SPOTLIGHT

MGM Grand, 702.891.1111

Continued Legacy

It seems hard to imagine, but David Copperfield is approaching his fifth decade of amazing audiences with his larger-than-life illusions. And he’s entering his third decade as one of the Las Vegas Strip’s most iconic entertainers.

If you haven’t yet been to a Copperfield show, know this: The illusions are grand. They’re not just immensely visual, with lots of lights and dramatic music, they’re often downright emotionally powerful. But mixed in with all this is a genuine sense of fun. Copperfield is very aware of his legend looming large, and takes plenty of potshots at it, keeping the audience laughing and relaxed. As great as your memories of Copperfield have been over the years, get ready for a whole new set after seeing this show. –Ken Miller

Honest Take

Comedian’s subjects still resonate

Chris Rock was already one of humor’s high priests when he stepped onstage at the Academy Awards to present the Oscar for Best Documentary and told the joke that made television history. By the time Questlove walked away with the gold statuette for his film Summer of Soul Rock had been sanctified by his peers in standup as well as a good percentage of his fans. One small slap from the Fresh Prince has resulted in a giant leap in ticket sales for Rock and placed him on the throne as comedy’s reigning king.

This means additional dates added to an already heavy performance itinerary, a welcome turn of events for Rock fans, who deified him decades ago but didn’t buy tickets before the Oscars. Rock came up in the comedy industry of the ’80s, his youth setting him apart from peers influenced by Richard Pryor and Eddie Murphy. Rock made a memorable splash as Rib Joint Customer in I’m Gonna Git You Sucka, became known to film audiences as hapless Pookie in 1991’s New Jack City and to television audiences as activist commentator Nat X during his stint on Saturday Night Live.

Everything he did in his career prior to 1999 seemed like a warm-up upon the release of his HBO special Bigger & Blacker. Rock was on point, at the peak of his abilities and brutally honest as he addressed themes of race, hypocrisy and social responsibility. It placed him on everybody’s top five list of favorite comedians well beyond the release of his 2014 sleeper-hit film Top Five and led to numerous invitations to appear at the Oscars.

He may understandably turn those down more often in the future, giving him flexibility to spend more time on stand-up stages. Cancel culture and comedy culture are currently at odds, and both stand-up artists and audiences need an inspirator that can shift societal attention with one joke. They need Chris Rock. –Matt Kelemen

Caesars Palace, May 6-7, ticketmaster.com

Seek Serenity

With beautiful, upscale surroundings, the Red Rock Spa by Well & Being is a retreat focusing on relaxation and rejuvenation. Try the Doctor Babor Prescription Facial to focus on individual skin challenges or the Recovery Massage, which uses a special blend of essential oils to calm the body, promote circulation and relieve stress. The spa also offers a wide variety of exercise classes, and features an open-air swimming pool surrounded by lush greenery and individual cabanas. –Kiko Miyasato

Red Rock Resort, 702.797.7878

Resorts World Las Vegas, 702.676.8888

Sea Here

As you might expect from the name, Genting Palace is, indeed, an elegant establishment. The restaurant’s exterior and entrance resemble a beautiful black lacquer box, complete with red and gold, and jade-colored compartments. To one side is a large, pleasant bar area for handcrafted cocktails. In the dining area, light green upholstery on chairs and banquettes complement botanical-themed panels framed on the walls.

Seafood is the focus of many dishes here, but there are many other options as well. For your appetizer, try Sichuan hot and sour soup with mushrooms and tofu, or braised bird’s nest soup with crab meat and ham. For entrées, choose from the live menu, where you’ll find grouper, red cod and goby in your choice of preparation (steamed in one of two ways or deep fried), plus Australian and Maine lobster and Washington and Alaskan crab. Other seafood entrées include XO shrimp, braised seafood tofu and stewed whole fish (both signature dishes by chef Soon Lok Ooi). There are lots of poultry, pork and beef dishes, too, from stir-fried shredded beef to a wok-fried A5 Japanese wagyu in black pepper sauce. –Nina King

Momentous Must-See

One of the most spectacular shows to ever hit the Las Vegas Strip is back! KÀ tells the story of a brother and sister who are separated by war, overcoming all obstacles put in their way until they are reunited. Cirque du Soleil seriously pulls out all the stops in telling this tale, from the magnificent theater (which allows the cast to freely roam and climb around) to the costumes and the music.

The centerpiece of the production is the stage itself, which is constantly in a state of movement, changing from a sandy beach to a rocky cliff within seconds. KÀ requires the re-creation of many different tableaus, and whether it’s a ship being tossed on the ocean or a makeshift plane flying over the audience, KÀ delivers the goods. Get swept away. –Ken Miller

MGM Grand, 702.531.3826

3215 S. Rancho Drive, illuminarium.com

Light Fantastic Striking attraction takes guests to a whole other space

The Illuminarium was too big to fit inside AREA15’s main building. The latest immersive venue to open at the experiential campus just west of the Strip needed 36,000 square feet for its next-level, cinematographically interactive destination, necessitating a building of its own just beyond AREA15’s LIFTOFF attraction.

The Illuminarium’s colorful exterior contrasts strikingly with its surroundings. Inside, a menu of programs is offered in the lobby. Once a program is chosen, a warm-up room, divided by two rows of plush white chairs that would not look out of place in a Stanley Kubrick film, provides a preview of what is to come. Floral imagery from its O’KEEFFE: One Hundred Flowers program can be projected onto walls and segue into an Apollo rocket launch lifted from SPACE: A Journey to the Moon & Beyond.

The main course is a larger adjoining sensein-surround venue with a floor that rumbles with thunder during WILD: A Safari Experience. “Awe-inspiring” doesn’t do justice to the 360-degree scenes and sounds of savannahs and rainforests, where gorillas emerge from the mists of every sightline. Flowers carpet the floor during the tribute to Georgia O’Keeffe, and stars move with visitors’ footsteps as the enormity of our solar system is manifested during SPACE.

All that exploration can work up an appetite, effectively assuaged at companion culinary experience Lumin Café & Kitchen. The restaurant’s warm, inviting atmosphere was designed by the Rockwell Group, and the menu by cuisine visionaries Elizabeth Blau and chef Kim Canteenwalla. It’s the height of casual dining with an outdoor patio and touches of class such as exquisitely prepared burgers, Parmesan and truffle fries, and mac and cheese with Ritz cracker crust.

The possibilities of hosting viewing parties for major sports events in the Illuminarium’s technologically forward environment are well-apparent, and the options for adults-only Illuminarium After Dark: Nightlife Reimagined are inviting. It’s virtual reality without eyewear or vertiginous reactions, and its time has come. –Matt Kelemen

The Height of Elegance

For decades, diners have been heading to Top of the World restaurant in The STRAT to celebrate special occasions—the entire 104th floor restaurant actually revolves 360 degrees during your meal. It makes a spectacular place to pop the question, with plush seating and gorgeous views; there are even wedding packages available to help you plan the moment. (And a menu of handcrafted cocktails, like the trendy espresso martini, will take the edge off any preproposal nervousness).

The upscale steakhouse-style menu is nearly as fabulous as the view, with lump crab fritters, lobster bisque and lobster chop salad to start. Grill choices range from a 10-ounce Creekstone Farms rib cap to the 22-ounce Prime bone-in marinated ribeye. A double-cut pork chop, Icelandic salmon, loup de mer, and vegan stuffed poblanos give you plenty of other options to choose from. If you want something really over the top to add to your celebration, try the whole lobster mac and cheese (featuring an entire pound of lobster).

Warm butter cake is billed as a “Top of the World favorite,” and it’s also one of this writer’s faves. The berries atop add just the right amount of freshness to the fluffy cake. –Nina King

The STRAT, 702.380.7711

Call of the Wild

It’s a nice respite from the buzz of the Las Vegas Strip, and it’s an attraction that many might not know about, but everyone really should. The Wildlife Habitat can be found on the Flamingo’s 4-acre tropical grounds, and guests can stroll, stop and take a break and take in the beauty of nature and its inhabitants. You’ll come across flocks of Chilean flamingos, swans, ducks, koi fish, turtles, pelicans, sacred ibis and more, instilling a little peace in the heart of the of the city. Best of all, this little slice of heaven is free and available most any time of the day. Just remember: Take some pictures. –Kiko Miyasato

Flamingo, 702.733.3349

Comic Relief

Comedy is subjective, that’s true. Everyone has their definition of what’s funny and what’s … not so funny. But if there’s one thing we can all agree on, it’s that everybody loves Brad Garrett.

And if you chose this week to check out Brad Garrett’s Comedy Club, you scored! Not only will you see some of the greatest up-and-coming comedians, you’ll get to see the man himself perform! Garrett, the beloved star of Everybody Loves Raymond and ’Til Death, occasionally headlines at his famous club, and, this month, you can catch him on May 6-8, joined by Debi Gutierrez and Mark Eddie and on May 9-15, joined by Trixx and Lara Beitz.

Comedians this month include Josh Sneed, Omid Singh and Carlos Rodriguez (May 16-22), Kevin Bozeman and Steve Gillespie (May 23-29), and Ralph Harris and Jeff Shaw (May 30-June 5). –Ken Miller

MGM Grand, 21+, 866.740.7711

Creating Stories CEO brings the world to Vegas

A 25-year veteran of the entertainment and exhibition industries, Tom Zaller has helped create and bring some of the most enthralling sights and surroundings ever witnessed in Las Vegas—immersive experiences before that term became trendy. As president and CEO of Imagine Exhibitions, the impact of Zaller and his team can be currently examined on the Strip at REAL BODIES and National Geographic’s Rarely Seen at Bally’s, and an innovative new project is slated for the coming months, also at that destination: The Cabinet of Curiosities. Zaller discussed the excitement and challenges that come with the job.

How do you go about creating that perfect mix of education and entertainment that makes these experiences stand out?

People visiting Las Vegas aren’t coming to be educated, they’re going to have fun and a real entertainment experience. Maybe “education” is not the right word. We want to give people stories to tell. For example, with Rarely Seen, you may not be interested in photography at all or understand how photographers spend their entire lives trying to capture this moment that happens in a millisecond. But once you see those images, you’ll be telling your friends at dinner, “Did you know these guys went to the North Pole and did this and that to get this image?” That storytelling is one of the reasons we do what we do.

That National Geographic exhibit is pretty new. What makes it so special?

National Geographic curates a variety of different shows and (this one) is all about places and subjects and moments that are rarely captured—you just don’t see photographs of these things. It’s some of the rarest photography in the entire collection, which is saying something. I’ve been lucky enough to travel quite a bit and my favorite place in the world is Siem Reap in Cambodia. It’s just majestic and unique, and there are photos of one of the famous temples there in the exhibit. You see that and you just want to go to that place. And we also do these large, immersive experiences with video projection, not just photography on the wall, but something that makes you feel like you’re inside the image.

“Immersive” is definitely the new buzzword, whether it’s a production show on the Las Vegas Strip or a presentation like these.

Our industry has received a lot of attention in the last few years because when live shows were closed, we had gallery spaces you could come to and be socially distant and still have a couple hundred people. And that’s one of the reasons (the industry) has become more digitally aware and there are more tech-driven experiences out there. When I did the first traveling Van Gogh experience in France, it was very expensive, and now that technology is basically on every corner.

Your next Vegas project is going to take things in a different direction. Tell us about The Cabinet of Curiosities.

I’ve had this idea since 2005, because I went to a museum and saw what was called a cabinet of curiosities, if you can picture an old wooden display case with big glass windows and a little vignette inside, or some oddity from around the world. It doesn’t have to be a physical object, it could be the sentence inside a fortune cookie. So for our project, there’s a bar so you can come in and get a drink, and you’re drawn in because there’s odd, unique furniture, and a little something for everybody to just keep discovering and find these unique moments. And in the corner of the space there’s a room full of locks and safes, and that’s the entrance to the speakeasy. You have to decipher something our locksmith has placed there, and that gets you access to this room where we’re doing specially crafted cocktails, and again, telling a story. –Brock Radke

Westgate Las Vegas, ticketmaster.com

It’s Magic Beloved artist returns to hit residency

Everybody loves Barry Manilow. Resisting his music is futile. Manilow wrote songs that made the whole world sing, then had a hit written by someone else titled “I Write the Songs.” Manilow went from playing piano for Bette Midler at the Continental Bathhouse in the early ’70s to garnering a GRAMMY nomination for his production work on her album The Divine Miss M two years later.

Manilow wrote jingles for Band-Aid, McDonald’s and State Farm that became iconic before he became famous. He had feathered hair before Farrah Fawcett became famous. He was signed to a record deal by Tony Orlando, before Orlando became famous as a television star, and matched with a group of musicians called Featherbed. He wrote “Could It be Magic” with Orlando before becoming a solo star. Donna Summer turned “Could It Be Magic” into a disco hit in 1976. In 1977, ABC broadcast the first of four hit Manilow-starring television specials.

Barry Manilow lives to work and perform. He graze diets because the human body needs calories to be productive and he’s so focused he might otherwise forget to eat. Still, he would likely know if you raided his wardrobe.

His Fanilows are arguably the most faithful and considerate superfans any artist could acquire. Fanilows have contagious enthusiasm that supercharges every concert.

Yes, he plays all the hits. Yes, people cry during “Mandy.” Yes, “Copacabana” is part of the setlist and gets everyone on their feet to dance. Yes, Manilow has surprises for fans catching his long-running residency at Westgate Las Vegas Resort for the first time.

At 78, he has the apparent energy of a decades-younger Barry Manilow. He’s a great storyteller. His latest endeavor is a musical, Harmony, that opened in March for a limited engagement at National Yiddish Theatre Folksbiene in New York. He made it through the rain, kept his world protected, kept his point of view, and found himself respected. Now he’s a living legend. –Matt Kelemen

Size Matters

Can’t find a seat at the bar? You’ll most likely not have that problem if you head to Longbar, which stretches the entire length of the hotel—hence its name. It was the city’s longest bar before sister property Circa Resort & Casino built Mega Bar. But Longbar has lost none of its allure, offering guests plenty of seating, multiple flat-screen TVs for sports viewing, nine beers on tap and some of the best flair bartenders around. And don’t be surprised to see The D hotel owner Derek Stevens make an appearance! –Kiko Miyasato

The D, 800.274.5825

The Venetian, 702.607.2355

Charm for Days

Head to Buddy V’s Ristorante for a relaxed Italian meal in a charming setting. Tables are set simply, with white plates and checked napkins that channel the classic Italian restaurant. The dining room wraps around an open kitchen as large windows bring the light and the views are impressive day and night. Traditional dishes and family recipes abound. Grandma’s meatballs are a favorite antipasto choice for many diners, while some of us appreciate My Wife’s eggplant just a little more (it might be the crispiness, it might be the mozzarella—who can say?). For a little decadence, order The Boss’s lobster mac & cheese.

Pizza here features stalwarts like margherita and pepperoni, but the prosciutto and arugula version has sweet and hot honey as a finishing touch. There are plenty of pasta choices here, from fettucine Alfredo to My MotherIn-Law’s shrimp scampi. Lisa V’s linguine & clams is light, in white wine and garlic. For a slightly more substantial entrée, chicken Parm, chicken marsala, chicken piccata and ribeye are hearty choices. If you are starving, the bone-in XL Milanese chop might fill you up. And if it doesn’t, Buddy’s lobster tail surely will. –Nina King

He’ll Be Good to You

Those who remember Donny Osmond’s amazing show with his sister Marie at Flamingo will probably be wondering what Donny’s new solo show is like. Let us set the record straight: Despite the absence of his equally famous sibling, the entertainer, who’s been performing almost his entire life, commands the stage from beginning to end.

The show is no less than an exploration of Osmond’s entire life, all of which gets unveiled during an “auto-rapograpy,” a 10-minute number in which Osmond misses not a single word while rapping about being on the Andy Williams Show as a boy or competing on (and winning!) Dancing With the Stars as an adult. Osmond does so much more, including singing all the hits throughout the years, from “One Bad Apple” with his brothers to “Puppy Love” and “Soldier of Love” as a solo artist. –Ken Miller

Harrah’s, 855.234.7469

WITH SPECIAL GUEST COLIN CLOUD