Topless show returning to Bally’s? Plus, Donny & Marie, Chinese show, Tenors of Rock, ‘One Drop’
We have huge headlines for exclusive Las Vegas entertainment news today:
“Topless beauties return to Jubilee Theater”
“Donny & Marie renew through end of 2017”
“New-look Chinese-themed show set for Bally’s”
“Tenors of Rock to open at Harrah’s in December”
“Octogenarian to star in ‘One Drop’ spectacular”
It’s a bonanza with new shows headed to the Strip, a long-awaited decision from Donny and Marie Osmond to renew their contract through the end of 2017 and the wonderful decision to make an 84-year-old entertainer the focus of the next Cirque du Soleil “One Night for One Drop” spectacular.
* Jubilee Theater at Bally’s is coming back to life, after closing in February, with two shows, and topless burlesque dancers will keep the memory of the 35-year legacy of “Jubilee,” one-time longest-running show on the Strip, alive. It will be an intimate show rather than the fabulous “Jubilee” spectacle, and I’m hearing it’ll be a late-night show starting around March.
* A Chinese-themed show will be presented in Jubilee Theater for the earlier evening slot. It’s the return of an earlier Chinese production but brand new with a different storyline and production elements aimed at a wider audience. Expect more details in the weeks ahead.
Country singer Brett Eldredge records a black-tie, invitation-only DirecTV special at Jubilee Theater tonight to present his new album, “Glow,” for a November broadcast.
* My story in the Las Vegas Review-Journal on Aug. 1 was confirmed this morning when The Flamingo officials confirmed that Donny & Marie Osmond have extended their popular residency through the end of 2017. It marks the continuation of their recent eighth anniversary here on an original contract that only called for a short residency.
“Originally, we came here for just six weeks, and now it’s led to nine years,” Donny told me. “It’s phenomenal. We’re still loving it. We both give so much energy to it. It starts with the energy from the audience. It just is unbelievable that the audiences are still loving it.
“Marie and I are still changing things every once in a while. I think that’s one of the secrets to our longevity here. We’ve kept it fresh. This is phenomenal. We’re delighted that we’re staying. Las Vegas has become our second home.”
Since opening at The Flamingo on Sept. 9, 2008, Donny & Marie have continued to be one of the most popular acts on the Strip. The audience response was so overwhelming that their six-week contract was extended soon after the show opened.
Now more than eight years later, the siblings have performed nearly 1,200 shows for guests from around the world. In our Best of Las Vegas annual voting, they have won Best Overall Show, Best Performers and Best Singers in Las Vegas. The Flamingo renamed its theater Donny & Marie Showroom in 2013.
Their 2017 shows start Feb. 14 with dates in March, April, June, July, August, September, October and ending Nov. 25. Now the only question I’ll have for Donny next summer is will they sign on to make it a decade?
* I broke the news that Tenors of Rock, five burly British rock stars, have won a residency at Harrah’s. I can now reveal that their show “Ultimate Rock Anthems” will start in December, taking over the showroom time and space of “Million Dollar Quartet” that ends Dec. 4.
It will be exactly 60 years to the day that an unplanned jam session with Elvis Presley, Johnny Cash, Jerry Lee Lewis and Carl Perkins took place at Sun Records in Memphis. “MDQ” has run since February 2013. Minor alterations will be made quickly to the stage at Harrah’s to accommodate the London lads.
* The fifth edition of the amazing, annual philanthropic “One Night for One Drop” that has raised nearly $25 million to provide access to safe water around the world will star the most unlikely of characters. The first auditions for the March 3 show at Zumanity Theater in New York-New York are Oct. 24.
Cirque du Soleil clown and performance artist Brian Dewhurst is the 84-year-old English acrobatic master at “Mystere” in T.I., which he opened in December 1994 as artistic coordinator, and the new “One Drop” will be built around him as the focal point.
Brian also opened “O” at The Bellagio as artistic coordinator where tragically his first wife of 40 years, Julie, died on opening night. Brian has been a stilt walker, knife thrower, wire walker, juggler and trapeze and trampoline artist in circus acts since he was 13 years old. His two kids Nicky, in “Zumanity,” and Sally will be assisting with “One Drop.”
