Las Vegas Theater Reviews

BWW Reviews: THE SCINTAS - Back At Home in Las Vegas

The Scintas - a Las Vegas staple for the first decade of this century - have happily found a new home at The D in downtown Las Vegas. (more...)

BWW Reviews: LEGENDS At 30 Is Still Lots of Fun

Celebrating 30 years, Legends In Concert is the second longest-running show in Las Vegas. Recently moved to a 4 p.m. slot Sunday through Friday, with 9:30 shows Sunday and Monday, Legends is now in the (appropriately legendary) Flamingo Showroom. (more...)

BWW Reviews: ZARKANA - A Beautiful Addition to Las Vegas' Cirque Offerings

Cirque du Soleil is to Las Vegas as, say, the Tour d'Effil is to Paris. Cirque shows have helped define the city since December 25, 1993, when Mystere took up permanent residence at Treasure Island. Today, Cirque shows play to about 9,000 people each night here. The latest Cirque entry is Zarkana and it is, indeed, a welcome addition to the city. (more...)

BWW Reviews: Hail Caesars Entertainment! JERSEY BOYS, PEEPSHOW & More Bring Broadway's Best to Las Vegas Strip

Broadway is alive and well and living in Las Vegas. The influence of the Great White Way on the Las Vegas Strip is more evident than ever and the word of the day is "QUALITY!" For theatre goers visiting Las Vegas who have digested just about "one Cirque too many" - Caesars Entertainment offers the antidote, producing the finest theatrical experiences in town ranging from a first rate production of JERSEY BOYS to Jerry Mitchell's tantalizing PEEPSHOW to the always surprising PENN AND TELLER, and more. On a recent trip to Sin City I attended five of Caesar's great theatrical offerings and was treated to a feast for the senses at every turn. (more...)

BWW Reviews: At The Sinatra Club- One Man's Story Of Living And Escaping The Mob Life

Sal Polisi will tell you he's gone from "racketeer to raconteur" and, indeed, he has. His one-man show, At The Sinatra Club, is unscripted but very, very interesting. He is, in fact, a highly skilled raconteur and he performed his show Sunday at Las Vegas' Clark County Library. The audience of 315 people was totally involved, responding to Polisi's words as if he were conversing with them individually. (more...)

BWW Reviews: Oak Ridge Boys - Still Mighty & Better Than Ever

I once asked a friend of mine what it was like seeing a certain legendary performer in concert. Her reply was, "It was a privilege." Well, if you ask me today what it was like seeing the Oak Ridge Boys at the Golden Nugget in Las Vegas this weekend, my reply would be the same. It was indeed a privilege. (more...)

Phantom: The Las Vegas Spectacular — Just Two More Months Until The Music of the Night Is Stilled

Try as they might to be objective, it is the nature of the job that causes reviewers to be subjective. The response to a play, film, book or a piece of art or music is rooted in who the reviewer is. What is his or her life experience? Birthplace? Education? Etc? (more...)

BWW Reviews: Murray SawChuck - Magic & Comedy Make a Show That's Fun for Everyone

His face is familiar and so are his hair and black-rimmed glasses. You've seen him on Pawn Stars, America's Got Talent, Celebracadabra and lots of other TV shows. Stick-thin with a shock of platinum blonde hair styled like brush bristles, he describes himself as what the child of Andy Warhol and Lady Gaga would look like. But Murray is much more than what you've seen on TV and what he looks like. (more...)

BWW Reviews: Glen Campbell's Goodbye Tour: Poignant? Yes! But Nonetheless A Terrific Night Of Music

Like many in his audience, I didn't know what to expect when I went to see the Glen Campbell Goodbye Tour on June 2 at The Las Vegas Hotel (used to be the Las Vegas Hilton). When it ended, I felt privileged that I'd had the opportunity to be in the audience. (more...)

BWW Reviews: Rich Little Celebrates Jimmy Stewart & Friends

No, I don't have that kind of sixth sense. And, no, I wasn't alone. There were a few hundred people sharing the experience. That's what went through my mind as I watched impressionist Rich Little perform his new show, Jimmy Stewart & Friends at The LVH (formerly the Las Vegas Hilton) on press night. (more...)

BWW Reviews: Santana Begins Residency at the House of Blues!

I had the good fortune to go to a great party Wednesday night. Well, it wasn't officially a party. It was, officially, the first of Santana's 31-show 2012 residency at the House of Blues at Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas. (This residency extends into 2013 with those dates to be announced.) (more...)

BWW Reviews: JERSEY BOYS in Vegas - Same Terrific Show In A Beautiful New Home

The Jersey Boys have moved south - at least in Las Vegas, that is. The show has moved from the Palazzo Resort Hotel in Las Vegas a few blocks south to Paris Las Vegas, taking up residence in the theater the hotel refurbished when Barry Manilow opened there in March 2010. (more...)

BWW Reviews: Chazz Palminteri In A Bronx Tale: The Kind of Theater Too Seldom Seen In Las Vegas Is Back

If you come to Las Vegas looking for the mob - or if you live here and want to enhance your visit to the new Mob Museum (which visitors and tourists alike should make a point of visiting) - you should stop by the Terry Fator Theatre in the Mirage between now and next Tuesday to Chazz Palminteri is performing his solo play A Bronx Tale. (more...)

BWW Reviews: Jewtopia Live: Modern Jewish Culture Explored and Explained

Jewtopia Live is a trenchant look at the culture that has grown up around Judaism in America. It opens at a Jewish singles event where we meet Chris O'Connell (Jeremy Rishe), a Christian who wants to be Jewish, marry a Jewish girl and, thus, have a wife "who cleans" and who "swallows" and whose very presence will enable him to never have to make another decision. His childhood friend Adam (Bryan Fogel) undertakes to teach him about being Jewish. (more...)

BWW Reviews: The Scintas - The Spectacular Next Generation Keeps Up The Family Tradition

Something extraordinary happened in the showroom at the Suncoast Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas this weekend. A star was born. (more...)

BWW Reviews: Elton John's Million Dollar Piano A Solid Gold Addition To Caesars Colosseum Offerings

Elton John has joined Celine Dion and Rod Stewart as an alternating headliner at the Colosseum at Caesars Palace. (more...)

BWW Reviews: Rod Stewart: The Hits — The New Must-See Show In Las Vegas

Last night, Rod Stewart conquered Las Vegas. Opening a two-year run at the Colosseum at Caesars Palace - where he will alternate with Céline Dion and Elton John - he had the audience of 4,100 on their feet, singing and cheering. (more...)

BWW Reviews: LOVERS AND OTHER STRANGERS: A Visit With Friends

Renee Taylor and Joseph Bologna came into the spotlight in the 60s. Accomplished writers and actors, theirs is one of the more enduring pop culture partnerships. Lovers and Other Strangers, their 1970 collaboration - first a play, then a film - told the story of their wedding in the Culture Clash of extended Italian and Jewish families. (more...)

BWW Reviews: Engelbert Humperdinck: A Classic Performer Does A Classic Show

Lots of people dismiss those singers who have been entertaining since the 1960s (or before) as 'oldies' acts, hauling out the old hits, looking old and, in all, nicely nostalgic but sort of sad. And, sometimes, that's true. But. There are also certain entertainers who vividly remind one of the golden days of vintage Las Vegas - before $2,000 bottle service in ultra lounges and celebrity DJs. There was time when entertainment in Las Vegas showrooms was special, with the with an only-in-Las-Vegas ambiance that signaled to audience members that they were in for a special, memorable evening. (more...)

BWW Reviews: This Is Harmik As Tom Jones: The Tribute Artist and His Guests Provide A Diverting, Different Show

Before I came to Las Vegas, I'd group all celebrity impersonators together. Most of them (like Rich Little) did several impersonations while some, like Vaughn Meader, did one person. (Of course, when his subject, JFK, was assassinated, his career was over.) But, whatever the number of people they did, they were copying the individual. But, since I've moved here, I've become quite familiar with another group of entertainers who 'do' their subjects, but are not impersonators. They are, instead, 'tribute artists.' (more...)

BWW Reviews: Vegas: The Show!: This One Deserves The Exclamation!

Think about it: How many times have you seen the title of a show or movie with an exclamation point on the end? There's Oklahoma! Airplane! ¡Three Amigos! Mamma Mia! Hot Shots! Oliver!....and those are only a few. Some of them actually, depending upon your response, may have deserved the exclamation. Most, however, do not. An exception to this general truism is Vegas! The Show. (more...)

BWW Reviews: Terry Fator: Still So Talented But.....

There can be no doubt that Terry Fator first winner of America's Got Talent has indeed 'got talent' in abundance. In fact, on a scale of 1 to 10, his talent ranks an 11. But, though he is talented and eminently pleasant, his show, Ventriloquism in Concert, in the Terry Fator Theater at the Mirage Hotel and Casino would maybe earn a 7. (more...)

BWW Reviews: A JEW GROWS IN BROOKLYN - Ethnic Theater In the Desert Diaspora

When I moved to Las Vegas in 2005 it was widely touted as the city with the fastest growing Jewish population in the country. But, for a Jew from metropolitan New York, it was still quite a culture shock. In New York, everyone seemed to know the basic Yiddish phrases - and Italian phrases, too - and traditional food for holidays was easily available. Still today in Las Vegas, people one might imagine should know better - some in positions or great influence - may still use phrases like "you people" when asking a question of a Jewish person (more...)

BWW Reviews: Sinatra Is Back In Vegas In Twyla Tharp's SINATRA DANCE WITH ME

It is a perfect combination - the ultra-cool of Frank Sinatra's music and put it with the heat of Twyla Tharp's choreography. Add sets, costumes and lighting and you have the show that opened Saturday night at Wynn Las Vegas. (more...)

BWW Reviews: NUNSENSE At the Hilton - Watch Nuns Cavort While You Have A Drink

In a very un-churchlike setting - the Las Vegas Hilton's Shimmer Cabaret, another venue where you can watch the show while drinking - Nunsense opened a six-month run, playing Wednesdays through Sundays at 4 pm. (more...)