No foolin’: Penn & Teller closing in on 50 years

The legendary performance partners are creeping up on their 50th anniversary. We were reminded of this Sunday as they hosted a taping of “Fool Us” at their eponymous Rio theater.

P&T performed together for the first time at the Minnesota Renaissance Festival on Aug. 19, 1975. Their 50th anniversary will be celebrated throughout 2025. They are planning a seven-week tour of Australia, including eight shows at the Sydney Opera House.

The duo will continue to star at the Rio, where they are signed through 2026. They are due to celebrate 25 years at the resort in January of that year.

P&T hold the distinction of performing longer at a single hotel than any headliners in Las Vegas history. They also host the longest-running show on The CW, as season No. 11 of “F.U.,” in P&T’s shorthand, premieres either this fall or early ’25 (dates to be announced). The free tapings are ongoing through July 29; go to on-camera-audiences.com/shows/penn__teller_fool_us for intel.

The show’s format is unchanged. Pro magicians perform an act and attempt to “fool” Penn & Teller, who vaguely explain the act if they are not fooled. They concede they are stumped when they can’t figure it out.

Brooke Burke (the Season 7 “Dancing With the Stars” champ, also from E!’s “Wild On!” and CBS’s “Rock Star”) hosts and handles the dual tasks of occasional sidekick and on-stage interviewer. Not an easy feat.

Not to disclose too much from the “Fool Us” taping; we reiterate that it is not easy to fool P&T. But it happens. And Penn’s vernacular, those “F.U.” trophies are wicked-cool.

Spade, Glaser slay

The David Spade-Nikki Glaser twinbill should be titled “Not For The Meek.” For an idea, check out Spade’s Netflix specials, and Glaser’s torrid takedown of everybody on the dais at the Tom Brady roast. No topic is taboo, we’ll just leave it at that.

The duo again sold out two weekend shows at The Venetian Theatre, returning Sept. 27-28.

Raiders owner Mark Davis and Venetian entertainment exec and Voltaire creator Michael Gruber were just a couple seats over in the same row. Davis was busting up as Spade related how he was goosed into bidding $125,000 for a pair of front-row Paul McCartney tickets during Sean Penn’s 2012 Haiti benefit.

Spade was trying to impress his date, jumping into the bidding at $30,000. Leonardo DiCaprio turned up the price to $100,000, and Penn bumped the price up to $110,000, and the final $125,000, though by that point Spade was the only bidder and (by auction protocol) should have gaveled down at $100,000.

Instead, Spade said he ponied up the $125K, despite thinking he’d bow out at $30K. “So, I saved Haiti, OK?” he called out. “Problem solved.”

New show alert

“Misfits” is the first comedy-variety show inside Centerfolds Cabaret. Murray Sawchuck has gathered a talented cast led by his wife/host/comic/dancer Dani Elizabeth. We made this scene on Saturday night’s preview opening.

We found: Comedy vet Joe Trammel, who works the room as if he’s running the Olympic steeplechase competition. Great acrobatics from Shell Stachowicz, the sultry stage assistant Claire McDermott, and dazzling sleight-of-hand from Mondre, a vet of The Magic Castle and several Vegas stage shows (among them Area15’s Lost Spirits Distillery and “Late Night Magic”).

Sawchuck pops in and out, too, in a project he originally envisioned as a corporate production. This is the first variety show of its type in the room, an inventive use of architecture worth a look-see.

Tour transmission

There is a Vegas angle in the Tour de France, completed Sunday. The highest American finisher, Matteo Jorgenson, is the nephew of Opportunity Village CEO Bob Brown and his wife, Melinda Brown, whose maiden name is Jorgenson.

Jorgenson placed eighth while repping Team Visma. He grew up in Boise, Idaho, and likely trained along the Boise River Greenbelt and surrounding trails. Yes, we know Boise.

Cool Hang Alert

“Fantasy” singer Lorena Peril is performing a classic Las Vegas late-nighter at The Shag Room at Virgin Hotel from midnight-2 a.m. Friday. Vocalists Gabie Lopez and Anne Martinez guest.

Also classic Vegas is the overture from Virgin Hotel President Cliff Atkinson to “Fantasy” producer Anita Mann, making sure Mann was cool with her star performer headlining at a competing resort. Atkinson and Mann are friends from Atkinson’s days as a Luxor/MGM Resorts International exec. Mann is cool with it. She’s pretty cool, generally.

John Katsilometes’ column runs daily in the A section. His “PodKats!” podcast can be found at reviewjournal.com/podcasts. Contact him at jkatsilometes@reviewjournal.com. Follow @johnnykats on X, @JohnnyKats1 on Instagram.