Penn and Teller (Comedy and Magic at the Rio)

Renewed acquaintances with old friends. I have not seen the show in a couple of years and it is constantly evolving, this one was fresh with new material as well as constant with some time tried illusions (The Rose and The Bullet exchange). The Rose is the illusion where Teller slices the flower by cutting its shadow and The Bullet is where the boys catch initialed 45 shells from each other in their teeth; these are the perfect illusions that leave you with, "How do they do that?" Isn't that what you want in a magic show? Not that we don't have enough magic in Las Vegas, but Penn and Teller stand alone as one of the great unique acts in the world. In fact they do an illusion showing you how it is done and at no small expense. This is not something to read about here, but something to definitely see and see again. I remember card shuffling with fork lifts and juggling broken bottles which stamped the show in my memory, although these skits did not play this night.

This show included an escape from a box by Teller with Penn providing much more play-by-play than was necessary. Tree shredding, fire eating, and knife throwing with an audience dupe, a really great card trick with audience bozos, lovely shadow puppets and a really creative patriotic diatribe on flag burning with the magic. There is a wonderful innovative body of work here and we are lucky to see some of it entwined with the hope we can see more.

This act is not new! 28 years together with this off-beat shtick have bonded the pair inseparably and their timing and teamwork, along with great production, make this a must-see show. The newest innovation now is microphones in Penn's glasses. The Samba Theatre at the Rio is perfect for anything and this show certainly fits in nicely here.

Such different performers, one is 6'7" and 280, one 5'9" and 160. One speaks (plenty), one does not. The big guy and the little guy and two great minds. One the visual comedian and one the verbal comedian. 89 minutes of fun and then they ran out to the lobby to greet the audience after the show, which is something I like (Teller really does speak, I talked to him, but don't break the illusion).

Penn Gillette, 45, and Teller, 52 (he only uses his last name and the PR people and internet site won't tell), have done Broadway, movies, specials, world tours, the late night talk shows and world performances. I will find out what Teller's first name is if it kills me.

This just in: After my first draft, Teller is officially Raymond Joseph Teller born on 14 February 1948. Anything and everything is available on the internet.

Penn and Teller have a long-term contract with the Rio through 2004 and now play nightly through September 1 (dark Tuesdays). It is $72 a pop; steep but worth the money in the general genre of Las Vegas shows that are, in fact, pretty much a value for big bucks. Show tickets in Seattle were $25-$40.

They have a nice internet site and, with my constant research on this medium, it has a floating cockroach and some diverse paranoia; it is a refreshing stop.

99 another A+. Only great fun and entertainment.

At Home in the Islands (The Castaways: Las Vegas, Nevada)

What is this? I saw it and I still say, "What is this?" Kind of hard to label and even harder to market. Not bad. A Polynesian Islands review with dancers (four pair and a lead), a band (5 and two drummers), and a host with a very special feature headliner.

I was a patron of the old Showboat years ago before they renamed it the Castaways. This place sits in an old part of town on Boulder Highway and was host to lots of stuff. ESPN2 boxing, roller derby, Beatles impersonaters, NWA wrestling, and the great Paul Revere and the Raiders played here. The very small stage was behind a casino bar and now has shrunk some more, especially for a dance show like Islands. It's 61 minutes long, they start on time, give you a drink, go five nights a week for $20, and deliver up an excellent value. How to market this and why here is the question? About 70 of us at 9pm on a Saturday night, some family and some fun. The approach is just small-scale and I ask, "Is this a competition for O, Blue Man, EFX?" No. Is it a lost leader? Maybe. Does anyone really benefit from this show? Well, I did because I was entertained. The music was ok, the dancers were ok (don't think I was offended by stretch marks on the lead belly dancer, but it was different), the host was okay, and they had a very special act with a fire-eating baton dancer that was more than okay.

The show is pretty much a hula dance with variations from Hawaii, New Zealand, Samoa and Tahiti.

The Las Vegas Music festival is ongoing through August 18th at UNLV. What a deal. Lots of great music: chamber, orchestra, solo, and lots of young students. Charles Castleman played his Strad on Tuesday; great music. We also had Bach as well as four composers which I was not familiar with (Part, Ysaye, Tartina and Hubay) in a grand finale. Incredibly a couple with a baby carriage wheeled in right at kickoff and, if that was not enough, they proved their fertility by dragging in an irritable six year old that did not want to be there. There truly are bigger jackasses in life than me. I sure hope Castleman's virtuosity did not interfere with the nursery. A grand finale for this Sunday with 22-year old diva Hilary Hahn on the violin. Check her web site out at http://www.HilaryHahn.com!

A+ for the music, F for starting late and allowing it to become a playpen.