree in radio and television from San Diego State. But it wasn't until March, after she applied to succeed Lamar Marchese as the GM at Nevada Public Radio, that Rogers decided to pursue U.S. citizenship. "If I were to be representing Nevada Public Radio and going before the state Legislature, putting my hand over my heart and asking for funding, I should well be a U.S. citizen," Rogers said Friday afternoon. She initially wanted to go before the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services department in October, but, "my interview fell in the middle of a KNPR fundraiser. And nothing gets in the way of a KNPR fundraiser." They seem to be unstoppable, yes ...

Over the weekend, the top performers in rodeo's most popular, violent and aromatic sport showed off their craft in an ideally designed arena. But the CBR World Championships still drew a relatively sparse crowd at the 4,400-seat South Point Equestrian Center on Friday, the first of a two-night stay in Vegas for the CBR. The state-of-the art arena was just a third full, tops, for a pretty entertaining night of bull riding from the sport's very best riders and live color commentary by famed rodeo cowboy Tuff Hedeman. It's not that bull-riding events struggle in Vegas, either - the PBR World Finals has drawn at least 8,000 fans per show over the past decade at the MGM Grand Garden Arena and Mandalay Bay Events Center ...

While on the South Point tack, directories in guest rooms at the Suncoast still provide an extensive description of the late South Coast, which was once a Suncoast sister property in the Coast Casinos family before it was sold to (and renamed by) Michael Gaughan last year. All it takes is a removal of a single page to update those books ...

Check, please: The closing of Pietro's Gourmet Room at Tropicana, which happens tonight, is an unfortunate turn of events for those interested in old Vegas-style dining. Proprietor Pietro Musetto has twice won Distinguished Restaurants of North America awards and his has been named one of America's top 100 restaurants by the International Restaurant Hospitality Rating Bureau ...

Bridge work was evident on Valle Verde Drive a couple of weeks ago when a colleague spotted the plate LVDDS on a black Mercedes-Benz SUV. We surmise the owner is a dentist, and a successful one.