"Signed, Sealed, Delivered" currently playing in the Showroom at the Venetian is a fast-paced musical tribute to the amazing Stevie Wonder. It's similar to "Ain't Misbehavin'" and "Smokey Joe's Cafe" in the sense of focusing whole show on particular songwriters. The show is making its world premier in Las Vegas before debuting in London and New York within the next two years.

Wonder has been so prolific that the bigger picture must have been what songs to use. Happily many songs are packed into the show and brought to life and animation by seven Broadway-caliber performers, a rotating headliner averaging four to six weeks in the show and a ten-piece band. Just a handful of the songs included are: "I Just Called To Say I Love You," "My Cherie Amour," "Isn't She Lovely," "Part Time Lover," "All Is Fair In Love," and "You Are The Sunshine Of My life."

Chaka Khan is the featured headliner though June 15. Melissa Manchester and Peabo Bryson will follow and again make it seem like a new show. Khan's No. 1 hit single "Tell Me Something Good" was written by Wonder and his song "Signed, Sealed, Delivered" was on her 1998 album "CK."

Tickets range from $22 for children 12 and under up to $86 for premium booths. For information, call 1-877-881-4225 or 702-948-3007.

Siegfried & Roy have selected a protege, singing magician Darren Romeo. He's being referred to rather appropriately as "The Voice of Magic." The 26-year old has opened his own afternoon show at 3 p.m., Tuesday through Saturday, in the 1,500-seat Siegfried & Roy Theatre at The Mirage. A daring move is the fact that his is the most expensive matinee show in Las Vegas. It is a $30 ticket with tax, gratuity and one drink included, call 702-792-7777.

The questions for many are just who is Darren Romeo and is he worth a $30 ticket. The answer to the second question is "yes," his show is wonderful.

Romeo has been a magician since he was nine years old. He introduced singing to his performance during his high school years and earned the phrase "The Voice of Magic" by the time he was 16.

Romeo received national acclaim as the youngest person to ever star in the off-Broadway production of "The Fantasticks." In 1996, he left New York for Las Vegas in order to perform at Caesars Magical Empire. Just three years later, he landed his own afternoon show at the Flamingo Hilton and that's where Siegfried & Roy discovered him.

Romeo is an enthralling showman who is totally at ease on stage. Many of his illusions from sleight of hand to the more elaborate making a white grand piano appear on stage are tried and true, but he makes them all the more interesting by singing an appropriate tune at the same time.

For example, he closes his show with his magical version of the "Phantom of the Opera." In the illusion wearing a white half-mask, Romeo passes through a mirror, levitates an assistant and then makes her disappear, all the while singing "Music of the Night."

One illusion that Romeo took from Harry Blackstone Jr., involves a light bulb that continuously glows as it flies around the room over the heads of audience members. There's no question that Romeo's show is a tremendous addition to the Strip's entertainment lineup and one that is worthy of an evening slot when the time allows.

Live stage shows have returned to the Fremont Hotel & Casino in Downtown Las Vegas. The new Aloha Cabaret is an intimate 125-seat room located on the main casino floor.

The Fremont's new afternoon show, the "Flying Fiddles," features two "dueling" violinists, Latin super star Olga Breeskin and Johnny Potash, a Las Vegas performer whose been the Nevada state fiddle champion. This show is free with the purchase of one drink at $5.95. Show times are 2 and 3:30 p.m., Friday through Tuesday.

The "Divine Divas," starring "Pudgy the Queen of Tease," is the new evening show. Artists deliver interpretations of Tina Turner, Aretha Franklin, Donna Summer, Diana Ross, Patti LaBelle and more. The show also includes two female dancers, three musicians, and a male saluting James Brown, Marvin Gaye and Michael Jackson.

Long an East Coast favorite, "Pudgy" has enjoyed a reputation of comic unpredictability and been referred to as the "female Don Rickles." Tickets are $12.95 for the 7:30 and 9:30 p.m. shows running Friday through Tuesday.

"At Home in the Islands" is a contemporary Polynesian show that will open at the Castaways on Boulder Highway on June 26. For information, call 702-383-9232.

Two Las Vegas casinos, the MGM Grand and Caesars Palace, have filed for approval by gaming regulators to have a private salon for high-rolling gamblers. The 2001 Nevada Legislature legalized the idea of operating private gambling salons.

The salons were legalized to allow privacy-seeking high rollers to wager out of the pubic eye. The new private casino will only allow gamblers with at least $500,000 in cash or credit line. Minimum wagers on the private casinos' slot machines and table games will be $500.

TOP OF NEXT COLUMN

The incomparable Oscar and Grammy award-winning Cher will embark on the final tour of her career and bring "Living Proof-The Farewell Tour" to the MGM Grand Garden Arena for two nights, Friday, Aug. 9 and Saturday, Aug. 10 at 8 p.m. The tour began on June 14 in Toronto and will stop in more than 50 cities across the United States. Tickets are $39.75, $75.25 and $150.25, call Ticketmaster at 702-474-4000.

Cher's final tour comes in support of her current Warner Brothers Records album "Living Proof," which debuted in the Top 10 on Billboard album charts. Her current single, "A Song For The Lonely," has remained at the top position on dance charts for the past five weeks. "Living Proof - The Farewell Tour" includes material from the entire span of Cher's monumental career incorporated in an unprecedented extravaganza.

In a four-decade career including TV, film, Broadway, live shows and music, Cher has been a permanent fixture on the pop culture map. Her 1998 No. 1 small album, "Believe," sold more than 10 million CDs worldwide. The single "Believe" was a number one hit in more than 25 countries and holds the record as the biggest-selling single by a female in UK history.

Penn & Teller, named 2001 Magicians of the Year in Las Vegas, have returned to the Rio's 1,500-seat Samba Theater through Sept. 1. Tickets are $55 plus tax.

The eccentric pair has an enticing brand of magic mixing humor and bombastic theatrics. Together since 1975, their award-winning theater show has been a long running hit on and off-Broadway.

The duo serve as visiting scholars at MIT, which is the highest honor bestowed by the school and have lectured at the Smithsonian Institution and Oxford University. Penn & Teller were recently named two of the funniest people alive in "Entertainment Weekly's - 50 Greatest Comedians Today" issue.

Australian singer / variety entertainer David Gilchrist will make his United States debut in the Riviera's Le Bistro Theatre on Monday, July 1, and continue through August. Tickets will be $24.95 plus tax, call 702-794-9433.

Throughout his 35 year-career, Gilchrist has earned much acclaim for his singing voice. He's had ten MO nominations (the equivalent to the American Tony Award), won three MO Awards and earned the title of "The Clown Prince of Song" in Australia.

His first break happened in the mid-60's while he was in school and won a TV talent show, the same one Paul Hogan of "Crocodile Dundee" fame won the prior year. For the next ten years, he performed in the British theater both in London and South Africa.

In 1976, Gilchrist was back in Australia and selected to be the Simon's Carpet man, a gig that lasted six years. The company wanted someone who could sing Gilbert & Sullivan, look like Paul Hogan in his shorts and a T-shirt and could sound Ocka, which is a redneck Australian accent. He went on to become Australia's unofficial "Tin Man," being the spokesman for Alcan Aluminum household products for six years.

From 1980 to 1990, Gilchrist worked the cabaret circuit until the club scene dried up due to the advent of strict drinking and driving laws. Since then, he's been performing on the major cruise ship lines of the world.

The Tropicana's ninth chip to be released as part of the 2002 commemorative chip series will go on sale Monday, July 1. It will be a $5 chip celebrating Independence Day, the 4th of July.

More summer concert shows have been added at the Mandalay Bay Resort. "Beach Bash" is a brand new beach concert series for Summer 2002 that will kick-off on June 22 with a Reggae Beach Party featuring Eek-A-Mouse and continue through September. Tickets for the Beach Bash go on sale approximately six weeks prior to the events, call 702-632-7580.

Other headliners on the summer concert lineup are the B-52's on July 19, Billy Idol on July 20, the Gipsy Kings on Sept. 1 and Hall & Oates on Sept. 28. Concert-goers are invited to bring their blanket and sit on the beach or wade into the surf and listen to the music from the famous 1.6 million gallon wavepool.

The Tropicana has introduced a new benefit for new members of its reward program, The Winners Club. Membership is free at the Promotion Center from 7 a.m. to 1 a.m. daily. After playing two or more hours within the first 24 hours after joining the club, members receive two free tickets to the Tropicana's "Folies Berger" extravaganza.

In addition to the show tickets, new Winners Club members also receive twice the cash back bonuses for all play incurred within the first 24 hours after joining the club and a free Tropicana T-shirt after the first 30 minutes of carded play.

Permission from the City Council has been given to a property owner to build a $50 million Hilton-branded hotel and casino on a five-acre parcel of land on Sahara Avenue, just off the Las Vegas Strip. A 40,000-square-foot casino will be attached to the east side of the property. Four small commercial buildings are located at the site and will be torn down to make way for the hotel.

CONTINUE ON TO...:
>THIS WEEK'S LAUGHLIN SEGMENT
>LAST WEEK'S LAS VEGAS SEGMENT
>VEGAS VIEWS FULL ARCHIVES
>Return to "Heard Around Town"
>Return to Las Vegas Leisure Guide