Browsed by
Tag: john katsilometes

Despite protests, Dirk Arthur debuting his own production of cats..

Despite protests, Dirk Arthur debuting his own production of cats..

Click to enlarge photo  By  for the Las Vegas Sun

The Kats Report Bureau this weekend has been ensconced at the Riviera, and that hotel is happening this weekend with a couple of conventions that helped fill the lobby with hundreds of guests on Friday afternoon.Yes, the 59-year-old Riviera is positively bouncing with activity as we close out November. Soon to arrive at Versailles Theater, where the continuing renovation is apparent even at the vacuumed and polished entrance, are “The Rat Pack Is Back” and “MJ Live.”

These satisfying, resilient and adaptable shows are being swept out of the Rio’s Crown Theater to make room for the new “Duck Commander” musical, and I am tapping my watch while wondering when the contract will be signed and we can get to planning for that proverbial call of the wild.

Read more

The Amazing Johnathan stuns ‘ENTSpeaks’ audience: ‘I have a year to live’

The Amazing Johnathan stuns ‘ENTSpeaks’ audience: ‘I have a year to live’

By John Katsilometes for the Las Vegas Sun..

The Amazing Johnathan is the last in line on this night after a series of five speakers at Inspire Theater on Fremont East in downtown Las Vegas. Before him, we have been regaled in tales from such legends as Mary Wilson of The Supremes and comic genius Marty Allen.

At the end, it’s the comic magician of whom his contemporaries say is one of the great stage performers of his era. Comic Louie Anderson said that just before the show as he hung around the VIP suite with the night’s speakers. But The Amazing Johnathan, or A.J., as he is commonly known, is not right on this night. He is weak and has trouble walking over any considerable distance. His wife, performance artist Anastasia Synn, has had to sometimes carry him, actually on her back, when his legs fail.

Read more

EDM collaborations? Penn Jillette says, ‘Crank it’..

EDM collaborations? Penn Jillette says, ‘Crank it’..

By John Katsilometes for the Las Vegas Sun..

We have been through so many AFAN AIDS Walks with Penn Jillette it seems there is not much else for him to say.

“Just take everything I’ve said in the past years and say that again,” he said during a phone conversation this week.

That’s a lot of territory to cover.

Jillette has already said the reason he and performing partner Teller have chosen AIDS as a charity meriting support is because “sometimes you just fall into things.” Five years ago, I asked how long he and Teller were supporters of the event, and he responded, “Ten years. Ten, or 37.”

And there was the moment during the charity run seven years ago when I asked Jillette about the competitive environment of entertainment in Las Vegas and he said, “If you go to a show on the Strip in 2007 and see someone doing a George Burns impersonation, you are not going to want to see another show on the Strip…

Read more