Joe Brown

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Splashdance: 'Le Reve' is a fantastic wet dream; Sunday, May 23, 2010; The heat is on, and the oppressive return of Las Vegas summer is reason enough for revisiting "Le Reve" at the Wynn.
Face the "MÜS.I.C." and dance: Jabbawockeez are the Strip’s great white-masked hope; Thursday, May 13, 2010; They’re the newest stars of the Las Vegas Strip, but odds are you wouldn’t recognize even one of them if you bumped into them in a casino or in a buffet line.
Conan untucked: O’Brien goes electric onstage - and gets months of unexpressed rage, comedy out of his system; Wednesday, May 5, 2010; While Jay Leno was bombing at the White House Correspondents Dinner in D.C., and Shane Mosley going down to Floyd Mayweather at the MGM Grand, Conan O'Brien emerged undefeated in his two-night gig at the Pearl at the Palms.
Bernadette Peters: Queen of queens: Thursday, April 29, 2010; Maybe it was purely by chance that Bernadette Peters was booked to perform at UNLV’s Ham Hall during this weekend of Gay Pride celebrations.
New youth glee club ready to get 'On With the Show': Saturday, April 24, 2010; It’s a Sunday morning rehearsal for Nevada’s newest glee club, and the advice is sound: “Relax, relax, relax your hands.” “Don’t stress about the step-toe.” “The bangs are fine if you’re not playing with them.” “If you have an itch, get over it.”
Elvis: On Stage (Legacy Edition) review: Saturday, April 24, 2010; Now that all the hoopla has died down around Cirque's "Viva Elvis," it's time to hear what the legend and the hype was built on.
A Mormon boy's own story: Thursday, April 22, 2010; From an Eagle Scout boyhood to excommunication, divorce and prostitution.
Playing well together: Nevada Ballet Theatre and Cirque du Soleil partner up with great results; Wednesday, April 21, 2010; "A Choreographer's Showcase" is an unfairly boring title for the annual collaboration between Cirque du Soleil performers and Nevada Ballet Theatre dancers, staged last Sunday at the Mystere Theatre at Treasure Island.
No tutus zone: Bold new steps for Nevada Ballet: Friday, April 2, 2010; It's a 'Brave New World' for this increasingly strong and sophisticated troupe.
Barry Manilow's Paris occupation: Friday, April 2, 2010; Manilow is undeniably the best showman and biggest star abiding in this patch of desert. Respect.
Three times a 'Musical': Friday, March 19, 2010; Listen up, gleeks, show queens and folks who just like musical theater a lot.
Stripping down Las Vegas: Talking with the director of "Stripped," a different kind of Las Vegas movie; Friday, March 19, 2010; When filmmaker David Palmer set out to make a documentary called "Stripped: Greg Friedler's Naked Las Vegas," he was not a fan of Las Vegas. In fact, he set out to expose the place.
The return of the solo Strip show: Friday, March 12, 2010; Lily Tomlin returns to town for a one-woman show, "Not Playing with a Full Deck."
For job at pool parties, bring your resume, of course, and your bathing suit: Saturday, March 6, 2010; There’s a big exception to the general dearth of employment ads in Las Vegas. They’re full page, they’re glossy, they’re seasonal and they’re read by young, beautiful people.
Stories in our naked city: Thursday, March 4, 2010; Ordinary people - if you can call an Elvis impersonator ordinary - get naked for "Stripped: Greg Fiedler’s Naked Las Vegas."
Frank Marino continues his 25-year reign as Queen of the Strip: Sunday, Feb. 28, 2010; Frank Marino is marking 25 years as a Las Vegas headliner. And every onstage moment has been spent in drag.
The return of the queen: Frank Marino rules in Divas Las Vegas at Imperial Palace; Sunday, Feb. 28, 2010; OK, maybe I can’t be entirely objective, having seen a preview of Divas Las Vegas while dolled up in drag myself. But even with mascara melting into my eyes and wig tendrils finding their way into every sip of cocktail, it was clear to me that Frank Marino’s return to the Strip is going to be a triumph.
Celine Dion sings on ... and on and on: Monday, Feb. 22, 2010; So here she comes again. Yes, Celine Dion is taking another crack at the Colosseum — she punches in on March 15, 2011 — and she’ll probably bring down her own box-office records in doing so. In fact, if you look at dollar volume, audience numbers and international travel appeal, Dion has been more successful as a Las Vegas headliner than Elvis or the Rat Pack or Liberace combined.
Review: Cirque repackages rock 'n' roll icon in 'Viva Elvis': Show at CityCenter's Aria is Cirque's seventh in Las Vegas; Saturday, Feb. 20, 2010; "Viva Elvis," which officially opened at CityCenter’s Aria Friday night after weeks of paid previews and adjustments, joins six other Strip-resident shows, and it’s likely to be lucky number seven for Cirque du Soleil.
Save us, Celine!: You’re our only hope!; Saturday, Feb. 20, 2010; Las Vegas is thrilled that you're coming back, Celine. But can you speed it up? A city turns its worried eyes to you ...
The bastard son of Tony Robbins: Jason Alexander stars at Planet Hollywood as “the world’s fourth-best motivational speaker”; Monday, Feb. 15, 2010; An interactive, energetic 80-minute massacre of corporate cliches and self-help stupidity, "Donny Clay" is staged in the Chi Showroom on the second level of the casino, the stage otherwise occupied by the upmarket nudi-tease that is "Peepshow." It's ironic and a bit genius that this spoofery of success-industry swindling is staged just a few hundred feet from the business suites and conference rooms where this kind of nonsense takes place in awful earnest.
Las Vegas becoming a sweet spot for a gourmet sugar rush: Saturday, Feb. 13, 2010; Most who make the trek to Las Vegas come to get their cravings on: eat, drink, smoke, gamble, make sexytime, anytime. What brings people here comes down to a yearning to forget the bitter, to taste the sweet. Which reminds us of the unspoken vice and open secret of this city: our raging sweet tooth. Yes, you may leave Vegas with all manner of wonderful or icky mementos, but your most likely souvenir will be sticky fingers, a jacked-up glycemic index and a toothache.
The Showgirl must move on: Bette Midler's exultant Vegas victory lap; Monday, Feb. 1, 2010; As Bette Midler folded up her feathered fans - after singing the first verse of "Wind Beneath My Wings" to her orchestra, the next to "4,500 of my closest friends" - it felt like something more than a Vegas show was ending.
The Faux Pharoah: New exhibit at Las Vegas Natural History Museum showcases King Tut reproductions; Wednesday, Jan. 27, 2010; The real thing - does it even matter anymore? Especially here in Las Vegas, where simulacra and imitation-everything are the new true.
Steve Wyrick Theatre a dark monument to struggling Vegas showrooms: Monday, Jan. 25, 2010; Last month, the grandly titled Steve Wyrick Theatre and Entertainment Complex went out of business — went dark, as they say in showbiz. But the lights are still on, night and day, blazing away.
The Strip IS for locals: And it may need us more than ever; Thursday, Jan. 14, 2010; I used to live in Washington, D.C., and then in San Francisco. And like many residents of those much-traveled-to towns, I pretty much steered clear of the places tourists came in droves to see: The Mall, the Smithsonian museums, the monuments, the Golden Gate Bridge, Fisherman's Wharf. That was dumb. I moved away, and I could kick myself now.
Insurgo fills new space with unusual 'Othello': Wednesday, Jan. 6, 2010; Taking a typically atypical approach to Shakespeare's "Othello", Insurgo Theater Movement gives the tragedy a twist - an inversion of color-blind casting: Artistic director John Beane is playing the title role, ordinarily performed by a dark-skinned actor.
Mutant showgirl: Lady Gaga touches down in Las Vegas: Friday, Dec. 18, 2009; Lady Gaga out-Cher-ed Cher, made Cirque du Soleil and Britney's "Circus" tour look like county fair carnivals, and made New Year's Eve in Las Vegas anticlimactic. The first of the pop phenomenon's two sold-out shows at The Pearl concert venue at the Palms rendered all previous showbiz obsolete. Let's hope one of our Strip moguls has the sense and foresight to try to convince Gaga to keep her "Monster Ball" tour right here in Las Vegas - and make the rest of the world come to her.
Garth Brooks brings a new showbiz paradigm to Las Vegas: Country superstar opens five-year, one-man stand at Wynn Las Vegas; Sunday, Dec. 13, 2009; The triumphant arrival of Garth Brooks may be the first glimpse of the next Las Vegas and a new showbiz paradigm: the anti-spectacle. After a decade of ever-more-elaborate (and impersonal) Cirque-dominated, can-you-top-this? extravaganzas -- epitomized by Celine Dion and then Bette Midler -- Brooks and Steve Wynn are keeping it simple.
Twenty years into his solo career, Morrissey remains erudite, iconoclastic: Friday, Dec. 4, 2009; Wit, poet, romantic, troublemaker, enigma, hero of our inner adolescents ... It’s Morrissey, singer and songwriter of The Smiths, arguably the best band of the ’80s.
Barry Manilow: Still the romantic: He is to bid a grateful adieu to the Hilton as he prepares his new show at Paris — he promises the old songs will look more ‘beautiful’; Wednesday, Dec. 2, 2009; Where do you go after “Ultimate”? If you’re Las Vegas headliner Barry Manilow, whose current Las Vegas act is called “Ultimate Manilow,” you head to Paris. Paris Las Vegas, that is: Manilow announced Tuesday that he’s packing up and headed for the heart of the Strip with an all-new show of his mostly-old hits.
A Scrooge defused: This ‘Christmas Carol’ a winner: ‘Christmas Carol’ wins over a Sun critic weary from years of holiday fare; Monday, Nov. 30, 2009; Just before the clock struck 8 on a chilly Friday night, I slipped crankily into my seat, bracing myself to see “A Christmas Carol” on stage for what seemed like the bazillionth time.
Stevie Wonder: After all these years, still wonder-struck: Fortunately for fans, Stevie is performing and making his celebrated music again; Friday, Nov. 27, 2009; Stevie Wonder is likely the closest anyone will ever get to being a universally loved musical artist. His five-decade career included a run of indelible Motown singles in the 1960s and electronically innovative, socially conscious albums in the ’70s. Wonder, 59, plays the MGM Grand Garden Arena on Saturday, and in recognition, we present Seven Wonders.
Philharmonic shows poise in weekend aural safari: Tuesday, Nov. 24, 2009; Béla Bartók’s Concerto for Orchestra has become a familiar staple for orchestras since it premiered in Boston in 1944, but it received its first Las Vegas airing 65 years later, at UNLV’s Artemus Ham Hall on Saturday night.
Frank Caliendo an impressive impressionist: Caliendo provides surprisingly original takes on some familiar subjects, including sports celebrities and George W. Bush; Monday, Nov. 23, 2009; Does Las Vegas really need another celebrity impressionist? When the impersonator is Frank Caliendo, the answer is a surprising and emphatic yes.
Hilarious, timely, personal: Lily Tomlin at her best: Monday, Nov. 16, 2009; Lily Tomlin is worried. “I worry,” she says, “about being a success in a mediocre world.”
Leonard Cohen back in limelight after 15 years: Iconic singer will play Colosseum; Wednesday, Nov. 11, 2009; Some might view this most auspicious yet unlikely occasion as a harbinger of the End Times. Forget hell freezing over, pigs flying, the mountain coming to Muhammad or other adynatons. Leonard Cohen is playing Las Vegas. The Colosseum at Caesars Palace, in fact: At age 75, the balladeer, poet, prophet, dark-eyed, sad-voiced ladies man is sliding right into the luxe 4,000-seat venue, between Bette Midler and Cher, next door to the Pussycat Dolls.
Lily Tomlin, Leonard Cohen coming to Vegas: Tuesday, Nov. 10, 2009; Who ever thought we’d see the day that brilliant comic actress Lily Tomlin, 70, and iconic singer-songwriter Leonard Cohen, 75, would deign to perform in Las Vegas?
Two Burtons make magic: Nathan is winsomely funny; Lance slick and expert. Both shows on the Strip are crowd-pleasers.; Monday, Nov. 9, 2009; Following the success of the tiger-taming twosome, Vegas became an abracadabra destination and magicians gradually stepped up in status, from part of a variety lineup to headliner status.
Poet laureate headlines Vegas Valley Book Festival: Wednesday, Nov. 4, 2009; You might say she is America’s next top poet. Kay Ryan, the United States poet laureate, will make her first appearance in Nevada on Thursday night, when she reads from her work at the Fifth Street School to open the annual Vegas Valley Book Festival.
Wayne Newton: The story, but not the sound: The only thing fans will enjoy about this show is the memories it evokes; Monday, Nov. 2, 2009; I had been warned that Wayne Newton can’t sing anymore. Apparently it’s been common knowledge for years that his voice is shot.
Unashamedly, comedian Kathy Griffin seeks spotlight, lets it fly: Friday, Oct. 30, 2009; Kathy Griffin has nabbed two Emmy Awards for her hit reality show — and she won’t let anyone forget it. She carries the trophies along with her to TV talk show interviews and has done everything short of legally changing her name to “Emmy award-winning comedian Kathy Griffin.” Griffin then set her sights on a Grammy nomination, naming her CD “For Your Consideration” — and got one last year. And now she’s aiming for the Nobel Prize in Literature — or at least a few minutes on Oprah’s couch. The comedian’s autobiography — cheekily titled “Official Book Club Selection” (see item 2) — went right to No. 1 on The New York Times nonfiction best-seller list last month. Griffin performs back-to-back stand-up shows at Mandalay Bay tonight.
'The Shawl': Smart and spooky: Mamet play about a psychic, a client and a mysterious third delivers; Wednesday, Oct. 28, 2009; “The Shawl,” a seldom-performed three-hander by David Mamet, culminates in a seance.
Two groups, many voices, spellbinding results: Tuesday, Oct. 27, 2009; Maybe it’s a stretch to call it “Glee” for grown-ups.
A year in, Criss Angel’s ‘Believe’ hasn’t changed much for the better: Monday, Oct. 26, 2009; It’s time for your annual checkup, Criss Angel.
AARP’s full slate gives reason to embrace your age: Thursday, Oct. 22, 2009; This is a particularly good week to be over 50 in Las Vegas: AARP, the world’s largest member organization for people 50 and up, is taking over the town starting today, with a celebrity-salted three-day national-attention-getting event called “Vegas@50+.”
Nevada Ballet Theatre dazzles by degrees: New artistic director Canfield heats program to a thrilling techno-music boil; Monday, Oct. 19, 2009; For his first program as new artistic director of Nevada Ballet Theatre, James Canfield used the frog-in-a-pot-of-water strategy. The curtain opened on Saturday night with a comforting and familiar, business-as-usual, lukewarm performance of George Balanchine’s “Rubies.”
Compelling ‘Bronx Tale’ is refreshingly good theater: Wednesday, Oct. 14, 2009; I wondered why Chazz Palminteri’s “A Bronx Tale” was suddenly booked into the Venetian Showroom for a limited run this month.
Fright Dome: Circus Circus fear factory teems with terrific human horrors: Monday, Oct. 12, 2009; If your friends and colleagues show up strangely and suddenly hoarse or voiceless one morning, it’s a good bet that they visited Fright Dome the night before.
Or that they are moonlighting there.
CineVegas hiatus another grim economic indicator: Just as arts scene was blossoming, recession moved in; Tuesday, Oct. 6, 2009; The first leaf fell last year. The branches seemed almost bare when, last week, the CineVegas International Film Festival announced it will be sitting out what would have been its 12th year. It’s clear that the chilling villain is the economic downturn, which has brought a blight to the Las Vegas landscape.