Secret Vegas – “Let’s Put On A Show”

For those of you old enough to remember the Little Rascals, there was an episode called “Pay As You Exit”. In it, the Our Gang troupe put on a show in a barn, promising that only satisfied customers would be expected to pay a penny…on their way out.

These days, you won’t find a one-cent show anywhere in Vegas, and none of them have a guaranteed-satisfaction policy (which might explain Criss Angel’s continued presence at Luxor). But if you’re in the know, there are plenty of pop-up “barn shows” in town, and quite often they’re more entertaining than anything available through Ticketmaster.

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We first heard about pop-up shows when “Stifler” rose its colorful head at Palms Casino (cough-cough). The Frankie Moreno-helmed variety show was itself an offshoot of impromptu jam sessions during Frankie’s days at Golden Nugget’s “Rush Lounge”.

Apparently, noteworthy musicians and celebs would frequently join Moreno’s band to party the night away. After awhile, he set up dates at The Lounge at Palms, began inviting his friends, and gave the show a somewhat random name – “Stifler” (after the perpetually sex-crazed American Pie character…why not?).

Before you could say “band camp”, the Stifler shows were overflowing with talent like Joey Fatone, Absinthe performers Michal Furmanczyk and Melody Sweets, Taylor Hicks, Carrot Top, Gordie Brown, Michael Grimm….well, you get the idea. “Stifler” continued to grow (ahem), then kind of faded away.  The last we heard, Tropicana‘s Havana Room had been getting a regular helping of “Stifler” (cue the rimshot).

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As for Melody Sweets, we told you just a few weeks ago about her own series of one-off shows at the Absinthe tent.  The latest, a Coney Island Carnival theme, took place last weekend. To keep up with Melody and her ongoing series of fundraising vaudeville shows, you can follow her official Facebook page.

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Downtown’s new-ish Inspire Theater has hosted a number of terrific pop-up variety shows. The first one this writer attended was “Selene Luna’s Dog and Pony Show”, a crazy mash-up of opera, drag, stand-up, marionettes and striptease, hosted by hysterical little person Selene Luna (best known as Margaret Cho’s assistant on “The Cho Show”).  It was just as wild and unforgettable as it sounds.

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Recently, Inspire Theater has been home to a series called “Ok, Ok the amos glick variety show”, another collection featuring fabulous talent from noteworthy Strip productions.  I first heard about “Ok, Ok…” from Alberto del Campo, one of the mega-hunks at Le Reve – The Dream. He contributes a musical rope act of his own creation to the show.

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Alberto tells me that he and his friends do these shows every month or two, and he was really excited about the concept. Fans of the defunct Vegas Nocturne at Rose.Rabbit.Lie were undoubtedly thrilled to see the return of crazy sword swallower Brett Loudermilk in the cast.

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This post by Amos Glick (another longtime Le Reve cast member) regarding “Ok, Ok the amos glick variety show” might give you an idea of the philosophy behind pop-up shows:

This is an UNPAID gig, for fun, with a very supportive audience. After years of experimenting I have found that the show I like to put on doesn’t include many of what would typically be included in the above acts. There’s an energy and tone I am striving for and traditional burlesque, live music, songs and spoken word don’t seem to work that well. If your act is in one of the above disciplines it MUST have another component that will “wow” my audience: world class circus skill, bizarre or unique musical skill or style, or the highest level of comedy…

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Perhaps you can see why Vegas performers are so attracted to this type of production. It gives them an opportunity to stretch the limits of their talents, mostly without restraints, rules or scripts.

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Creative individuals truly love to spread their wings, despite heavy workloads and schedules. That might explain why del Campo found the time this year to choreograph an amazing aerial sequence for Cirque du Soleil’s “One Night For One Drop”, alongside his participation in both Le Reve and “Ok, Ok”. “One Night” is another single-shot charity production, but this one is done annually on a massive scale.

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So the next time you’re scanning your entertainment options in Vegas, you might want to visit VegasBright for the latest on pop-up shows. And you can always check the schedule of events at offbeat venues like Inspire, Onyx Theater, Ron Decar’s Event Center, Las Vegas Little Theater and Cockroach Theater.

If you have a favorite pop-up show or quirky theater that you enjoy attending, why not tell us about it in the comments?

Photos: Sammasseur, OK, OK Variety, Michal Furmanczyk/Melody Sweets/Alberto del Campo via Facebook

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