{"id":10230,"date":"2012-12-18T13:13:05","date_gmt":"2012-12-18T21:13:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.lasvegasadvisor.com\/stiffs-and-georges\/?p=10230"},"modified":"2012-12-20T09:52:43","modified_gmt":"2012-12-20T17:52:43","slug":"dark-days-at-the-plaza","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.lasvegasadvisor.com\/stiffs-and-georges\/dark-days-at-the-plaza\/","title":{"rendered":"Dark days at the Plaza"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"Last week’s abrupt cessation of three shows at the Plaza<\/strong> sent gloom and presages of doom through the theatrical community over the weekend. Lichtenstein<\/strong>-based Tamares Group<\/strong> was rumored to be pulling the plug on Best Little Whorehouse in Texas<\/em>, Bite<\/em> and Grand Ole Vegas Revue<\/em> (the latter is a low-cost summer jamboree<\/a> that the Plaza picked up from Bonnie Springs Ranch<\/strong>, out in the sticks — and which Mike Weatherford<\/strong> aptly likened to a Shakey’s Pizza<\/strong> parlor). It certainly wouldn’t be the first time we’ve seen Tamares take the cheapskate route with its ostensible flagship casino. When a new bingo room, hair salon and a stint by Insurgo Theater Movement<\/strong> failed to stimulate foot traffic on the second floor of the Plaza, Tamares gradually stripped out the lounging furniture, slot machines and mezzanine-level blackjack in favor of … nothing. However, the problems assailing the Plaza’s ramshackle entertainment program appear to be several and various.<\/p>\n

\"\"On Monday, the Las Vegas Sun<\/em>‘s John Katsilometes<\/strong> shed a few rays of light upon the mystery, producing more tantalizing clues that solid answers. “Until further notice” has changed to a tentative Jan. 15 as the target date for resuming two, maybe three of the halted shows. Anthony Cools<\/strong>-owned The Phat Pack<\/em> continues to run, evidently because it and it alone employs a “light and sound system installed by Cools,” who — surprise! — has resigned as showroom manager. (He had a comparably brief and inglorious tenure at the Tropicana<\/strong>, before Alex Yemenidjian<\/strong> essentially chased him into the street.)<\/p>\n

When Cools takes<\/strong> his tech out at year’s end, the Phat Packers leave with it. What Katsilometes mysteriously describes as “extensive production support” necessary to keep Bite<\/em>, Whorehouse<\/em> and Vegas Revue<\/em> (scarcely a high-tech show) up and running is currently hors de combat<\/em>. Whether this refers to a lack of stage crew or problems with the electrical system, Johnny Kats sayeth not. No matter if the equipment is subpar or simply unmanned, it cannot be run.<\/p>\n

\"\"Jonathan Gorst<\/strong>, Revue’s co-producer, was quick to bend over and grab his ankles: “Although we face the challenge of being dark for the next four weeks, we feel that it is an incredible opportunity to see that gem of a showroom be returned to its rightful status as a center of entertainment in Las Vegas<\/strong>. We considered our options carefully, and this was the one that made the most sense. It is certainly viable that we will be able to return to a full schedule once everything is ready<\/em>.” It’s certainly a “challenge” for cast members who find themselves forcibly idled for a month and have “an incredible opportunity” to look for other work. One would imagine that the stay-put option “made the most sense” because Gorst isn’t going to find other casinos queuing up to book his show. I\u00a0 have a friend who’s shopping a production around the Strip and Downtown, and it’s a tough — and very expensive — row to hoe.<\/p>\n

While Whorehouse<\/em> and Vegas Revue<\/em> are locally grown enterprises produced on a shoestring, the Plaza has a much tougher customer on its hands with \"\"Stratosphere<\/strong> castoff Bite<\/em>. (Now that<\/em> one might find takers elsewhere.) Producer Tim Molyneux<\/strong> has blown the whistle on problems with Plaza management, saying box office receipts were received in a “slow and inconsistent” manner, exacerbated by “ticket report errors I had seen.” So either Molyneux’s suggesting Plaza people can’t count money or that somebody’s skimming the till. But soft! According to Mike Weatherford<\/strong>, it was Cools’ money-handling skills that met with disapproval<\/a>, speeding his exit from the Plaza, The Nevada Gaming Control Board<\/strong> has been turning a blind eye to Tamares’ smoke-and-mirrors act for seven years. It’s long past time that Tamares submitted itself for a gaming license, which would bring daylight to a murky corner of Downtown.<\/p>\n

At least somebody<\/strong> potentially displaced from the Plaza might find a gig on the Strip. Evil Dead the Musical<\/em><\/a> is auditioning (through Jan. 4) for a backup male lead. Shirtlessness is required, as is singing ability. Hardly anyone in Evil Dead<\/em> can carry a tune. Why break with tradition now?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Last week’s abrupt cessation of three shows at the Plaza sent gloom and presages of doom through the theatrical community over the weekend. Lichtenstein-based Tamares Group was rumored to be pulling the plug on Best Little Whorehouse in Texas, Bite … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[48,28,51,14,4,6,25,47],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lasvegasadvisor.com\/stiffs-and-georges\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10230"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lasvegasadvisor.com\/stiffs-and-georges\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lasvegasadvisor.com\/stiffs-and-georges\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lasvegasadvisor.com\/stiffs-and-georges\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lasvegasadvisor.com\/stiffs-and-georges\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=10230"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"https:\/\/www.lasvegasadvisor.com\/stiffs-and-georges\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10230\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":10236,"href":"https:\/\/www.lasvegasadvisor.com\/stiffs-and-georges\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10230\/revisions\/10236"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lasvegasadvisor.com\/stiffs-and-georges\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=10230"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lasvegasadvisor.com\/stiffs-and-georges\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=10230"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lasvegasadvisor.com\/stiffs-and-georges\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=10230"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}