His Dream Role

Mike Epps is a designated scene-stealer. The 47-year-old comedian and actor has been making the most of his film and TV roles since the late 1990s—one of his first TV gigs was a quick spot on The Sopranos—and his distinct style of silly, often outrageous humor keeps him among comedy’s most sought-after performers.

Now Epps, who published his first book, Unsuccessful Thug, earlier this year, is ready for a new challenge. He’s been cast in the upcoming Richard Pryor biopic Is It Something I Said? as the legend himself. The film is being written by Bill Condon (Dreamgirls and Chicago) and is shaping up to be one of the most intriguing movies of 2019. Get a sample of the talent that got Epps the job when he takes the stage at the Hard Rock Hotel on Oct. 19.

Photo by: Mat Ricardo

One of a Kind

He became a sensation on America’s Got Talent in 2016 and played his first Vegas shows at the Flamingo in 2017. Now Tape Face has his own room at Harrah’s Las Vegas and has quickly created something truly unique on the Strip, a show as charming as it is hilarious.

Imagine Buster Keaton as directed by Tim Burton. Sometimes he’s mischievous and sarcastic, others he’s amiable and animated, but Tape Face is always silent and full of surprises. There’s no trickery here, just old-fashioned creativity and ingenuity as he guides you through a world he’s constructed where no one knows what will happen next. Audience participation is mandatory at the House of Tape, where this innovative performer takes the stage Tuesday through Sunday.

Around the Strip

Jennifer Lopez went all out for her finale at Zappos Theater at Planet Hollywood Sept. 29. She was joined onstage by Ja Rule for “I’m Real,” their hit collaboration from 2001, and by LL Cool J for “All I Have,” the 2002 track that also served as an appropriate name for J.Lo’s two-year Vegas residency. Among the stars in the audience: Sean “Diddy” Combs, Tiffany Haddish, Kobe and Vanessa Bryant, Vanessa Hudgens and model Ashley Graham. The show set an all-time one-night ticket revenue record among Las Vegas residency shows of $1.43 million, and the glamorous after-party was held at Mr Chow at Caesars Palace.

Photo by: Denise Truscello

Model and actor Tyson Beckford is back onstage at Chippendales The Show at the Rio for an unprecedented fourth guest-host engagement. “There’s not a time I’m in Vegas, even when I’m not doing the show, that I don’t come by to see the guys, my brothers,” he said. The Tyson Takeover continues through Nov. 3.

Actor and comedian Seth Green, aka Scott Evil, became the latest celeb to check out Opium at the Cosmopolitan recently. I’m guessing he enjoyed the act with the amazing tiny dog Percy, who performs with acrobat Christian Stoinev and puts Mr. Bigglesworth to shame.

Big Chicken Shaq, a reality show following basketball legend Shaquille O’Neal as he fulfills a dream of opening a chicken restaurant, debuted on Facebook Watch this month. Get ready to sample Shaq’s grub when the restaurant opens Oct. 23 across from the Hard Rock Hotel.