At the start of today's show, we remembered longtime Las Vegas Review-Journal entertainment columnist Norm Clarke, who died early this morning at age 82 after a two-decade battle with cancer.
Read more from John Katsilometes' column:
Norm Clarke, the pioneering Review-Journal celebrity columnist recognized around town for his signature black eye patch and splashy scoops, has died. He was 82.
It’s been relatively status-quo for Las Vegas Strip entertainment this year. But some recent developments bear exploring. Here's a rundown of them, courtesy of Katsilometes:
- Not only has multi-genre artist Beyonce finally designated a date and ticket onsale for local shows on her summer tour — in support of her Grammy-winning album, Cowboy Carter — but she'd added a second show due to strong presales. The performances will take place at Allegiant Stadium. "Having seen her other [Allegiant] show here more recently, and I go back to [her former band] Destiny's Child at House of Blues in 2000 and at Encore theater in '08, when she was doing a DVD special at the time, and she is legit," says Katsilometes. "She is somebody you have to see, a generational star. And I think her fans understand that."
- Which is to say: She's not playing the Sphere, contrary to the rumor mill or even the venue's efforts. Neither is the similarly rumored pop star Harry Styles, the Sphere recently confirmed. But don't rule him out, says Katsilometes. "One thing I will tell you: If Harry Styles wants to play the Sphere, he will play the Sphere."
- With the Sphere having exclusively signed men for its multi-show engagements, Katsilometes chalks it up to circumstance and availability — and says it's a matter of time before that changes. "And I hope it's sooner," he adds. "I would love to see Lady Gaga play Sphere. And I think she's going to come back to Vegas next year."
- A labor issue struck the cast of Chippendales last fall, concurrently with its plans to move from the Rio to the LINQ. But the current performers of the male revue have yet to unionize now that they're settled in at the new property, and the former leaders of that movement didn't make the cut for the new cast — which has now gone to the National Labor Relations Board. "My sense of it is that the momentum for the union ... has to have ebbed," says Kats. "But they're saying to me that this fight is not over. They're saying they're going to continue. So the idea is to maybe you take a step back here to gain traction for more union activity in Las Vegas. And if you look at all these casts, there's a lot of availability for people to have a choice to unionize."
- And the replacement show for Rio's theater? The Empire Strips Back, a burlesque-style parody production that's been tested elsewhere in the country, due May 4. "It's not a storytelling show," says Katsilometes. "It's dance number, dance number, production number — you know, themed [to Star Wars]. You've got stormtroopers in g-strings."
- Artificial intelligence, or AI, has caused waves in the creative/entertainment world. It's now in a Strip production: Donny Osmond's current show at Harrah's. In it, Osmond's grandson and the technology bring the show back to when Donny was a 14-year-old recording artist recording his first hit, "Puppy Love." However, it'll take some time and experimentation before it becomes a staple of Vegas entertainment. "There's been some AI talk, some hologram talk, about a Sphere show that would be based on it," says Katsilometes. "I would love to see Spiegelworld have that kind of intuition. [But] it's expensive. It's not cheap to do this. I haven't seen any big push for it right now. I think they're still trying to figure out how to do it when it's efficient, and how it can really make money, how you can sell tickets to an AI show in Las Vegas. We haven't crossed that divide yet."
Guest: John Katsilometes, entertainment columnist, Las Vegas Review-Journal
