Someone needs to reach out to comedian Paul Reubens and convince him to bring the Broadway version of The Pee-wee Herman Show to town for an extended run.
Paul Reubens
Something is happening in Atlantic City’s main casino venues this weekend that — barring another hurricane or some other act of God — will probably never happen again this year.
That something is ... nothing. The weekend immediately following New Year’s Eve is generally a dark weekend across the boards. This year is no exception; there isn’t a headline act to be found.
So, in the absence of any bold face stars, here are some random entertainment notes and musings for the new year:
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The good news: Metal gods Metallica were obviously pleased with the success of their Orion Music + More concert and lifestyle festival at Bader Field last June, because they’ve already announced this year’s dates: June 8-9. The lineup will be announced in February, which is also when tickets go on sale.
The bad news: If you buy tickets to Orion, you’ll need to make one additional purchase: Plane tickets. The event is being held in Detroit. No word on why the event moved, but my guess is the band wants to spread it around the country if it’s going to be an annual event.
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Shows we’d like to see in Atlantic City: There are plenty of shows I’d like to see in Atlantic City this year, but I’ll narrow it down to two. It’s an odd couple, to be sure. One is a no-brainer who would be a guaranteed sell-out at Boardwalk Hall. The other might be considered a stretch until you drill down on it.
When comedian and left-leaning political pundit Bill Maher brings his stand-up act to Caesars Atlantic City this weekend, his primary goal will be to make an audience of about 1,500 people laugh for 90 minutes.
Penn Jillette may have been fired during the 11th episode of the current season of NBC’s 'Celebrity Apprentice,' but that didn’t stop the magician from pulling off what might be his most impressive trick during his 40-year career.
Atlantic City’s newest, biggest and richest cheerleader is a 54-year-old native Texan with the requisite drawl, who refers to his guests as “y’all” and apologized, with a sheepish, aw-shucks grin, for being underdressed at the grand opening of his Golden Nugget casino last week.
I received more than a few calls, e-mails and Facebook messages asking why the concert was being staged at Madison Square Garden and not at Boardwalk Hall.
The moment Mike Epps realized his comedy tour would bring him to hurricane-battered Atlantic City, he promptly decided to donate a portion of his ticket sales to the storm relief effort. Then he did the next logical thing: He began working on some Sandy-esque material.
“I was interviewed recently [in another market] and the reporter asked me where was my favorite place to play, and I immediately said Atlantic City,” Orlando says.
Jethro Tull's Ian Anderson on his upcoming Atlantic City show at Caesars, Oct. 6.
“We decided we were only going to have young people in the audience, young people on stage and young subject matter. Young people, by definition, are much wilder in their lives, much more open. And the show started to go crazy.”
Atlantic City is staring down the barrel of Labor Day weekend after experiencing the single most diverse array of live entertainment ever presented here during one summer. Not just during the last 34 summers of the casino era, either, but throughout its entire gaudy, bawdy and, occasionally tawdry 160-year-old past.
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