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FEATURES
Terry Fator lends his voice to an ensemble cast in ‘Who’s the Dummy Now?’
By Matt Kelemen
Terry Fator has spent much of his show business career surrounded by dummies. They steal the spotlight onstage even though Fator often carries them. A true pro, he prefers the audience focus on his co-stars while they sing. Those co-stars got Fator to where he is now, at New York-New York Hotel & Casino with a second Vegas residency that seeks to answer the question put forth by its title: Who’s the Dummy Now?
Surely Fator is not the dummy, although a few members of his ever-evolving supporting cast may beg to differ. Who’s the Dummy Now? is a double entendre, possibly a triple, that strikes to the core of the art of ventriloquism while inviting the audience to suspend disbelief and imagine Fator’s pint-sized celebrity likenesses have been possessed by the spirits of their inspirations.
Those inspirations are invariably Fator’s and include David Bowie, whose presence allows for a rendition of Bowie’s classic collaboration with Queen, “Under Pressure.” Fator’s respect for Elvis Presley and the legacy of Las Vegas entertainment is embodied in Maynard Tompkins, the world’s greatest Elvis impersonator whose resemblance to The King makes up for the lack of focus that has prevented his from learning any Presley songs proper.
Fortunately, Fator has Walter T. Airdale on hand to add Nashville knowhow to the proceedings. The country star has been married eight times and does dead-on impressions of Garth Brooks and Toby Keith that have caused many tears to fall into beers during his storied career. Fator’s own career would have turned out very differently were it not for his sidekick, Winston the Impersonating Turtle. Who’s the Second Banana? may be a more descriptive title as winsome Winston demonstrates chemistry with his boss, a key factor leading to Fator becoming the second-season champion of America’s Got Talent.
Fator’s singing career started long before his 2007 AGT win, and his interest in ventriloquism began during his adolescence. He can trace his artistic ancestry to Edgar Bergen, who established ventriloquist standards in popular culture such as having multiple dummies with contrasting personalities. Contemporary dummies had to be memorable as Willie Tyler’s Lester and Wayland Flowers’ Madame were in the ’70s.
Airdale joined the act first. Other characters were gradually added to the cast, and some such as Vikki the Cougar and Wrex the Crash Test
Dummy became integral to Fator’s stage show. Fator got more comfortable doing more direct impressions of singers with respective dummy likenesses as he became a veteran Vegas headliner and added versions of Elton John, Paul
McCartney, Stevie Wonder, Dean Martin, Willie Nelson and Justin Timberlake to his ensemble.
With all that impersonating, the singer found a way to get back to where he once belonged by scheduling a series of semi-monthly Terry Fator After Hours Thursday night performances inside New York-New York’s The Bar at Times Square.
New YorkNew York 866.606.7111
By Ken Miller Photography by
Erik Kabik
From setting to act lineup, Absinthe has endless appeal
or those of you who have not yet seen Absinthe, we envy you. We really, really do. As many times as we’ve all been to see the hit show in the spiegeltent outside Caesars Palace, nothing comes close to the feeling we first had when we took our seat in the elaborately decorated space, gazing at the small stage in the center and wondering what exactly was about to happen. And yes, we still laugh until we cry at the ensuing antics, but nothing matches the unmitigated joy we felt that first time, a mixture of shock and hilarity that had us recommending it to everyone we knew—even prudes!
All this is a long way of stating the obvious: This is a show you need to see. Now. It’s a highly concentrated evening of entertainment—like the spirit itself, it can make you a bit dizzy, but in the best way possible.
To simply call this a variety show would be a huge mistake. Yes, there are countless acts that rotate through every night (go 10 times and you’ll probably never see the same lineup twice); and yes, those acts are some of the most impressive you’ll see anywhere on the Strip. But Absinthe is so much larger than the sum of its parts. There’s the comedy element, brought to you by the incredibly inappropri-
Atlantis
The Gazillionaire
Ming and Alexa
Sean & John Scott ate Gazillionare, who’s constantly bragging about his money when not insulting nearly every member of the audience within his sight line. There’s the sex element, courtesy of The Green Fairy, a vision that drops from the ceiling and then begins dropping some of her clothes. And there’s the anything-goes element, thanks to Wanda Widdles, The Gazillionaire’s assistant whose libido does the talking for her (often in the most shocking way possible).
Within this wild framework, the acts strut their stuff in the spiegeltent. Every show starts with a nerve-wracking chair stack by either Maxim or Hossein. The only other act that appears each and every time is the tap-dancing team of Sean & John Scott, who speed the proceedings up to a frenzy with some hypnotic footwork (and a bit of comedy).
From there, you’ll see any or all of the following:
Water on Mars, a juggling act that proves you can juggle almost anything. Toilet paper? Check? Open bottles of water? Check. Giddy fun Check. Aerial artists Ming and Alexa, who twirl and twist effortlessly while exuding romantic, sensual energy.
When they kiss at the climax, it’s always an audience favorite.
David O’Mer, whose bathtub routine has become the stuff of Absinthe legend. It’s funny, sexy and in your face (plastic covering is a must for those in the front).
Atlantis, a group of four extraordinarily strong (and extremely likable) gentlemen who take turns flipping the smallest member of the group as high in the air as possible.
Time to check Absinthe off your bucket list. And then see it again.
Caesars Palace spiegelworld.com or 702.534.3419
Most visitors to Las Vegas have an idea of what they want to do before they get here. There’s gaming, of course, and destination dining. There are shows wherever one stays and shopping within walking distance of any GPS coordinates on the Strip. There are golf tee-offs to schedule and salon or spa appointments to make, while more casual afternoons can be spent checking out attractions such as Titanic and Bodies … The Exhibition.
While the former will hit the spot for fans of James Cameron’s 1997 film epic, the latter provides an option to leisurely while away an hour of daytime while expanding one’s knowledge about anatomy. Bodies breaks down the systems that make up the whole of human beings into sub exhibits, deconstructs the physical makeup of the organs that work together to create the organisms that are us, and displays dissected biped specimens that once walked the Earth.
Preserved cadavers may not be everyone’s cup of tea, but Bodies provides an opportunity for
Expand your understanding of anatomy at Bodies … The Exhibition
By Matt Kelemen
people who were or are interested in medicine or osteopathy to spend a fascinating hour among muscles, bones, brains, pulmonary parts, and digestive features. A polymer process enables the exhibition of corporeal subjects in various states of dissection, with one separated into a standing stack of slices, or coronal plane, and another laid out in repose and transversely sectioned.
Fans of special effects or forensic procedural series should add to Bodies to their Vegas itineraries for the visuals, but trivia fans will find an unexpected treasure trove of interesting facts to absorb. There are 100 miles of blood vessels filtering the fluid of life inside kidneys, for example. The central part of the thoracic cavity is called the mediastinum. The mitral valve controls the flow of blood between the heart’s left atrium and left ventricle. People are born with innate preferences for sweet or salty.
Learn how the heart works. Find out what the four major
divisions of the brain and the four types of post-traumatic stress disorder are. See a healthy vertebral column next to one afflicted with scoliosis. The presenters of Bodies bill the attraction as a visual textbook, a descendant of dissection practices with precedents among Renaissance artists and ancient scientists. It’s more of a three-dimensional textbook that makes learning about anatomy practically effortless. There is a room featuring stages of embryonic development with an advanced warning sign and a detour for patrons who would prefer to bypass it and move on to a gallery dedicated to prosthetics. Designer Sophie de Oliveira Barata of The Alternative Limb Project provided several of her blinged-out futuristic limbs for an installation on display throughout the summer, with video of models and their reimagined prosthetics supplementing the examples. A better understanding of 702.262.4400 prosthetics caps an educational experience that doesn’t stay in Las Vegas. Remembering the lessons of Bodies doesn’t take additional study. The flow of the exhibit and its striking visual elements make it easy to store and recall anatomical knowledge long after a visit.
There may be shortages in some sectors of retail, but the shelves are as full at Omega Mart today as they were when the experiential art destination opened at AREA15 more than a year ago. Dented cans of Camel’s Dream of Mushroom and Barely Barley meal substitute “sops” are abundant, as are jars of P-2000 Cracker Spackle and bottles of home freshener spray Who Told You This Was Butter?
There is no shortage of visitors from around the world either, with reactions to Meow Wolf’s off-Strip maximalist satire of consumerism expressed in a variety of languages by “shoppers” perusing the aisles. Verbal expressions give way to speechless amazement when exploration uncovers entries to an alternate universe. Like a wardrobe enabling children to enter Narnia, Omega Mart has several passageways hidden in plain sight that allow explorers into a world of pure imagination—some 60 environments created by a collective of artists with insatiable appetites for surmounting art-world conventions.
Feb. 18 marked the first anniversary of Omega Mart as a Meow Wolf milestone, reinforcing the artists’ shared belief that whatever ultimately lies behind their collective vision, they are doing it right. Still, creative director Spencer Olsen felt a little too close to the project to objectively conclude how successful things turned out when the doors first opened.
“I had no idea if this was good, if people were going to like it,” he says. “There is a part of the audience that doesn’t get it, but I’ve been remarkably pleased by the reactions. I’ve seen these in-depth analysis videos on YouTube … some of these people found con-
OMEGA MART IS CHANGING THE WAY LAS VEGAS LOOKS AT ENTERTAINMENT
nections and story threads that we couldn’t have even planned.” Manifesting permanent immersive art experiences that people would pay to visit has been a goal that had firmed up for the group of Santa Fe visionaries by 2011 when they created The Due Return, a fullsized explorable ship inside a Santa Fe gallery. The next year, they made a prototype Omega Mart, with 1,000 schoolchildren helping to create its sardonic consumer goods.
Meow Wolf, under the patronage of Game of Thrones author George R.R. Martin, then transformed an abandoned Santa Fe bowling alley. The House of Eternal Return was an immediate hit when it opened in 2018 and paved the way for successors in Denver and Las Vegas, where knowledge and wisdom culled from previous projects were fully exploited.
At Omega Mart, that resulted in a destination with four sprawling thematic “anchor spaces.” Taking in the sights and sounds while randomly exploring every twist and turn of Omega Mart’s four giant themed areas is sensually satisfying on its own, but there’s a storyline involving Omega Mart’s fictional parent company Dramcorp, its missing founder Walter Dram and his daughter Cecelia. Unraveling the enigma behind Dramcorp is a deep dive that conspiracy buffs may find worth the time commitment.
AREA15, meow.wf/lvm
BY MATT KELEMEN | PHOTOGRAPH BY WADE VANDERVORT
Duo Transcend
keeps crowds transfi xed
By Brock Radke
Mary Wolfe and Tyce Nielsen are Duo Transcend, an acrobatic trapeze act that has wowed audiences on television’s America’s Got Talent since 2013. The married couple from Salt Lake City built a reputation as one of the most daring acts in the program’s history, which is why they returned to the show and were then selected as one of the anchors of America’s Got Talent Las Vegas Live at Luxor when the stage spectacular launched in 2021. Incredibly, they keep the level of excitement as high as possible every night, thanks to a laser-focused dedication to their craft and achieving peak physical ability.
Luxor
agtvegaslive.com
Tyce: It’s really important to us that we are performing for the audience, giving them the show. For a lot of artists, they are creating art for other artists, and sometimes the audience is left in the dark. When we started doing America’s Got Talent, we saw what was working and what people really liked, and our performances have been adapted to give our audience the best show possible. Mary: Sometimes when artists get a consistent contract like ours with this show, they start to feel safe, like they don’t need to push themselves anymore. We never stop pushing ourselves. We want to keep ourselves looking as good as possible and doing the best routines we can. What we do is so physical, and it’s only a short time that our bodies can do this, so we want to give it everything we’ve got while we’re physically able to. Tyce: The production value is so great with America’s Got Talent Live, not only are we doing the best we can do and we’re in the best shape of our lives, but the production (surrounding) our act is unreal. There’s this amazing video screen behind us so it’s like we’re taking you on this crazy ride with us up in the air.
Mary: We have a lot of people tell us they like watching us on TV, but live, it’s completely di erent. You can hear Tyce calling me out for blindfold trucks. I think the live version has a di erent dynamic, and at the end of the show when we get to meet people and they tell us it’s more impressive live, that’s what we want to achieve. Mary: It’s really inspiring to be here, and we’ve been wanting to make Vegas our home for a long time. We actually came here on our honeymoon and saw a bunch of shows, so now it’s surreal driving to work every day, seeing the Strip, and thinking, “This is our life.” Tyce: Vegas is an amazing place and a destination a lot of performers in our industry want to make their home. For people like us, acrobats, to get a headlining position on the Strip is a huge deal. It means everything to live here and be working on the Strip every night.
By Kiko Miyasato
There are plenty of ways to enjoy Las Vegas other than the Strip. Get outdoors for a solo trip or bring your partner or family and check out nine great biking experiences. Whether it’s checking out the beautiful scenery on a nice slow-paced ride or putting your cycling skills to the test, there’s great options for everyone.
1RIVER MOUNTAINS LOOP TRAIL
You can actually access this bike path from the Union Pacific Railroad trail. Just cross over the bridge and this path will take you to popular points like Lake Las Vegas and Hoover Dam. This loop is more than 35 miles, so pick your paths wisely if you don’t plan on making this a long trip. The paved trails are surrounded by the River Mountains where big-horned sheep roam, so don’t be surprised if you catch sight of some along the way.
2RED ROCK SCENIC LOOP
Bike 13 miles of beautiful scenery along the paved Red Rock Canyon Scenic Loop. While cars also share the road, it’s safe for riders. While enjoying the views of striking desert mountains and foliage, you’ll find a climb that will test your endurance, but the winding descent is a nice reprieve.
3PITTMAN WASH TRAIL
A trail perfect for a leisurely family ride through
Bootleg Canyon
the Green Valley neighborhood—just a short drive from the Strip—is the Pittman Wash Trail, a 4-mile ride. Enjoy the paved path lined with trees and manicured landscaping. There are tables along the way, so it’s a great spot to have a picnic, too.
4BOOTLEG CANYON
About a half-hour drive from the Strip, Bootleg Canyon offers 36 miles of tracks for those looking for a challenge or adrenaline-packed experience.
River Mountains Loop Trail Winding mountain tracks that overlook Lake Mead and the steep downhill trails give riders a workout, but visitors from around the world rate this biking adventure high on their list.
5UNION PACIFIC RAILROAD TRAIL
Ride nearly 8 miles following the railway tracks through the city of Henderson, a neighborhood just a short drive from the Strip. The tree-lined trails cut through residential and shopping areas and for the most part are a breeze to bike, making them good for families with little ones.
Bike rental spots in Las Vegas:
Las Vegas Cyclery 702.596.2953
RTC Bike Center 702.875.4288
McGhie’s Las Vegas 702.252.8077
6WETLANDS LOOP TRAIL
This trail is for the nature lovers out there. The 210-acre Wetlands Park is home to a nature preserve with hundreds of species of animals. It’s also where you’ll find the 14-mile loop that stretches around the perimeter of the park for multiple uses, including biking.
7BLUE DIAMOND LOOP
Head to the quaint little town of Blue Diamond and head out on 8 miles of beginner to difficult. Some popular rides include the 4-mile Tin Can Alley trail and the adrenaline-pumping, steep downhill ride on the Chutes and Ladders trail.
9SUNSET PARK
The largest park in the county—more than 300 acres—can be found just a quick drive from the Strip and offers a plethora of outdoor activities including a fishing lake, picnic areas, disc golf, multiple playgrounds and four different family-friendly biking trails.
Red Rock Canyon Scenic Loop
Mount Charleston
beginner trails that stretch through desert landscaping and surrounding mountains. There’s a short distance of steep terrain, but for the most part this is an easy biking experience with a fun, downhill ride on your way back.
8MOUNT CHARLESTON
You can’t beat the weather up at Mount Charleston—it’s usually around 20 degrees cooler and seems like a world away from the neon lights. It’s also where you’ll find dozens of bike trails from
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