by Jackie Brett Send Me E-mail

Cirque du Soleil and The Beatles' company, Apple Corps Ltd., have announced a partnership to produce a $100-million Beatles-themed revue at The Mirage that will open in mid-2006 in the 2,000-seat showroom previously occupied by illusionists Siegfried & Roy. The show will be a "celebration of the musical legacy and extraordinary experience of the Beatles."

The production will be Cirque du Soleil's fifth resident show in Las Vegas after the $165 million "Ka," a Cirque epic opens next month at the MGM Grand.

This project was born out of a personal friendship and professional admiration between the late George Harrison and Cirque du Soleil founder Guy Lalibert‚. Key members of the artistic team will include Cirque du Soleil writer-director Dominic Champagne and The Beatles producer Sir George Martin.

For now, the show's working title is "The Boys." The showroom will be remodeled with theater seats to create a stadium environment with in-the-round seating. Half the seats will be in the area now occupied by the stage and two large video screens will wrap around the rear walls. The show will not have impersonators playing the Beatles.

Legendary performer and twelve-time Grammy winner Tony Bennett has made a one-year deal to be the spokesperson for the Golden Nugget downtown. As the resort's "Ambassador of Cool," Bennett will appear in a news print and broadcast advertising campaign that is expected to be launched in January 2005. The deal also includes a 15-show engagements, starting Nov. 4-6, that will run quarterly throughout 2005.

In addition to his illustrious singing career, Bennett is an accomplished visual artist who studied at the School of Industrial Arts in Manhattan and has exhibited his works in galleries around the world. Bennett paints portraits, landscapes and still lifes. A collection of his paintings will be exhibited at the Golden Nugget on select dates throughout 2005.

Bennett will release his latest CD, "The Art of Romance," on Nov. 9, on RPM Records / Columbia.

Near the glitz and glamour of the Strip, the $100 million Renaissance Las Vegas Hotel will open on Dec. 3, three months ahead of schedule. It has been constructed by the Perini Building Company, builders of worldwide luxurious resorts including the Trump Taj Mahal.

Slated to be the largest non-gaming hotel in Nevada, the Renaissance Las Vegas Hotel will be 14 stories with 548 rooms and 30 suites that range from 859 to 1,681 square feet. Amenities will include spa treatments, a chic restaurant and bar, high-speed Internet access, flat screen televisions, and a dedicated concierge. The new hotel is adjacent to the Las Vegas Convention Center and boasts more than 20,000 square feet of meeting space within 14 distinctive rooms. The Grand Ballroom features 9,850 square feet of flexible floor plans and 19-foot ceilings. For information, call 866-352-3434.

Barrick Gaming, which paid $82 million for four downtown casinos (the Plaza, Vegas Club, Gold Spike and Western) last year, has increased its holdings by purchasing two more nearby properties, The Hotel Nevada and Queen of Hearts motel, and a parking lot for $8.1 million. An exact decision about what they will do with the properties hasn't been made, but they will be incorporated in some fashion, perhaps a high-rise, into their master plan for upgrading the Main Street corridor near the Plaza.

Master magician and illusionist David Copperfield will return to MGM Grand's 740-seat Hollywood Theatre with his latest stage production show, "An Intimate Evening Of Grand Illusion." His Dec. 24-Jan. 5 engagement will include 48 performances in 14 days. Tickets are $97 inclusive, with the exception of the 10:30 p.m. New Year's Eve show priced at $150 per person with champagne, a balloon drop and party favors; call 702-891-7777 or 800-929-1111.

Copperfield, whom the New York Times calls "our era's giant of magic," has dazzling new illusions that include "Lottery," featuring incredible predictions, and a groundbreaking illusion where 13 members of the audience, chosen at random, vanish from the stage and reappear in the back of the theater. His approach has transformed the way the world looks at magic. He has vanished the Statue of Liberty, walked through the Great Wall of China, flown through the air, levitated himself across the Grand Canyon and made audience members disappear and reappear in places they would never expect.

Copperfield has received such accolades as being knighted by the French government, the Chevalier of Arts and Letters and an honorary doctorate of Humane Letters from Fordham University.

The Broadway Series will present a one-night engagement of the "Andy Williams Christmas Show" at the Orleans Arena on Dec. 18. Tickets are $64, $53.50 and $43 plus tax and service charges, call 702-284-7777.

Williams began his career singing with his three brothers in the "Williams Brothers Quartet" and went on to a solo career recording hits like "The Hawaiian Wedding Song," for which he received the first of five Grammy Award nominations, and "Moon River."

In 1966, Williams performed at the opening of Caesars Palace and then spent 20 years as a Las Vegas headliner. He now performs six nights a week, April through December," at the Andy Williams Moon River Theatre in Branson, Mo.

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