The Showgirl | Vegas Seven Magazine | Feb. 11-17, 2016 by Vegas Seven

CONTENTS

FEBRUARY 11–17, 2016

T H E LAT EST

“Sin City Sophistication”

“Grassroots Inspiration”

Is Las Vegas’ museum culture maturing? By JESSIE O’BRIEN Immigration reform fuels young field organizer’s passion. Politics by MICHAEL GREEN

“The Flower Whisperer” Mandarin Oriental’s floral director is all about the bloom. By MELINDA SHECKELLS

Plus … Seven Days, Ask a Native and The Deal.

NIGH T LIF E

“On Top of the World” Topgolf taps nightlife veteran Ryan Michael Craig to give its Las Vegas flagship mass appeal. By DAVID MORRIS

Plus … Seven Nights, and Q&As with Netsky and Stooki Sound’s Jamal Alleyn.

DINING

“Pure Malarkey” The celebrity chef’s Herringbone weaves tasteful cachet into Aria’s restaurant row. By AL MANCINI

Plus … Steaks for two on Valentine’s Day, Dishing With Grace and Cocktail Culture.

“A Real Las Vegas Story” Matthew Ross’ Sundance hit Frank & Lola owes a lot to our town. By KAYLA DEAN

F E AT URE

“Showgirls”

The host of Never Sleep Alone has plans for your solo Valentine’s Day—and they involve you going home with someone. By MELINDA SHECKELLS

In praise of the ultimate Vegas icon. By LISSA TOWNSEND RODGERS

Plus … Six decades of Strip memories, as told by seven show people who wore the spangles.

“Dr. Alex Schiller Wants to Hook You Up”

SEVEN Q U EST IONS

Cover photo courtesy Las Vegas News Bureau.

Mystère’s longtime artist Brian Dewhurst on his introduction to Cirque du Soleil, a claustrophobic moment and the years of a clown.

VegasSeven.com

Plus … Seven’s 14, how the Coen Brothers are getting a raw deal from the critics and a review of AC/DC in concert.

Jubilee! (in 1980), one of several Vegas productions that featured showgirls.

February 11–17, 2016

PHOTO COURTESY L AS VEGAS NEWS BUREAU

A &E

L AS VEGAS’ WEEKLY CITY MAGAZINE

FOUNDED FEBRUARY 2010

PUBLISHER Michael Skenandore

EDITORIAL Nicole Ely Genevie Durano SENIOR EDITORS Paul Szydelko, Xania Woodman SENIOR EDITOR, A&E Geoff Carter SENIOR WRITER Lissa Townsend Rodgers STAFF WRITER Emmily Bristol CALENDAR COORDINATOR Ian Caramanzana EDITORIAL DIRECTOR

MANAGING EDITOR

SENIOR CONTRIBUTING EDITOR Melinda Sheckells (style)

CONTRIBUTING EDITORS Michael Green (politics), Al Mancini (dining), David G. Schwartz (gaming/hospitality)

ART CREATIVE DIRECTOR GRAPHIC DESIGNER STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER

Ryan Olbrysh Cierra Pedro Krystal Ramirez

VEGASSEVEN.COM Herbert Akinyele Zoneil Maharaj SENIOR WRITER, RUNREBS.COM Mike Grimala WEB PRODUCER Jessie O’Brien ASSISTANT WEB PRODUCER Amber Sampson TECHNICAL DIRECTOR

ENGAGEMENT EDITOR

PRODUCTION/DISTRIBUTION Marc Barrington Jimmy Bearse DISTRIBUTION COORDINATOR Jasen Ono

DIRECTOR OF PRODUCTION/DISTRIBUTION ADVERTISING MANAGER

SALES Christy Corda Nicole Scherer ACCOUNT MANAGER Brittany Quintana ACCOUNT EXECUTIVES Robyn Weiss

BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT DIRECTOR DIGITAL SALES MANAGER

INTERNS Michaela Chesin, Scott Luehring, Soni Richards

Ryan T. Doherty

| Justin Weniger

Michael Skenandore VICE PRESIDENT, MARKETING AND EVENTS Keith White CREATIVE DIRECTOR Sherwin Yumul CHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICER Sim Salzman CONTROLLER Jane Weigel PRESIDENT

Comments@VegasSeven.com Sales@VegasSeven.com DISTRIBUTION Distribution@VegasSeven.com

LETTERS AND STORY IDEAS ADVERTISING

PUBLISHED IN ASSOCIATION WITH THE OBSERVER MEDIA GROUP Vegas Seven, 702-798-7000, 302 E. Carson Avenue, Las Vegas, NV 89101 Vegas Seven is distributed each Thursday throughout Southern Nevada c 2016 Vegas Seven, LLC. Reproduction in whole or in part without the permission of Vegas Seven, LLC is prohibited.

DIALOGUE

Reader Comments

NFL Raiders Stadium Proposal Vegas would be the perfect venue to fnally have a pro sports team ... especially the Raiders … (“What Do You Think of the Stadium Proposal That Could Bring the NFL’s Raiders to Las Vegas?” Feb. 4). Can you imagine trying to get a hotel room on those eight Sundays? Then the NFL always awards new stadiums the Super Bowl. A Super Bowl in Las Vegas would be awesome! The stadium needs to be at least 75,000 seats. – Shawn Meyer on Facebook Construction costs would only skyrocket in the future. It would cost taxpayers more money. … The Patriots’ Gillette Stadium cost $325 million in 2000. Now any recent NFL stadium costs well over $1 billion. … Even if the Raiders go 2-14, people will come here and stay longer after attending the game. Opposing team fans would love to visit their team because of extra venues that Vegas offers, making a stadium sellout a lower hurdle. –Peter Yee on Facebook Great idea, if it’s 100 percent privately funded. Sheldon Adelson is worth $28 billion. Let him build it if he wants it so badly. –Joe Turk on Facebook With all the water problems, do [we] really have to build one? Won’t the ho-

tels raise their prices even more? That’s not fair to someone who comes to visit and doesn’t care about football. They shouldn’t have to pay a higher fee. –Savannah Sharon on Facebook This article brings up how Las Vegas makes money from the NFL already and suggests the NFL has an unstable future. Forget the money. What about the civic pride and entertainment aspect? I’m a Packers fan, but if the Raiders moved here, I’d buy tickets and adopt a second team. –Peter Blasezyk on Facebook I absolutely approve any major sports franchise. I can take my son to games. I’ve been here since 1994. I moved from Buffalo, and I really miss going to home games. We need a team! –Keith Guagliano on Facebook Use all the money collected by the new Strip parking rule for the Raiders stadium. Then I will pay the parking fee. Go, Raiders! –Charlie Urashimaru on Facebook We don’t need the city’s reputation sullied by association with a pro sports team, especially an NFL team! If the city does decide to make this colossal mistake, there should be no taxpayer dollars used. Let them build it, like T-Mobile Arena. –Bill Eller on Facebook

FACEBOOK: /VegasSeven TWITTER: /7Vegas INSTAGRAM: /VegasSeven

THE LATEST

News, deals and a young Hillary Clinton supporter’s grassroots politics.

Seven Days A curated guide to this week in your city By B O B W H I T B Y

THU 11

Best way to watch tonight’s Democratic presidential primary debate? With a bunch of debaters. The UNLV Debate Team and folks from the Greenspun College of Urban Affairs are hosting a party, 5-9 p.m. at Greenspun Hall, and you’re invited. UNLV.edu.

FRI 12

Our state’s history is so rich and colorful that it would make a great play. And in fact, it has. Voices From the Sagebrush, Rainbow Company’s original production about Nevada, is at 7 p.m., with shows through Sunday at the Historic Fifth Street School. ArtsLasVegas.org.

SAT 13

Is Las Vegas’ museum culture maturing? By Jessie O’Brien

IT’S NOON on a Tuesday and hordes of people crowd the lobby of the Mob Museum, formally known as the National Museum of Organized Crime, waiting to learn more about America’s gritty history. The museum marks its fourth anniversary on February 14, but it has more to celebrate than just a birthday. The Mob Museum has seen a 23 percent increase in visitation in the past year (21 percent in 2014), and it’s not the only museum in the Valley to see a surge in attendance. The Nevada State Museum, Natural History Museum and the Discovery Children’s Museum all saw 10-25 percent increases in 2015. Executive director and CEO Jonathan Ullman credits the Mob Museum’s success to the attention the Downtown Project has brought to the neighborhood, as well as to social media and word of mouth, with the latter making up 35 percent of referrals. In the past year, the Mob Museum has loaded up its programming schedule with courtroom conversations, author talks, even a summer camp. Its annual events, such as the Repeal Day celebration and Hot Havana Nights, are well attended. It has added 41 artifacts and continues to refine and add new exhibits on current topics, including the FIFA scandal (added in 2015) and the drug lord El Chapo (to be added in March). It has been doing so well that it’s extending tour hours from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. starting February 13 through Labor Day. For Ullman, the key is striking a balance between appealing to locals and tourists, who might stumble upon the museum between gambling, dining and clubbing.

February 11–17, 2016

VegasSeven.com

➜

“There are 2 million people in the Valley, but there are 42 million that are coming here from out of market,” Ullman says. “The lion’s share has to be tourists; otherwise, you’re not going to grow.” According to museum directors, the majority of visitors are tourists, the exceptions being the Children’s Discovery Museum and Natural History Museum, whose guests are 80 percent local. (Because of budget constraints and its smaller size, the Natural History Museum mostly targets locals.) In addition to patronizing these cultural touchstones, the locals’ most pivotal role is to help spread the word to visiting friends and family. Jerrie Clarke, director of the Lost City Museum in Overton, about an hour away from Las Vegas, says Lost City has seen a 10 percent visitor increase in the past year since it started advertising more locally. Community involvement is of paramount importance for the proposed contemporary art museum Downtown, temporarily called the Modern. The project, which was proposed in 2013, has met opposition from the Las Vegas City Council and endured a change in leadership. Current board members are working to raise $1 million by August to receive a parcel of land in Symphony Park. For Ullman, the goal of engaging those who live here comes from a higher mission, not a bottom line. “We are fulflling our responsibility to [locals] as a worthy, important cultural institution, [one that] helps build the fabric of our community,” he says. “That’s not really a numbers game.”

SUN 14

The Mob Museum is putting up a sneak peek of the machine guns used in the St. Valentine’s Day Massacre in 1929 and actual bullets taken from victims’ bodies. The artifacts won’t be on permanent display until 2017, but you can see them Saturday through Monday, 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. TheMobMuseum.org.

MON 15

If Ben Carson had access to Springs Preserve’s excellent Science Camp: I Want My Mummy as a child, he might have learned early that the pyramids were not suited to storing grain. Don’t deny your child this vital information. 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. SpringsPreserve.org.

TUE 16

Pat Mulroy, the former general manager of the Southern Nevada Water Authority and current Brookings senior fellow, knows water. So when she talks about becoming a citizen of the Colorado River Basin, as she will at 7:30 p.m. in UNLV’s Barrick Museum, you might want to listen. UNLV.edu.

WED 17

The Smith Center’s FourShow Family Series continues today with a staging of Elephant & Piggies We Are in a Play, 6:30 p.m. The new production tells the musical tale of a melancholy elephant and his buddy, a happy-go-lucky pig. Expect dancing. TheSmithCenter.com.

PHOTO BY CIERRA PEDRO

Sin City Sophistication

An attempt to smash the world record for the largest gathering of leprechauns (1,236 in Ireland in 2012) is happening at Town Square at 8 p.m. Lepre-Con is part of the St. Baldrick’s Foundation fundraiser to fight childhood cancer. Lepre-con.StBaldricks.com.

Rendering of the Corner Building.

J A M E S P. R E Z A

Which Las Vegas clichés annoy you the most?

“The building is in the hands of people who want to develop it, want to invest in it and want to improve the building and the area,” Murad says. The building has fve to 10 spaces that range anywhere from 740 square feet to 5,000 square feet. There is also a courtyard and a parking lot for business owners and employees. The principal architect of the project is Robert Gurdison of MAKE Design Architecture. A total of $1 million will be put into the renovations, but the building’s façade will need only cosmetic improvements. “It’s got really good bones,” Murad says. The interior space has high ceilings with heavy wooden trusses, and Gurdison is working with the elements that are already part of the building. “I am excited to see this project contribute to a modernized yet nostalgic Main Street walking

[ BY THE NUMBERS ]

MUSEUM ATTENDANCE 23

increase

Mob Museum

increase

Nevada State Museum

increase

Neon Museum

Children’s Discovery

Natural History

TOTAL MUSEUM ATTENDEES IN 2015

(of those mentioned)

987,293

increase

decrease

Lost City

Atomic Testing

increase Marjorie Barrick

AVERAGE LOCAL VS. TOURIST

40% 60% local

tourist

It’s always nice to share a Las Vegas memory that resonates with others. Barbara Taylor Renza recently read my column about Warm Springs, the oasis north of Las Vegas near Moapa, and wrote to say that her father, Francis Taylor, owned the ranch, and she lived there during her childhood. “After my father died,” Renza wrote, “his last wife, Jean Peters, sold the ranch and our house to Howard Hughes.” Renza says she has “wonderful memories of life on our ranch ... the best years of my life!”

Questions? AskaNative@VegasSeven.com.

VegasSeven.com

Warm memories

VISITOR GROWTH

➜ As we know by now, Fremont Street is the hot spot for new business. But with cheaper rent and meter-free parking, the Arts District is becoming more and more desirable, with the new Corner Building upping the ante. Located on the southeast side of Main Street and California Street, the 11,000-square-foot mixed-use development by Main Street Investments aims to diversify the growing retail and restaurant industries south of Charleston Boulevard. Paul Murad, president of Metroplex Realty and leasing agent for Corner Building, hopes to fll the spaces with local, regional and national tenants.

experience,” he says. Although no business has signed letters of intent or leasing agreements yet, Murad plans to have the space occupied in the next fve months. “In nine to 12 [months], the building will be fully activated, full of new tenants and new life,” he says. Murad, who brought Buffalo Exchange to Main Street from its old location near UNLV, will continue to bring leaseholders that are suitable for 18b. “We will help select businesses that are complementary to the area and [ft] within the context of the Arts District,” he says. In the meantime, Murad isn’t going to let the spaces sit empty. He is using the building to host pop-up galleries and shops, and featured photographer Kaya Fesci’s artwork from February’s First Friday art walk. And he is open to anyone else with a good idea.–Jessie O’Brien

February 11–17, 2016

The Arts District Has the Corner on Hot Real Estate

This cropped up after a read-through of yet another Las Vegas hit-piece, Julie Bindel’s “Why I Hate Las Vegas,” published February 5 in the U.K.’s Guardian newspaper. The distillation of Vegas clichés and exaggerations offers nothing new when it comes to outsider “reporting.” What jumps out is a number of questionable facts, including Bindel’s claim that she checked into a Strip hotel and was handed a room key card featuring a bikini-clad woman, a phone number and an invitation to party. Unless Bindel had decided that a good place to stay was an hourly motel, this is highly unlikely. No casino would risk the wrath of the Gaming Control Board with such shenanigans. Thankfully, one result of the growth in our city’s population as well as the availability of online information is that many of the tired outsider clichés—Do you live in a casino? Is your mom a showgirl?—have long been retired. Others (Las Vegas was better when the mob ran it!) persist despite their relative (in)accuracy, and have become part of the Vegas vernacular. Some (Las Vegas was better when rooms were cheap and food was free!) are true in some ways (free stuff is nice), but not in others (the quality of hotel rooms and restaurants today is elevated far above the freebies of years past). Some of the most tiresome proclamations (Las Vegas is crass, unsophisticated and has no culture!) have been addressed to death by myself and others, often to no avail. I’ve come to accept that some people are themselves so unsophisticated as to have only one myopic idea of what makes a city or a culture. That’s on them.

February 11â&#x20AC;&#x201C;17, 2016

VegasSeven.com

Sequin Stories STEP INSIDE THE DRESSING ROOM AND WE’LL TELL YOU A TALE...

February 11–17, 2016

VegasSeven.com

By L I S S A T O W N S E N D R O D G E R S

JOY BLAINE GARNER

El Rancho, Riviera, Tropicana, Sands (1950s-1960s)

➺ When [director] George Sidney did

Viva Las Vegas, we were all sitting around the Sands one night and I told him my story. He had Ann-Margret say what I said in the movie Viva Las Vegas. I was born in Boulder City, I went to school at Fifth Street School, I graduated in Reno and I was the third Miss Nevada. My frst show was the El Rancho,

and I got fred after 10 days. That was the Mafa days, when those guys were around. And one of those guys liked me and he gave me a note to give Sammy Lewis at the Riviera, and I worked there for a couple of months. Then I auditioned at the Tropicana. That was before Lou Walters came, then it became the Les Folies Bergère, and I stayed on. Then I got a job at the Sands, which was the place to work with the Copa Girls, and then during the Rat Pack days. I made as much money as most men made back in those days: I was sup-

porting my mother, my brother, myself and my son. I bought a little house with $800 down and $90 a month. So to me, it was a really good job. You have to remember what I was doing—back at the end of the ’50s and the ’60s, that had just started to happen for women. I made the living, I went out and worked, and it afforded me independence. All the famous people used to come in there and sit right in front of us. It was absolutely distracting. I was never a Marilyn Monroe fan, but one night she was sitting ringside and I looked down, and she was absolutely gorgeous. And you know, I didn’t get that from pictures of her. Her skin was translucent, and she looked up at each girl and smiled at each of us individually. It was just so endearing. Just knowing the Rat Pack, we knew all those guys. Sammy Davis used to always throw parties, and he was a great guy. Of course, Dean Martin was super—later, he and his wife became good friends with my husband and I. I married Don Cherry. He was a singer and a professional golfer, and Dean Martin was our best man. We ended up living here because Don could sing at night and play golf all day. He knew everybody. We had a house over by the

old Paradise Palms, which was the place back then. Johnny Carson had a house over there. We used to have people dropping by all the time. The comedians used to like to talk at our house—Jan Murray, Rowan and Martin from LaughIn. It was exciting … but that was just the way the town was. It was a small town back then. It sure has changed!

Sands Copa Girl Joy Blaine in 1958.

DICE GIRLS COURTESY L AS VEGAS NEWS BUREAU; BL AINE COURTESY UNLV SPECIAL COLLECTIONS

The El Rancho Dice Girls in 1949.

CORINNE ENTRATTER SIDNEY

Sands (1960s)

➺ I was going to UCLA—I had turned

HALLELUJAH HOLLYWOOD COURTESY L AS VEGAS NEWS BUREAU; JOHNSON COURTESY UNLV SPECIAL COLLECTIONS

➺ I came to Las Vegas in August 1958.

My mother saw a contest advertised in the Houston Chronicle: If you won, you got a six-week contract at the Sands Hotel and a round-trip ticket to Las Vegas. I was just out of high school and had no plans. We went down to the Shamrock Hotel that afternoon. … We were in Vegas a week later. Neither my mother nor I had ever gone there. My mom just said, “Remember, you act like a lady, and they will treat you like a lady.” It was like we were in the Land of Oz or something. [A friend and I] got a little garage apartment on San Francisco Street. It was right across the street from the Sahara, so we walked from the Sands to the Sahara twice a day for rehearsals. It was just fun! See any of the shows, walk up and down the Strip and see all the things in the lounge. We were just in fairyland. I was in all the shows with Dean Martin, Judy Garland, Jerry Lewis and Frank Sinatra. … You had to come in between shows and sit or walk around, or be seen in the casino or in the garden room. You didn’t have to mix with anybody; you were just like a walking advertisement. We were together every night. We put on our makeup together. There was bitching, teasing, silliness, sadness, feeling hurt, you know? All the emotions and struggles. These were women—I would say 80 percent of them—[who] were the main breadwinners of their family. Some had children and were single mothers. They were sweet to me. And they were beautiful, being in makeup and all of that. Because every girl there, if you look at the pictures, they were so—to me—absolutely stunning. And then you toss off the makeup, and you have freckles and you’re ordinary, just a plain Jane. So we had that experience of becoming somebody else, and then in 10 minutes you were just your ordinary self again.

KAREN BURNS

MGM Grand Reno (1980s)

➺ I was raised by a strict German

mother and a traveling vacuum-cleaner salesman dad. Zero exposure to art, culture, music. But I started snow skiing at the age of 3. I was on ski patrol and became a professional ski instruc-

MGM’s Hallelujah, Hollywood in 1974.

VegasSeven.com

Sands (1950s-1960s)

JUDY JOHNSON JONES

tor, so that was my passion in life. I was going to college when freestyle skiing was coming around—moguls, aerials—and they had a form called ballet skiing. I thought, “I don’t know what I’m going to do with my life. I’m going to take a year off and compete on the freestyle skiing circuit.” So at 20 years old, I walked into my frst ballet class with Maggie Banks—she assisted Jerome Robbins on West Side Story, choreographed for Frank Sinatra—she was a big, big deal. She said, “Just take one class, we’ll see how it goes.” I did, and I was like, “Oh, my gosh, what is this? It’s fabulous!” I went back to school and majored in physical education with an emphasis in dance. Kirk Kerkorian opened up MGM in Vegas and hired Donn Arden to create Hallelujah, Hollywood there. Then he came to Reno and opened Hello, Hollywood, Hello!, which was billed as the biggest show in the world on the biggest stage in the world in the Biggest Little City in the World. I was the most clueless chorus girl that ever appeared in the show because I’d only been dancing for three years. But right time, right place. The frst show I did was a female-impersonator show, where I was the real girl in the show. When I worked in Hello, Hollywood, Hello!, I never told people that story; they’d say, “Oh, I just danced in Paris, I did a video with Michael Jackson and I’m doing the Academy Awards …” on and on and on. “What have you done?” I couldn’t say, “Oh, I was in a drag show in Wildwood, New Jersey.” The whole thing was that glamour, sophistication and beauty. When Hello, Hollywood, Hello! opened, it was in the Ziegfeld Theater on the Ziegfeld stage. Of course I didn’t know who Ziegfeld was at the time, but now I get it: He was paying tribute to Paris’ Folies Bergère, New York’s Ziegfeld Follies.

February 11–17, 2016

Copa Girl Judy Johnson.

down Stanford so I could go to Cal for journalism. I was in a red cashmere sweater set, and a guy came up to me and said, “How would you like to be in the Miss USA contest?” I said, “How much is it paying? How long will it take?” He said, “This is not a business!” I said, “Well, if I do it, it’s going to be a business.” I was runner-up for Miss USA. … I was just very lucky and pretty. If I didn’t have three-and-a-half inches of cleavage, I would have never been chosen. I didn’t want to be a showgirl, but [Sands general manager] Jack Entratter, whom I was madly in love with ... he wanted to keep me and I said, “You can’t keep me. If you keep me you’ll never marry me so uh-uh! I’ll go to work, and I’ll be very close—very close.” And he said, “If you go to work in this town, you’re gonna have to work for me!” So, I worked about three months as a showgirl. He couldn’t stand it any longer. There is no man that can’t be had! I used to say to myself when I’d walk out, “Eat your hearts out.” That was my attitude. Oh, God, it was fun. To me, it was never being a movie star. To me, it was living an honest life and not pretending. Living in a Betty Crocker kind of world, and being the person that said, “Hey, the king isn’t wearing any clothes.” I was born rebellious. We had such fun, and it was a wild time. It was the ’60s, and everybody was at their peak: The Rat Pack, the hotel, people were parked in the middle of the street. … One night we were in L.A. and Frank had to do a charity show, then we all rushed in the limousines back to Frank’s house on Sunset Bou-

levard. One guy, I think it was Dean or somebody, said, “I could go for a pizza.” Another one was like, “Uh it’s so late. I am going to go to sleep.” And I said, “Poor you guys! Here you are known to the world as the great fun Rat Pack, and I’m sitting here and I’m bored to shit!” And Frank looked at me and said, “OK, smarty pants, where do you want to go?” I said, “I want to go to a burlesque. I want to see Candy Barr strip. I have never seen a strip.” And Frank said, “OK!” He goes [to his valet], “George [Jacobs], get the limos out!” And we go—just like a caravan, six cars, and we walked into the place and it’s empty. Nobody was in there and they took one look at Frank and they went, “Oh, my God!” Pretty soon, the place started flling up. … Oh, Candy Barr was adorable—they threw pink feathers, and we came home with pink feathers in our hair, all over the cars! Frank said, “Were you bored, sweetheart?” The girls didn’t trust me because I was the boss’ girl. They’d say, “Well, we can’t talk in front of you Corinne.” I’d go, “What do you think, I go out with Jack after the show, and I sit and talk about what goes on in this dressing room? There are much more interesting things going on in the world then what goes on in here. In fact, I’d be ashamed to repeat it.” And that kind of shut them up.

NIGHTLIFE

Topgolf taps nightlife veteran Ryan Michael Craig to give its Las Vegas flagship mass appeal By David Morris

VegasSeven.com

On Top of the World

THE FACT that Ryan Michael Craig has been regarded as one of Las Vegas’ highest-grossing VIP hosts (his Rolodex is packed with club “whales”), our ears perked up when we learned he had accepted a position as the director of sales for the forthcoming Topgolf that’s set to open adjacent to MGM Grand in May. Craig describes his role as “a hybrid of nightclub sales and corporate event sales.” Maybe Topgolf is about “popping off” more than just golf balls.

➜ GIVEN

February 11–17, 2016

PHOTO BY KRYSTAL RAMIREZ

Your city after dark, photos from the week’s hottest parties and it’s time to Netsky & Chill

NIGHTLIFE

Renderings of the Topgolf main entrance; one of five bars; a pool deck; and a fourth-floor sitting area..

I don’t normally equate golfing with popping magnums of Dom.

It’s tough to tell someone that a bottle of Grey Goose is $600, right? And it’s really $950 after all the service charges and tax. It’s kind of the same thing with Topgolf. I couldn’t understand how people could wait—three hours in some cases—to hit golf balls. It just didn’t compute. It’s similar to a nightclub, in a way, where the business model is about the experience. In a nightclub you’re selling real estate. Part of that real estate, as an amenity, is the alcohol in addition to the entertainment value. With Topgolf there are areas for families, those 18 and over, and for those 21 and over. There are bars and, at this location, two pools and four levels. There are lounges, landings, decking and meeting rooms. Will you throw pool parties?

It’s defnitely not a “beach club,” but it’s a very cool pool. The pool deck and the pool bar are just over 2,100 square feet. It’s hot in Vegas. If someone’s having a bachelorette party or a bachelor party, if they want to have a golf day, need meeting space or have an event, now they also have a pool, too.

February 11–17, 2016

VegasSeven.com

Will you structure your reservations like a nightclub, complete with minimums?

It’s similar to a restaurant or a nightclub. You can be a walk-up guest. There may be a wait, but if there is, you can hang by the bars; there will be fve in the front of house and fve back of house. There are also a bunch of meeting rooms and common areas. One of the common areas has the ability to convert into a 900-person concert venue. You can wait and have full access to the facility other than the golf bays until you’re assigned one. There’s also the opportunity [to make] reservations in advance. That’s where our social sales team will feld phone calls and

allow people to prepay. Basically, you would be reserving the bays for an allotted amount of time. And it’s four stories? What happens on each?

Yes, and you can eat or drink on every foor. You actually enter the complex on the second foor. Levels 1 and 2 are very similar to the golf bays we’ve designed in out-of-market locations, but they’re a little bit larger at this location. The third level is where we have the Owner’s Suite and the pool cabanas. Some of those bays actually back up to their own pool. On the fourth level is the Chairman’s Suite. These are our Challenge bays. Golf professionals, when they flm on the Golf Channel, will compete against each other up here. And you’ll be doing concerts?

Yes, [the concert venue] is a very intimate space that has two balcony areas and a retractable roof. Will Topgolf be a daytime pursuit, a pregame spot or a 24/7 concept?

I see components of each. Some might want to come for dinner and then go to a nightclub. Others may say, “Hey, we just got to town. We don’t want to go to a restaurant or a nightclub yet; let’s go to Topgolf.” It technically will be the largest sports bar in the world, with all the entertainment and TVs that we have there. It’s not going to be 24 hours when we open, but we could go to 24 hours after a couple of months of operation. Word on the street is you’re also a bit of a yogi.

I’m really focusing on Topgolf, but I’m a partner in TruFusion, the yoga and Pilates studio. I’m a novice. I like attending the classes and have fallen in love with that community. We’re opening three more locations in the next couple of years. The next one will open in Downtown Summerlin in April.

NIGHTLIFE

Seven Nights Your week in parties By I A N C A R A M A N Z A N A

February 11–17, 2016

VegasSeven.com

Skrillex.

ginia-born producer has worked with some of the biggest names in rap history including Aaliyah, Missy Elliott and Ginuwine. And that’s just in the 1990s! Check out his production discography and you’ll find he’s also crafted some of the biggest hits this millennium as well. Songs such as Justin Timberlake’s infectiously catchy “Suit & Tie” and Nelly Furtado’s steamy “Promiscuous” are still in constant rotation around the world. Get a brief history lesson and (perhaps) a peek at what he’ll do next at Drai’s. (In the Cromwell, 10:30 p.m., DraisNightlife.com.)

THU 11

SAT 13

Jesse Marco is known for cranking out some killer house tunes, but did you know that the New York native is also on fashion’s front lines? Over the years, he’s delved deep into that realm, partying and making mixes for such greats as Alexander Wang, Tom Ford and Marc Jacobs. And that’s just the high-end stuff; he also crafts mixes for lowerprice-point brands including Uniqlo and Stussy. He recently gave Jamie XX and Young Thug’s “I Know There’s Gonna Be Good Times” a twerk-worthy facelift. So chances are, he’s got some new tracks up his sleeves. We hope his new tunes sound just as pretty and luxurious as the newest Alexander Wang collection! Read our interview with Marco at VegasSeven.com/ JesseMarco before he rocks the room at Hakkasan. And if you see an exceptionally well-dressed dude around the club before the set, it’s likely him. (In MGM Grand, 10:30 p.m., HakkasanLV.com.) If you want to keep it more classic than those futuristic fashion brands, DJ Dynamixx & MC Bebe throw it back at Sayers Club for White Label Thursdays. Vinyl is as oldschool as you can get, and trust us, there’ll be lots of it. (In SLS, 10 p.m., TheSayersClubLV.com.)

Can you believe we’re already halfway to Electric Daisy Carnival Las Vegas? It seems like only yesterday we were groovin’ to Sasha’s tech-house tunes on the Neon Garden, or catching a bit of Datsik’s set from atop the Ferris Wheel. Anyway, it’s time to look ahead by partying at the Halfway to EDC Dayclub Dome Party at Marquee! And this one’s got a stacked lineup: You can catch sets by Andrew Rayel, Dr. Fresch, Shaun Frank, SNBRN, Tritonal and more. We’re less than 200 days away, folks! (In the Cosmopolitan, 11 a.m., MarqueeLasVegas. com.) Then stick around to catch a two-for-one deal that features EDM trio Cash Cash and New York rapper Busta Rhymes at Marquee. We have to admit, this is a pretty

FRI 12 Honor one of the most prolific hip-hop producers in the game by catching a set by Timothy Zachery Mosley, a.k.a. Timbaland. The Vir-

Dr. Fresch.

unconventional doubleheader, but we can’t wait to see the kind of weird musical concoctions they’ll conjure up. We hope these matchups get even weirder at EDC! (In the Cosmopolitan, 10 p.m., MarqueeLasVegas.com.)

DJ Mondo is at the helm. He’s known for melding together house, progressive house, electro and breakbeats in his sets. You never know: His variety could lead you to a new favorite. (In Caesars Palace, 10:30 p.m., OmniaNightclub.com.)

SUN 14

MON 15

Omnia Sundays bring the lesserknown names into the big club. This week, eclectic EDM spinner

Remember a few weeks ago when we featured DJ E-Rock and nightlife guru JRoc in the same issue? That was quite the rocky coincidence, even though their lives are vastly different. While we doubt we’ll be able to encounter both in the same building, we can at least catch the former at Light. He’s been going back and forth between Las Vegas and San Diego, granting the opportunity to catch his all-encapsulating open-format sets. Show him which city goes harder. (Hint: It’s us!) (In Mandalay Bay, 10:30 p.m., TheLightVegas.com.)

TUE 16 Timbaland.

Netsky (a.k.a. Boris Daenen) infects Beauty Bar for Nickel F---n’ Beer Night. The Belgian DJ/pro-

ducer/musician got his name from the email worm that took over the Internet in 2004. Let him infect you with his sweet, technical drum ’n’ bass. If that’s not for you, you can also enjoy sets by Script MC, Byra Tanks, Jack Spaidz and Jarod Morgan. Still not enough? Beer’s cheap, so there’s no reason to miss out. Netsky & Chill, anyone? Check out our interview with him on Page 36. (517 Fremont St., 9 p.m., TheBeautyBar.com.)

WED 17 Are you one of Skrillex’s 4.7 million Twitter followers? The dubstep/ trap DJ and producer has garnered quite a following for his hilarious, insightful and timely tweets that take a spin on pop culture or the world of music. His following is so huge and fanbase so devoted, he was able to schedule a very last-minute gig in Paris within an hour. This time, the party’s planned well in advance, so you can ready your ears for the rockin’ dubstep of “Scary Monsters and Nice Sprites” or the catchy trap of Jack U’s “Take U There.” Surrender your Wednesday to a social media mogul! (In Encore, 10:30 p.m., SurrenderNightclub.com.)

FRI

FEB

A R M I N VA N B U U R E N SAT

FEB

S H OW T E K TUE

FEB

A F RO JAC K

FRI

FEB

TUE

A F RO JAC K SAT

FEB

B U R N S

D I M I T R I VE GA S & L I K E M I K E

TICKETS

VIP

R E S E R VAT I O N S

OMNIANIGHTCLUB.COM

702.785.6200

DINING

Restaurant reviews, news and reasons to love Valentine’s Day

Besides being an aphrodesiac, the memories from a shared steak dinner will live on, while roses will inevitably perish in a week. MEAT FOR TWO | PAGE 44

PHOTO BY MARIE BUCK

➜ BRIAN MALARKEY made a big splash in Las Vegas

in 2015. In March, the celebrity chef and veteran of Top Chef, The Taste and other TV shows opened his frst Las Vegas restaurant, Searsucker, in Caesars Palace. It was the fourth in his successful national chain (which debuted in San Diego), a collaboration with Hakkasan Group that opened to rave reviews. Not content to sit back and enjoy that success, he and Hakkasan hurried to open a local outpost of his Herringbone restaurants at Aria just in time for New Year’s Eve. And from what I can tell, Malarkey has another Strip hit on his hands. Herringbone is the latest addition to Aria’s revamped second-foor dining offerings, which in addition to the resort’s buffet also includes Michael Mina’s latest

Las Vegas restaurant Bardot Brasserie, Manhattan’s stunning Italian import Carbone and Jean-Georges Vongerichten’s stalwart eponymous steakhouse. Given its proximity to, well … just about nothing, the enclave housing these restaurants never got much attention. But the resort appears to be shooting for a fne-dining critical mass that will make it a destination in itself (similar to the third foor of the Cosmopolitan). And Herringbone seems to complete that puzzle. The concept of Herringbone is California-inspired coastal cuisine as interpreted by local chef Geno Bernardo, formerly of Nove Italiano in the Palms. Malarkey isn’t one to micromanage his kitchen teams, and he’s given Bernardo a lot of freedom in designing the menu. That means, in addition to dishes Malarkey

The celebrity chef’s Herringbone weaves tasteful cachet into Aria’s restaurant row By Al Mancini

February 11–17, 2016

Pure Malarkey

fans may know from his Herringbone locations in La Jolla and Santa Monica, it includes many of the touches that made Bernardo a star at Nove. Bernardo was one of the earlier local devotees of crudo (the Italian take on sashimi), and he offers several options. Try the thin slices of hamachi dressed in mildly spicy jalapeños, bright pomegranate, fresh micro basil and sharp radish. Or splurge on the whole branzino sliced thinly and served raw with cilantro, citrus and chilies, adorned with its fried head and tail. Seafood starters also include assorted oysters, lobster, prawns and massive king crab legs. But you’ll probably fnd a trio of mason jar presentations much more interesting. Tuna poke is seasoned with shoyu, Maui onions and sweet macadamia nuts. Smoked salmon rillette is cured in lemon and served with chives. And the thinly sliced bay scallops are accented with sesame ponzu and fying fsh roe. Each comes with its own bread pairing. Finally, don’t miss the grilled octopus. Another holdover from Nove, the surprisingly tender creature bears a thick char and is served over delicate preserved lemons. When it comes to seafood entrées, the whole grilled branzino with shaved fennel salad and a bright salsa verde is very good. But I was more impressed with the salmon. That’s partially because of its excellent preparation: moist, slightly translucent in the center

VegasSeven.com

Whole grilled branzino with shaved fennel salad and salsa verde.

DINING

A tomahawk chop for two at Oscar’s.

February 11–17, 2016

VegasSeven.com

CHATEAUBRIAND FOR TWO AT HANK’S FINE STEAKS & MARTINIS

This 55-day wet-aged, prime grade, 20-ounce, barrelcut Angus beef from Cargill Ranch in Nebraska is seasoned with sea salt and Tellicherry Indian toasted black pepper. It’s seared, allowed to rest, cooked and allowed to rest again, then fash-broiled. Finally, it is brushed with whole butter and a pinch more of fne sea salt. “It is a super-sexy dish that is designed to bring people together around a table and share a delightful meal,” executive chef Luigi Iannuario says. “It takes time to cook as well, so there’ll be plenty of conversation time.” The Chateaubriand is carved tableside on a guéridon and served with your choice of green peppercorn, Béarnaise, a red wine reduction and garlic cilantro sauces. It also comes with a roasted medley of peewee rainbow potatoes, baby heirloom carrots, broccoli, asparagus and cipollini onions. $115, in Green Valley Ranch, 702-617-7515, GreenValleyRanch.SCLV.com. CÔTE DE BOEUF AT DB BRASSERIE

Also known as the Cowboy Steak, this thick, beautiful

Meating à Deux This Valentine’s Day, eat your hearts out with steaks for two By Marisa Finetti 42-ounce piece of herb-roasted prime meat from Double R Ranch in Washington State is cooked in the oven and then fash-broiled to give it a crispy, caramelized crust. “It’s a beautiful piece of meat that’s fabricated for two to enjoy for a special dinner,” executive chef Vincent Pouessel says. “Valentine’s Day is the perfect night to share!” Enjoy the meat presented tableside before it is sliced in the kitchen by the chef and served with super-green spinach and sautéed mushrooms. $139, in the Venetian, 702-430-1235, DBBrasserie.com. KOBE BEEF AT BAZAAR MEAT BY JOSÉ ANDRÉS

This melt-in-your-mouth decadence from Japan’s Hyogo Prefecture undergoes strict rules for how it is produced from one very particular breed—limited in age and size—to ensure that it is consistently delicious. You’ll each cook your Kobe beef to your liking on an ishiyaki (stone grill) directly at the table with a side of mustard frill salad and fresh wasabi. “It’s the perfect dish to share,” executive chef David Thomas says. “The Kobe beef is luxurious and hard to fnd, and an ideal addition to a Valentine’s Day dinner,

as cooking at the table makes it fun, interactive and memorable.” $45 per ounce, 2-ounce minimum, in SLS, 702-761-7610, SLSLasVegas.com. TOMAHAWK CHOP FOR TWO AT OSCAR’S

The 42-ounce Flintstone-esque tomahawk chop from Omaha, Nebraska, is aged 28 days before it is lightly seasoned and cooked over a 600-degree grill, then fnished with a pinch of feur de sel and served a la carte. “If we are talking about a budding relationship, this dish offers a unique opportunity to really bond over a meal. If it’s a relationship that has matured, it can give you a chance to steer the focus of the dinner away from monotonous topics and create a new experience,” general manager Jason Gordon says. “Either way, it makes for a great couple’s story!” He also recommends a side of roasted corn brulée. $90, at the Plaza, 702-386-7227, OscarsLV.com. DOUBLE R RANCH SIGNATURE PORTERHOUSE FOR TWO AT ECHO & RIG

This porterhouse for two from Double R Ranch—considered the “greenest” ranch in the U.S.—is seasoned with kosher sea salt and fresh ground pepper, then cooked with high heat over central California red oak. It is presented tableside by weight, allowing you to choose your preferred cut (and price) prior to cooking, and served with Tuscan black kale and rainbow heirloom carrots along with a selection of house-made steak sauces. “The Porterhouse is two steaks in one cut, “ chef Sam Marvin says. “Both steaks are separated by the bone, which adds amazing favor to the meat. The flet mignon is very tender with almost no fat or marbling and the New York offers a little more chew, fat, favor and marbling, so you can have a little of each, which is perfect for sharing.” $2.49 per ounce for anywhere from 32-50 ounces, in Tivoli Village, 702-489-3525, EchoAndRig.com.

PHOTO BY KRYSTAL RAMIREZ

GIVEN THE CHOICE, would you prefer roses or a steak for Valentine’s Day? Both are quite tempting, but like any omnivore, you’re not afraid to embrace your primal urges, so you’ll probably opt for the more delicious choice. While the idea of sharing tender and savory bites under soft, intimate lighting may sound cliché, according to Pelegrin Research Group, more than 60 percent of us would prefer to enjoy a steak on Valentine’s Day. Need more reasons to share a steak? Besides being an aphrodisiac, the memories from a shared steak dinner will live on, while roses will inevitably perish in a week or less. Roses can also cost more per pound than steak. So really, what’s not to love? Enjoy a good tete-a-tete-a-boeuf with these steaks that are large enough to share.

➜

A&E February 11–17, 2016

VegasSeven.com

Chris Ramirez on the set of Frank & Lola, during a shoot at Commonwealth.

the aftermath of something traumatic,” Ross says. It’s a flm about male jealousy—a modern, psychosexual flm noir set against the backdrop of Downtown Vegas, as well as Paris’ Marais District and Place des Vosges, among other locations. It’s nothing if not a unique juxtaposition of the two disparate psychological worlds of its characters, whose names never once changed from the very frst draft of the script. “It’s two lonely people living on the outskirts of the world,” Ross says. “That’s evocative of Downtown Las Vegas. It’s only a mile or so from the Strip, but it might as well be a thousand miles away in so many other ways. It really was the best creative solution for the movie.” Soon after Frank & Lola had its world premiere at Sundance, Universal Pictures bought the distribution rights to the flm for $2 million. For an independent flm that was shot in just 22 days, that’s impressive stuff. Lola Pictures’ creative solution paid off. Ramirez, a lifelong Las Vegan and one of the flm’s producers, led the tour that infuenced Ross to revise

“I wanted to tell (stories about Vegas) that weren’t bachelor parties or hijinks. ... People haven’t seen many intimate stories set in this city.” his script. He was also instrumental in providing the settings that defned the flm, which include Carson Kitchen, Velveteen Rabbit, Stitch Factory, and the Wynn properties. With his previous work on The Hangover series and the hours he’d logged scouting locations for other major flms, Ramirez had acquired a wealth of casino industry contacts, both on the Strip and in Downtown. But in Frank & Lola, those bright, boisterous locations become part of a muted Las Vegas, one that places more focus on the psychological drama between the two lovers. “I got to a point where I wanted to tell our own stories about Las Vegas that weren’t bachelor parties or hijinks,” Ramirez says. “I loved working on

those other flms, but taking Matt’s intimate story and bringing in some really respected people in the industry, then going to Sundance, is what you want to happen, but can’t ever really expect.” Instinctively, Ramirez knew that Frank & Lola was the kind of local story he wanted to help fnd its way to the big screen. “People haven’t seen many intimate stories set in this city,” Ramirez says. “Of course, you can go right to thinking of Leaving Las Vegas, but those characters were visitors, not locals. It’s really cool for me to see that now these characters live and breathe as the people we know in Las Vegas.” Although Ross had only scarce knowledge of Las Vegas and Paris,

this allowed him to look at both locations from a unique perspective, almost discovering them in a way that’s evident in the flm. He cites that organic transition, achieved with the help from a largely local crew, as vitally important to the aesthetic Frank & Lola ultimately delivers. “When you’re doing a movie outside of New York and L.A., you’re always going to have local people working on your flm,” Ross says. “We had a lot of great local people help us, almost all of them via Chris. I would love to show the flm to these guys because they did a phenomenal job.” Ross and Ramirez hope they will have the chance to show Frank & Lola at the Las Vegas Film Festival in June, but that’s up to Universal. Either way, Ross wants to thank Las Vegas for all it’s done for the flm. “To be able to tell the property owners that the opportunities they gave us helped us get to Sundance is an amazing thing,” Ross says. “Frank & Lola is a love letter to Las Vegas. There was a lot of energy and love that went into making this flm. I think it shows on screen.”

CONCERT

AC/DC Shook Me All Night Long MGM Grand Arena, February 5

A&E

Most people wouldn’t think AC/DC equals bring the family. But a lot of folks did—the middle-aged dad and high-school son on a boys’ night out, the entire family who wore matching “Angus” ties and bounced in like they were headed for Disneyland (and, like at Disneyland, the preteen was mostly interested in his phone). Regardless of age, creed or color, everyone loves AC/DC. The band opened with the title track of 2014’s Rock or Bust album, but stuck largely to the classics, delivering the volcanic hard rock that has made them legendary, all power chords and driving rhythms and swagger. Whether pumping their fists and chanting along with “T.N.T.” or raising a glass during “Have a Drink On Me,” the near-capacity crowd was on its feet for almost the entire 90-plus minute set. A walkway into the audience was AC/DC’s main special effect—both guitarist Angus Young and singer Brian Johnson used it frequently. The band did offer a few well-timed stage flourishes: A Macy’s parade-size balloon of a big-boobed doxy hovered above the band during a driving “Whole Lotta Rosie,” while a projection of a lightning storm seemed to have been summoned by Angus’ guitar pyrotechnics on “Thunderstruck.” At the end of “Let There Be Rock,” Angus stomped in his schoolboy shorts to the end of the runway, tearing through a 15-minute guitar solo. The platform he stood on began to blaze with light and rise toward the ceiling and, as the confetti cannons shot into the air and the guitar notes blurred, it was like witnessing the apotheosis of rock ’n’ roll. As if AC/ DC would give us anything less. ★★★★✩ –Lissa Townsend Rodgers

[ ART ]

How to Mend a Broken Metal Heart

Life Is Beautiful festival. The heart-shaped piece of caged metal, created by artist Nova May, is adorned with padlocks and notes of love (including mine and my now-fiancé’s). Many people travel the world to visit cities known for romance to leave a symbol of their love on a locket bridge. But no one would think to leave anything behind in Las Vegas, besides their money. That could be why this sculpture resonated in the hearts of locals. ¶ Soon after Life Is Beautiful, the sculpture was relocated to the front of the Container Park and named The Love Locket, as a daily reminder that love exists in our city. And it stood strong for almost two years, until last month, when it was vandalized: one side of the Love Locket’s heart was completely removed, lockets and all. ¶ When Nova May was informed of the incident, she wasn’t angry: “I was shocked and emotional. I cried. But just like love, the piece was always a work in progress.” ¶ After dark comes light, and after destruction, you rebuild—which is just what DTLV did. The Downtown Project stepped in to mend the defaced side of the sculpture, selling new locks for $10 apiece, with $5 of each donation being donated to The American Heart Association. Not only did the beloved sculpture get rebuilt, but money was raised to support the organ that keeps us alive and in love. And a community came together, to prove that love always prevails. –Allison Kyler

AC/DC BY WAYNE POSNER; LOVE LOCKET BY GEOFF CARTER

February 11–17, 2016

VegasSeven.com

➜ Two years ago, I fell in love with a sculpture I found at the first

STAGE one that everyone wants. wants to have drinks with Look at the transience as me at Herbs & Rye to talk an opportunity to meet about her experiential people, and to have great dating and comedy show romantic and sexual Never Sleep Alone, coming experiences to build up to the Absinthe tent at Caeyour confdence. Practice sars Palace on February 14. how to be intimate with Schiller is a character cresomeone, because you ated by performance artcan have intimacy in one ist Roslyn Hart, and since night. You can have love I’ve never before been in one night. invited to cocktails by a fctional fgure, I jump So your ticket to Never Sleep at the chance to see what Alone could get you a lasting madness could unfold. experience? In preparing for our If there’s chemistry. I sesh, I learn that Dr. never sleep with someone Schiller will help singles unless we have chemhook up during the show istry. You never know and fulfll their “sociowhom you’re going to sexual” desires, defned have chemistry with. It’s a by the good doctor as NSA formula: Chemistry “socializing that has an equals fate minus logic. undercurrent of sex to One time I brought these it,” because tomorrow, two strangers on stage, “our genitals could turn people you would never to dust”—all important think would have chemcatchphrases within the istry. It was a little frat world of Never Sleep Alone. boy and a big beautiful Never Sleep Alone has black woman who was 55 been runyears old. ning at They were Joe’s Pub amazing. NEVER SLEEP in New It was the ALONE York for best on12:30 a.m. Feb. 14, fve years stage date Caesars Palace, now. You I ever saw. $54-$86.50, never know That is why 866-227-5938; what’s the show NeverSleepAlone.com. going to works so happen; well bethe audicause frst ence is divided into two and foremost we’re here sections, “participants” to have fun, we’re here to and “voyeurs.” Particimake each other look sexy. pants get hooked up by Why not kiss a stranger? the good doctor … and there’s singing, holding Explain your theory that hands and making out, tomorrow our genitals could three things there’s just turn to dust. too little of in this life. It’s We can die tomorrow. We possible that NSA could can die tonight. Do you fnd a long-term home really want to spend your here in Vegas, but for last night on earth being now, all we have is Valenawkward and inhibited? tine’s Day, baby. Or do you want to be brave and beautiful and What are the dynamics go after what you want? of dating in Las Vegas? And that is when I frst People in Vegas are chascame up with the idea ing a Disney fantasy while for the show. What if the living in a Tinder reality. world ended when this The Disney fantasy in unshow ended? What would realistic. The Tinder realyou do with this last hour ity is gross, and people of your life? And I think a need to learn that they lot of people would want can fnd a middle ground. to get laid. So, I thought, Las Vegas is a transient let me speed that up. city; it’s where people For an unexpurcome to hone their craft, gated version of to make some money or to this piece, plus a video have an adventure. I think interview with Dr. Schiller, the people here need to visit VegasSeven.com. focus on becoming the

February 11–17, 2016

VegasSeven.com

Trust her, she’s a doctor: Alex Schiller has plans to help you meet someone special.

Dr. Alex Schiller Wants to Hook You Up The host of Never Sleep Alone has plans for your solo Valentine’s Day— and they involve you going home with someone new By Melinda Sheckells

PHOTO BY KRYSTAL RAMIREZ

A&E

➜ DR. ALEX SCHILLER

MARKETPLACE

Mystère’s longtime artist on his introduction to Cirque du Soleil, a claustrophobic moment and the years of a clown By Paul Szydelko You left school when you were 13 and traveled throughout the world with your family in the circus. Did you think you’d still be performing 70 years later?

It’s never occurred to me not to be performing. My dad worked until his late 80s. He had a dog act, counting numbers, that kind of thing. I guess my family were long-lived performers.

February 11–17, 2016

VegasSeven.com

What were those early days like?

said if they’re coming to London, we are with Circus Senso. Cirque’s Guy Laliberté and Gilles Ste-Coix turned up in London, came to see the show and came back every night. They asked if we were interested in doing a workshop in Montreal [related to] a production called Eclipse. Production of Eclipse was canceled, but it led to Nouvelle Expérience in 1990.

When you start in the You were the resident circus, you tend to learn artistic director for lots of things—juggling, Mystère when it opened horse-riding, stiltat Treasure Island in 1993, walking, rope-spinning, and then for O at Bellagio acrobatics. Eventually I and other Cirque du Soleil became a wire-walker. productions. How did you I did that into my 60s. I come to be the clown? did a couple of Ed Sullivan Being on the adminisShows in the ’60s with trative and creative side, dancing and comedy and I wasn’t enjoying it as falling about. much as They were performexciting ing. I felt MYSTÈRE times. If you like I ran Treasure Island, go on The out of en7:30 & 9:30 p.m. Ed Sullivan ergy and Sat-Wed, from $69, Show, you interest 702-894-7722, know you’ve . … The TreasureIsland.com. made it. [previous clown in How did your Mystère, relationship with Cirque a friend of mine, got du Soleil begin? a bad knee injury and I was performing in wanted to leave. Cirque the opera Carmen on asked if I would be the wire in the opening interested in taking overture, and while I was over for him. I said, “Let in Vancouver in 1986. I me try it for a couple of was sitting in an apartmonths, and if you’re ment and looked across happy and I’m happy …” the river, and they were That was 16 years ago. setting up a tent of some kind. I walked over one How do you maintain afternoon, and it was consistency yet keep Cirque du Soleil. I got it fresh as an artist all free tickets because I said these years? I was in the circus, went The boredom is getting to opening night and was into the car and coming impressed. to work. But once you Back in England I had go through the door at started an alternative the top of the theater, it’s circus, very much like almost like Alice in WonCirque du Soleil but on a derland. You go through much smaller scale. We that door and “Oh, it’s had 12 artists, including another world.” It’s musicians and my son, fresh, particularly what Nicky, and daughter, Sally. I’m doing now, because Sally wrote to Cirque and I work with the public

and I have no idea what’s going to happen. It’s just so uplifting. You stop thinking about tax returns, all the mundane things in life that one has to do. In the pre-show and as one of the focal points of Mystère, have you had any recent memorable fails?

I take somebody out of the audience and put them in a box [so I can] sit with his girlfriend or wife. I got this guy up and he goes, “I’m a bit claustrophobic.” So I tell him “The back is open,” I get him in and shut the box. I’m about to walk away, and he knocks and [pleads], “Let me out.” I got him out of the box and took him back to his seat because I thought he might freak out. I never would have understood this

except I had an MRI shortly after. I got into this large tube and got claustrophobic and said, “Sorry, let me out.” I suddenly realized what claustrophobia is. I’ve never had it before and since then, I know what it is. What’s your favorite part of the job?

The unpredictability of walking somebody around [pre-show]. I love the moment when they realize I’m not an usher taking them to their seat. We might have walked halfway around the theater and they go, “Why is the spotlight on us?” I enjoy it, and hopefully that communicates to the public that this is fun—I’m having fun, I’m not the suffering clown!

PHOTO BY KRYSTAL RAMIREZ

SEVEN QUESTIONS

Brian Dewhurst