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Sunday, May 26, 2002 PRIOR ISSUE   -   ARCHIVES
Manilow Enters "Storm", "Laughter To The People" Tours, RV's & Wine, Max's "Pop to Patriotism" Opens, Liberace Expands Digs, "Gigi" Comees to Paris, Airport Facelift Scheduled, Frampton Shows The Way, Three Ring Circus Joins In, More...

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Jackie Brett
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Barry Manilow will perform four shows in the STORM Theatre at Mandalay Bay on June 6, 7 and 8. Tickets re $60 and $80, call 702-632-7580.

Manilow has released 31 albums to date. In 1998, he released "Manilow Sings Sinatra," a tribute to the great songs that Frank Sinatra made famous, and the album was nominated for two Grammy Awards. Last November, Manilow released "Here At The Mayflower," his first new material in more than 10 years, which has been in the top five on the Billboard music charts.

In addition to his own recordings, every album Manilow has produced for other artists has been nominated for Grammy Awards, including songs by Bette Midler, Nancy Wilson and Dionne Warwick.

Peter Frampton, one of the country's most revered and recognized musicians in rock 'n' roll history, will take center stage in the Le Theatre des Arts at Paris Las Vegas on June 28 and 29. Tickets are $55 plus tax and handling fee, call 702-946-4567.

The man known for his guitar style and songwritings has stayed in the limelight since his 1970s classics "Baby, I Love Your Way" and "Show Me The Way." He received a Grammy nomination in 2001 for his hit "Off the Hook." Frampton's next album is scheduled for release in early 2003.

More recently, Frampton revisited his rock 'n' roll roots in the 2000 major-motion picture "Almost Famous" with a cameo role as the band Humble Pie's road manager. Incidentally, he served as "authenticity advisor" for the cast and crew of the Academy Award-nominated film, validating what it was like for rock bands to tour in the 70s.

Kevin Pollak and David Brenner will co-headline at Paris Las Vegas, June 19-23. Tickets are $55 for the 9 p.m. shows in Le Theatre des Arts, call 1-800-237-7469 or 702-946-4567.

Pollak is a dramatic actor as well as a stand-up comedian, having appeared in over 30 shows or films in the past decade. His film credits include "End of Days," "The Whole Nine Yards," "The Usual Suspects" and "A Few Good Men."

Brenner made his debut on the "Tonight Show" in January 1971 and that led to a record 158 appearances on the hit show. Today, he resides in Las Vegas, and has headlined virtually every hotel on The Strip for more than three decades.

Since the events of Sept. 11, Brenner has gone on the road, talking his "Laughter to the People" tour to almost every state, were he offers his insightful and always humorous opinions on politics and current events.

The Liberace Museum is celebrating its 23rd anniversary with a major expansion and remodel job. The grand opening of the new museum is set for Thursday, May 30, at 2 p.m. Magicians Siegfried & Roy will cut the rhinestone-encrusted ribbon and make their entrance in Liberace's mirror-covered Volks Royce convertible to kick off the celebration.

Liberace scholars and local musicians will provide entertainment for the event from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on May 30.

The new museum is divided into five major galleries: the Car Gallery, the Piano Gallery, the Costume Gallery, the Awards Gallery and the Grand Gallery, which features traveling and special exhibits.

Architect Frank Dumon'st goal was to physically capture the virtuosity of a Liberace musical performance - curvilinear shapes covered in a vast flowing musical score, with piano keys playfully dancing across the facade.

An oversized pink neon piano and a giant rendition of Liberace's famous signature surmount the cylindrical glass entrance foyer. Every element of the design is grand and overscaled to evoke the late entertainer's flamboyant style and musical accomplishments.

The Museum Store has been greatly expanded and the new Liberace Caf‚ serves food and drinks from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday through Saturday, and from 1 to 5 p.m., on Sunday. Connecting the various galleries is a "Walk of Honors" comprised of bronze plaques in the sidewalk that mark Liberace's legendary career highlights and achievements. Next to the walkway is the new outdoor Record Garden Patio, a venue for special events.

Admission to the Liberace Museum is $8 for adults, $5 for seniors over 60 and students, free for children 12 and museum members.

"Gigi," the famous musical set in Paris, France, in 1901, will charm audiences at Paris Las Vegas on June 8 and 9. The musical will be presented by the Nevada Opera Theatre. Tickets are $28, $38 and $55, call 1-877-374-7469 or 702-946-4567.

Gary Marshal who is no stranger to The Strip will play the role of Honore. He has performed in various Las Vegas shows, including the leading role in Don Arden's "Jubilee!" at Bally's Las Vegas. Betty Bunch, who will play the role of Gigi's grandmother, is also a Las Vegas legend having performed on stage and on television with the likes of Dean Martin, Jimmy Durante and Louie Prima.

Cast in the role of Gaston, the love interest, is Lance Taubold, who has an extensive career in television, film and stage acting including on and off-Broadway. Talented actress and singer Jennifer Barton will star as Gigi.

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The Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus will be coming to the Thomas & Mack Center, June 20-23. Tickets are $10, $17 and $27.

The Indigo Girls and Vonda Shepard will perform on July 17 at the Hard Rock Hotel. Tickets are $35, call the box office at 702-693-5066 or Ticketmaster at 702-474-4000.

Michael McDonald is booked at the House of Blues at Mandalay Bay on Aug. 16. Tickets are $20, $30 and $40, call 702-632-7600 or Ticketmaster at 702-474-4000.

The late night scene continues to grow in Las Vegas. On Friday and Saturday, Planet Hollywood inside the Forum Shops at Caesars has introduced Glam. It follows the Drai's model where a restaurant is converted after midnight into a nightclub. The Range steakhouse at Harrah's Las Vegas is also getting late-night use out of a restaurant with its nightclub called The View because the facility overlooks The Strip.

The first phase of the Fashion Show mall's renovation on the Las Vegas Strip is scheduled for completion in November, with the opening of Nordstrom and Bloomingdale's Home and the expansion of five existing department stores. Lord & Taylor is scheduled to open a 180,000-square-foot store late next year when The Cloud, a 500-foot canopy with visual entertainment suspended 180 feet above a plaza is completed.

When the entire project is completed, the 1.9 million-square-foot Fashion Show will be the only mall in the country with eight major department stores. There's also talk that a bridge will be built linking the mall to Steve Wynn's new mega-resort, Le Reve.

KOMP-FM 92.3 radio will celebrate its birthday on May 31 with a show at the Aladdin Theatre for the Performing Arts. It will star the Scorpions, Dio and Deep Purple from a tour that was already on the road.

KKLZ-FM 96.3 radio will offer a Junefest lineup of REO Speedwagon, Jethro Tull, Bad Company, Joan Jett & the Blackhearts and Kansas on June 1 at the Silver Bowl Park, next to Sam Boyd Stadium.

Frank Sinatra Jr.'s recent engagement with a 36-piece orchestra at the MGM Grand's Hollywood Theatre met with a tremendous crowd and much enthusiasm. His show was a tribute to his dad's music giving his arrangements fresh life. It's pretty likely that this show will find a return date on the MGM roster.

Plans have been announced for a 300-room, five-story hotel with a casino to be built in North Las Vegas at Interstate 15 and the Las Vegas Beltway.

Air Vegas Airlines, the No. 2 scenic air carrier to the Grand Canyon from Southern Nevada, is moving its base of operations from Henderson Executive Airport to North Las Vegas Airport, where the company will start flying on June 22. Air Vegas has a fleet of 10 Beechcraft C-99 tour planes and flies more than 250 passengers a day.

The Henderson Executive Airport is planning a two-year, $18 million renovation. Air Vegas is planning to move back when the work is completed in 2004.

The 20-acre Pahrump Valley Vineyards winery in Pahrump, a town located about 45 miles west of Las Vegas, has been purchased for $2.5 million by Western Horizon Resorts, a company that owns 24 RV resorts in 10 states. Future plans call for breaking ground on a 250-site RV park at the winery and opening it by January.

Western Horizon Resorts wants to put $2 million in improvements into the property and apply for a gaming license for slot machines. Other plans call for keeping the winery's 50-seat restaurant, gift shop and wine-tasting area.

Peter Max is an artist who came of age in the psychedelic '60s. He remains committed to the social ideals of his generation and still creates art that's popular around the world. He is known for his bold psychedelic colors and shapes.

You can check out his artwork at Grammy's Art of Music at the Forum Shops at Caesars. "Peter Max Pop to Patriotism" exhibit can be seen free from 10 a.m. to 11 p.m., Mondays-Fridays, and 10 a.m. until midnight on Saturdays and Sundays.

Max, who is 64 now, was born in Europe and raised in Shanghai, China, where he lived until he was ten. He and his parents traveled around India, Africa and Israel and Paris before settling in New York when he was 16 years old.

Max does more than 1,200 charities every year, including about a dozen events at his studio in New York City. Often he creates posters and T-shirt designs for the charities.

After the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, Max created patriotic posters of the Statue of Liberty and American flags. Proceeds from the posters, about $1 million so far, have gone to the special Twin Towers and Pentagon funds.

John Fox, who walked on stage for the first time at the world famous Comedy Store in June of 1979, will be leading a trio of headlining comedians at The Comedy Stop at the Tropicana, May 26-June 2. Tickets are $17.50 per person with tax, gratuity and two drinks included, call 702-739-2714.

Within three months, Fox became a "paid regular" at the Comedy Store. Six months later he scored his first television appearance on "Norm Crosby's Comedy Shop." Fox travels up to 40 weeks a year and has accumulated an impressive number of television credits. In the animated feature film, "Rover Dangerfield," Fox did the voice of the pig.

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