Celebrities in L.V.: Rick Astley, ‘Toruk,’ ‘Motown,’ Zedd, Jay Mohr, Sheena Easton, Micky Dolenz
The world’s attention this weekend is mostly focused on President Trump’s inauguration in the nation’s capital, but Las Vegas has its own events rocking on here. Maybe former President Obama will stop here en route to a vacation in Palm Springs, California?
In Washington, D.C., our Las Vegas broadcaster, author and Las Vegas Review-Journal columnist colleague Wayne Allyn Root was outside The Capitol before going on air for 30 minutes at Laura Ingraham’s radio studio with ex-model Erika Trump, followed by conservative radio host Alex Jones.
Wayne told me this morning: “What a 24 hours! My dad was a blue collar butcher. He missed his inauguration 37 years ago. President Reagan sent him an invite. He couldn’t go because he owned a two-man butcher store and couldn’t afford to close the store for four days. Now four decades later, his son, a Las Vegas small businessman, gets a second chance for the Root family.
“Last night, I had dinner at The Palm D.C. with Lee and Erika Lipton, Donald Trump’s friends. Joining us were TV televangelists Pastors David and Nicole Crank, former Las Vegas resident Ed Henry, the Fox News White House correspondent, and Chris Ruddy, founder and CEO of Newsmax.com.
“Joining the fun were political consultant Roger Stone, Trump’s first campaign manager, and Alex Jones. I also met with former House Speaker Newt Gingrich. This morning, I will be in the coveted up-front yellow seats, so I’m right in front of the swearing in of our new President Trump. It’s going to be a very long day until the late-night inauguration balls come to an end.”
Some events here in a way speak to the transfer of power in D.C. Cirque du Soleil’s “Toruk: The First Flight” continues until Sunday at T-Mobile Arena capturing the journey of two youngsters fighting trouble and turmoil to save their planet.
At The Smith Center for the Performing Arts, “Motown: The Musical,” which tells the story of Berry Gordy’s amazing career and also running through Sunday, touches on the compassion of Dr. Martin Luther King and the anguish of Marvin Gaye struggling to make political statements in a challenging and troubling time.
Continuing residencies definitely worth a new look include Britney Spears at Planet Hollywood, Celine Dion at Caesars Palace and Boyz II Men at The Mirage. Joan Collins will be at Britney’s show tonight and Saturday celebrates the 95th birthday of her Las Vegas friend, Max Bryer, who created NBC studio lighting still used today.
Our hometown “America’s Got Talent” winner Michael Grimm is at The Orleans Showroom. We, too, have newcomers taking the reins with Keith Sweat at The Flamingo and Rick Astley at The Palms. And the 2017 AVN + Adult Entertainment Expo wraps four days with the AVN Awards at The Joint at The Hard Rock Hotel on Saturday.
Now it’s time for people of all parties to celebrate with another edition of Robin’s Royal Rundown:
FRIDAY, JAN. 20
MUSIC
Joe Walsh is at House of Blues at Mandalay Bay for two days.
Headliners Boyz II Men is at The Mirage all weekend.
Keith Sweat is at The Flamingo for two days.
Phil Lesh is at Brooklyn Bowl Las Vegas at The Linq Promenade all weekend.
George Winston is at The Smith Center for two days.
Micky Dolenz is at Golden Nugget Showroom.
Jukebox Heroes is at The Orleans for two days.
HNLV is at Sam’s Town for two days.
Star One All-Stars is at Aliante.
COMEDY
Jay Mohr is at South Point for two days.
Smilin’ Bob is at Jokers Wild for two days.
OF SPECIAL NOTE
Tickets are on sale for Social Distortion from March 3-4 and Biz Markie on April 22 at HOB; George Thorogood & The Destroyers on March 11 and A Perfect Circle from April 7-8 at Pearl at The Palms; The Head and The Heart at BBLV on April 11; Sir Elton John at The Colosseum at Caesars on select dates from April 25-May 5; and Def Leppard at MGM Grand on June 17.
“Toruk” is at T-Mobile all weekend.
“Motown: The Musical” is at The Smith Center all weekend.
The Sperdvac Old-Time Radio Convention is at The Orleans for two days with stars from “The Donna Reed Show,” “The Jack Benny Show,” “Burns & Allen,” “Leave It To Beaver,” “Our Miss Brooks” and more.
The Jamz Youth National Championship is at The Orleans all weekend.
“Peter and The Star Catcher,” the prequel to “Peter Pan,” is at Faith Conservatory of the Fine Arts all weekend.
Zoology is at Downtown Las Vegas Events Center.
The World Series Slot Tournament is at Golden Nugget all weekend.
PARTY PATROL
DJ EarwaxXx is at Bond at The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas.
DJ Scene is at Tao at The Venetian.
Cedric Gervais is at Marquee at The Cosmopolitan.
SATURDAY, JAN. 21
MUSIC
Rick Astley, in the first photo, is at The Pearl.
Michael Grimm is at The Orleans Showroom.
Sheena Easton is at Suncoast for two days.
Chubby Checker is at Rampart.
The Legendary Isley Brothers is at Primm Valley.
Florence Larue & The 5th Dimension are at Cannery.
Radio Active is at Hard Rock Live! on The Strip.
MacDougall & Ross James is at BBLV.
OF SPECIAL NOTE
The 2017 AVN Awards is at The Joint.
Xcycle in Summerlin hosts a 45-minute Rhythmx class benefiting Nevada Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals.
Exotics Racing’s 3-Hour Endurance Race is at Las Vegas Motor Speedway for two days.
PARTY PATROL
Zedd, in the second photo, is at Omnia at Caesars.
TJR is at Marquee Dayclub Dome.
Eric D-Lux is at Tao.
Ruckus is at Marquee.
Party Brunch is at Lavo at The Palazzo
SUNDAY, JAN. 22
MUSIC
Chevelle is at HOB.
Flipside 4 is at Sam’s Town.
Crown Avenue is at Hard Rock Live!
PARTY PATROL
DJ Crykit is at Bond at The Cosmopolitan.
We’ll be back Sunday with a delightful interview with glamorous Vanessa Williams before she’s honored as Woman of the Year by our Nevada Ballet Theatre. Then early next week, fascinating stories as we meet the five-year veteran Cirque performer of “Ka” who stars in “Toruk,” the show’s artistic director and the storyteller who explains Na’vi linguistics.
