Setting a Standard
Even among the unprecedented roster of superstars that forms the current Las Vegas Strip headliner landscape, there’s only one Cher.
She’s sold more than 100 million records, conquered every possible aspect of show business by winning Oscar, Grammy, Emmy and Golden Globe awards and paved the way for other female performers to reach new heights from the very beginning of her illustrious career. Would there be a Lady Gaga winning Academy Awards and starring on the Strip at Park Theater if there wasn’t a Cher doing the same things first?
The Goddess of Pop returns to her Classic Cher residency, a kaleidoscopic celebration of her colorful, chameleonic career, on Aug. 28 and 31 and Sept. 1 at the Park Theater in Park MGM.
Must See: Happy Place
People come to Las Vegas from all over the world to see and do things they can't experience anywhere else. Now they can step inside a chocolate chip cookie, spend time with a life-size unicorn named Cornelius and hop into a pot of gold at the end of a rainbow. Those are just a few of the immersive, multisensory activities that comprise Happy Place, a pop-up exhibit that opened this week at Mandalay Bay conceptualized by Jared Paul, a talent manager who works with New Kids on the Block and other acts. Happy Place features 15,000 square feet of Instagrammable fun including the Super Bloom, filled with 40,000 handmade gold flowers, and the signature Rubber Ducky Bathtub of Fun.
Around the Strip
Emmy, Golden Globe and Screen Actors Guild award-winning actor Bryan Cranston had a Sunday fun day at the Cosmopolitan’s ultra-cool Barbershop. Not only did The One Who Knocks enjoy a custom haircut, beard trim and grooming experience at the Clique Hospitality hot spot, he also worked in a bit of whiskey. Cranston stopped into the salon and speakeasy the previous night to catch house band The 442s during a weekend stay with his family.
Sixteen-year-old Nickelodeon and YouTube superstar JoJo Siwa made the most of her night in Las Vegas. She packed the house and excited thousands of fans at Mandalay Bay Events Center for her D.R.E.A.M. concert tour stop, then stopped in at Sugar Factory American Brasserie at Fashion Show for an after-party, which makes a lot of sense considering Siwa’s hit single is called “Kid in a Candy Store.” She shot some video for her YouTube channel (10 million subscribers) while browsing the Sugar Factory’s selection of sweets, sampled the rainbow-colored Scooper Hero ice cream and partied upstairs in the Chocolate Lounge with her family and friends, feasting on chicken fingers, mac and cheese pops, onion rings and several Insane Milkshake flavors.
One of the community’s favorite annual parties returned to the Hard Rock Hotel recently. AFAN’s 33rd annual Black & White Party drew more than 3,000 guests to raise money, with performances from upcoming Cleopatra’s Barge headliner Daniel Emmett, singer Nye and cast members from Legends in Concert, Celestia and Magic Mike Live. Tape Face, Human Nature, Xavier Mortimer, Jennifer Romas and Murray Sawchuck were among those on the red carpet. Throwback rapper Coolio, who performed at the Flamingo’s Go Pool weekend party earlier this summer, was spotted at On the Record at Park MGM, dancing and visiting DJ Phoreyz in the booth.
Brock Radke is an award-winning entertainment reporter who has been covering the city since 2000, and interviews key movers and shakers on his All The Vegas podcast, available at allthevegas.com.
