Las Vegas Weekly

01.5.09 · 12:20 PM

It’s final curtain in Las Vegas for Stomp Out Loud, Mamma Mia! and Raw Talent Live

Photo: Tom Donoghue/www.donoghuephotography.com

Exactly 12 hours after the curtain came down on the final Mamma Mia! performance last night, the construction crew entered the Mandalay Bay theater at 8:30 a.m. today to start ripping it apart to prepare for the new inbound musical The Lion King. Work starts today on the front of the theater, the lobby, the retail store and the auditorium, but the Mamma Mia! crew have until the end of the month to clean out everything backstage, including sets and costumes.

It was the most memorable and bittersweet night in Las Vegas showbiz history, as three Strip shows came to an end simultaneously. Mamma Mia!, after nearly six years and 2,200-plus shows for 2 million ticket buyers, had its final curtain for the 30 cast members at Mandalay Bay. Stomp Out Loud was just two months short of two years at Planet Hollywood when it bid adieu, and Raw Talent Live at the Sahara decided to move on in another direction.

Click HERE for yesterday’s exclusive interview with Mamma Mia! lead Carol Linnea Johnson as she reflected on her three-year run in the Mandalay Bay musical. We joined her cast mates Vicki Van Tassel and Robin Baxter for last night’s cast after-party.

The Mamma Mia! cast seemed more exuberant in its final show, the band played louder, and the audience gave them more applause and standing ovations than ever before. Three members of the audience even showed up dressed in shining, sparkling spandex suits to match Donna & the Dynamos’ last Las Vegas performance.

Carol told me at the party: “Yes, there were tears on the stage. A couple of times, we choked up, but somehow we held it together. The audience made me feel like a homecoming queen. Somehow it all felt like the very first time I ever went on stage. I was going to make a very short thank-you speech on behalf of the cast, but the crew had arranged for silver confetti from our last-ever closing wedding scene to shower the audience, and that became it as they turned the mics off! Each one of the cast snuck in some back-heel kicks as a running gag through the show -- ‘kicking up our heels as we exit stage left!’

“It will feel strange and empty for a couple of days, but for my husband Don, life is good because we now get to go out in the evening as a couple instead of going off to work! The only mistake I made during the final show was that I almost forgot to take the check from one of my ex-lovers to pay for the wedding. He kept pushing it on me until finally I took it almost one minute late!”

Among the partygoers was actress Tina Walsh, who played the lead role of Donna for the first three-year run of the show. Tina now stars in Phantom -- The Las Vegas Spectacular at The Venetian. Tina told me: “I was working my show tonight, so I couldn’t get here for the final Mamma Mia!, but I made it to the party, and I did get to see it before it closed on my last day off -- New Year’s Eve.”

Also at the farewell was juggler and comedian Michael Goudeau, who stars in the Lance Burton show at the Monte Carlo. He told me that Tina and he had started out in showbiz together back in 1982 when they performed at the Astroworld entertainment park in Houston in Here’s Hollywood.

As Vegas Deluxe reported yesterday, Nancy and Ray Sommer of Henderson, who watched Mamma Mia! for the 74th time since they first attended the musical on their first wedding anniversary on Aug. 19, 2006, were special guests at the farewell party.

“We were both divorced,” Nancy told me. “It was my third marriage and Ray’s second. We had moved here from Southern California to start life anew. There was something that touched both of us the very first time we saw the show. It was about marriage and special love, and that continued on a personal level each time we saw it. If we were down or unhappy or it had been a bad day, this was the show that lifted our spirits. We both loved it with all our hearts!

“We spent our first two years in Vegas coming back time and again to see the show. We must have brought 60 friends over that time to see the show, some from as far away as Germany. They even returned two or three times to see it. It’s infectious that way. I think we’ve spent $14,000 on the tickets during that time. We’re upstanding citizens. We’re not weird -- there are much worse addictions, like drugs! Some of our friends thought we were insane until they came to see the show, and then they understood why we loved it so much.”

Nancy admitted that she cried one more time during the final show: “When Carol as Donna is brushing her daughter Sophie’s hair just before the wedding, she sings the ABBA song ‘Slipping Through My Fingers.’ That just gets me, and I’d brought extra tissues because I knew I’d lose it hearing it for the last time.”

Ray added as I was scribbling my notes: “We’re going to save a lot of money now! But we’ll really miss the show, the story, the music, the laughter and the cast. It will be a horrible, empty feeling. Yes, we’ll be back for The Lion King, but from now on we’ll have to rely on the CDs and the DVD of Mamma Mia!”

Our contributing photographer Tom Donoghue sat in on the final Planet Hollywood performance of Stomp Out Loud and captured this amazing photo gallery of their final night.

Tom told me: Stomp simply turned out the lights at Planet Hollywood. It was a stomp your feet and clap your hands kind of crowd at the final performance.” After a 22-month run from March 2007 to January 2009, the final broom swept across the stage.

Tom summed up: “The cast of Stomp Out Loud thanked the crowd with a toast with many a tear in their eyes. If you were lucky enough to have had seen any of the shows, you always had a great time with their special sounds, but this last one was one stompin’ production. They gave it everything they had.”

Spies tell me the cast is hoping to relocate to the Sahara where Raw Talent Live also ended its run last night. Show producer Nicole Durr is believed to be opening a spectacular new laser-light nightclub at the Palazzo this spring and will feature the Raw Talent cast as individual cabaret acts as part of that venue’s extraordinary entertainment lineup.

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01.5.09 · 1:28 PM

Exclusive Interview: Robbie Maddison is on the mend from injury and says of NYE jump: ‘I was terrified’

For the first time, motorcycle stunt king Robbie Madison has revealed just how close he came to death with his incredible leap to the top of the Arc de Triomphe at Paris Las Vegas on the Strip on New Year’s Eve.

“My eyes were flooded, and my vision was blurred on takeoff,” he admitted in an exclusive interview with me before he left town over the weekend. “I waved to the people out there before the jump as if everything was fine, but, being brutally honest, I was terrified. I realized at that very moment, I was mad to be doing this.

“When that g-force hit me, I knew I’d made one error that could have proved fatal. I left the ramp wrong and realized on the way up my body weight was too far back -- a matter of fractions, but enough where I could have lost control. Believe it or not, but I had to move my body just a little bit further forward mid-air, otherwise I might have hit the arch and crashed backwards to the ground instead of getting up, over and down into it. If I hadn’t forced myself through the g-force, I’d have been a goner.”

I asked Robbie to look with me at the frightening freefall photo we posted as our main picture on Vegas DeLuxe the morning after the jump. “I’ve never seen a drop like this,” he admitted. “I was terrified. I wanted to be sick. You can practice all you like, but when you get on site and actually see it without protections and all the risks are in place there, that’s when fatal errors can happen.

“The funny thing, though, was that even though I was terrified, my heart wasn’t beating fast. I kept saying to myself, ‘I’m not crazy, and I’m not risking my life,’ even though afterwards I knew I was!”

Vegas DeLuxe readers know now that Robbie was taken to a hospital after injuring his left hand on the hard landing when his bike shuddered and almost broke in two. “I felt my hand tear,” he confessed. “I honestly thought it was broken. The doctors, though, gave me about 10 stitches, bandages and a small cast but were more worried about any internal injuries I might have sustained. To me, although there was blood, after everything I’ve been through and done to my body in the past with injuries, this was little more than a paper cut. It’s already on the mend!

“It was definitely the high-tension moment of the whole experience. I said to myself, ‘I guess I am pretty mad.’ When I was in the hospital waiting for the doctors, I got sick to my stomach. There was this relief that swept over me that I’d succeeded, but at the same time, I know I’d punished myself. Worse, I had made my new fiancee Amy suffer even more than me. I should never have put her through this. I did apologize to her.”

Despite the injury and drama, Aussie native Robbie, 27, has no plans to stop jumping. He told me: “I want to continue. I’m captive to this and want to create something even more spectacular. I was focused on this jump for such a long time, and I’m going to enjoy it for a little while, but soon I know I will get restless to find something even more incredible than this. I’m not sure what to do next, but we’ll look for another amazing landmark we can jump from or to or over.”

He said he’d be ready, willing and able to return for another New Year’s Eve ESPN televised spectacular in 12 months time. I eyeballed the Eiffel Tower replica at the Paris and nudged him. “I’ll keep that one in mind” was the most I could get out of him at that moment! “I love Vegas and would certainly like to come back to do something bigger, better and even crazier here.”

And just how does a self-confessed madman relax in the midst of all this jump insanity? I learned that three times in the past few days, he’d unwound by taking speed laps in the mini-racecars at the Pole Position Raceway opposite the Palms Place condo-tower! He also had dinner at N9NE steakhouse in the Palms with my Las Vegas neighbor here, ESPN reporter Jamie Little, and his fellow daredevil Rhys Millen of New Zealand, who successfully backflipped his off-road truck at The Rio during the ESPN TV special Red Bull New Year, No Limits.

Check out www.vegasdeluxe.com for all of our previous stories and photos of Robbie and Rhys’ jumps.

In his latest blog, Robbie wrote: “I just wanted to say a big thank you to everyone out there that tuned in and watched and supported me for my greatest feat thus far, my 322 feet 7 inches on New Year’s Eve in Las Vegas over a football field. It has been amazing to get all the kind words from everyone around the world -- I really appreciate it. The New Year’s Eve jump was something that I had been working on for a long time, and to see it pull off on the world’s stage was something out of this world for me. Red Bull and ESPN put a lot on the line for me, and I was so thrilled that they all believed in me and made my dream a reality. The Red Bull experiment is only the start of something great for me and long-distance jumping. I want to take it to a whole other realm and really show everyone out there what is possible on a dirt bike. For everyone out there concerned that I may not still compete in FMX, I just wanted to let you all know that it is still a top priority for me to achieve greatness in the FMX scene. I have a full FMX calendar in 2009, as well as some long-distance feats that should be really interesting to watch.”

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01.5.09 · 11:02 AM

Strip Scribbles: Nightclub shakeups start New Year’s war; is Ray J buying one?

Nightlife observers are convinced that a major shakeup of nightclubs is about to get underway now that the 800-pound Encore resort gorilla named XS has opened. One expert told me: “Watch Victor Drai’s XS put at least three clubs out of business by spring, and you’re going to see others undergoing major renovations and remodels to compete, with the remainder fighting for survival.” Tonight is the debut of XS’s hospitality industry night, and experts will be watching its expected double-whammy impact on locals!

Meantime, for three consecutive nights, multiplatinum R&B star Ray J partied at Poetry nightclub in the Forum Shops at Caesars Palace, and now I’m hearing solid rumors that he will become a new partner there. “He loved the club that much,” one of my reliable sources told me, “and he wants to buy it.” I know Poetry owners Mike Goodwin and Branden Powers were in heated lunchtime business discussions at the new T&T Mexican eatery inside the Luxor over the weekend. I’m betting you’ll hear by midweek that the I’s have been dotted and the T’s have been crossed on a contract that makes Ray J, real name William Norwood Jr., a partner in the upscale hip-hop nightspot. When the sexy singer tossed out thousands of $$$ in a “Sexy Lady” contest there over the weekend, he was definitely celebrating something special! Ray J, who is the younger brother of R&B princess Brandy, debuts his new show For the Love of Ray J next month on VH1, where women from across the country compete for his favors and attention.

Another solid rumor to come my way revolves around Michael Greco, Pure’s director of celebrity services. I reliably hear, even though it’s only rumor, that George Maloof has tapped him to become the new Palms entertainment chief overseeing all the nightlife venues there. Expect that first major salvo in the new nightlife adventures of Las Vegas to be officially fired within two weeks!

*It’s now absolutely official: I’m the first to tell you that the 52 Miss America contestants will arrive en masse in Las Vegas on Jan. 15, and after checking into Planet Hollywood for their 10-day stay, their arrival parade will be on the out-front winding staircase starting at 2:30 p.m. Planet Hollywood President Mike Mecca will officially welcome each state’s gorgeous representative with a red rose. The live telecast is set for Jan. 24 after three nights of preliminary stage events and the judge’s interrogations! We’ll be there each day starting Jan. 15 for our Vegas DeLuxe postings of exclusive stories and photos.

*Smooth as silk R&B singer Usher went shopping for an incredibly expensive new Rolex watch while he was staying at the Bellagio, and to accommodate his privacy, the lobby store shut the doors so he could be the only customer in there while fans pressed hard against the windows to see just how many thousands he was spending!

*From all inside reports I’ve heard, Holly Madison’s parents, who visited for New Year’s, hit it off perfectly with boyfriend Criss Angel and his mom and brothers! The Mindfreak magician even took them to Fix for desserts, ordering up warm brownie cakes, molten chocolate coffee cakes, cappuccino milk shakes and even a hot chocolate from the bar! During their visit, Holly took Mom and Dad to watch Criss’s Cirque du Soleil Believe show at the Luxor, and both families joined together for a private New Year’s dinner at Tender there past the midnight hour! More from that “seal of approval” as it develops!

*Dancing With the Stars runner-up Lance Bass treated two of the show’s professional dancers, Kym Johnson and Cheryl Burke, to dinner with five other friends in the private dining room of Strip House inside Planet Hollywood. Also dining there in another section were love mates Tito Ortiz and former porn princess Jenna Jameson.

*While at their LAX New Year’s Eve party in the Luxor, the Kardashian family confirmed that their reality TV show home in Hidden Hills, Calif., is up for sale. Sisters Kim, Khloe and Kourtney said their present four-bedroom home where they film the show simply isn’t large enough, so they’re moving up in size! If you’ve got a cool $3.4 million sitting around, you can snap it up immediately! You’d sure be Keeping Up With the Kardashians if you became the new owner!

Star surveillance: Basketball legend Kareem Abdul Jabbar, the NBA’s all-time leading scorer, was front row and center at Bette Midler’s spectacular at The Colosseum in Caesars Palace, and afterwards he went backstage for a personal meet-and-greet with the singer. … Multiple Olympic gold medalist swimmer Michael Phelps brought along 20 family members and friends for dinner at Tao in The Venetian. While revelers were celebrating the annual post-New Year’s Eve “Hung Over & Broke” party, the world record holder tucked into Chilean sea bass, Kobe beef and chicken pad thai before hitting the large corner dance floor table with Patron tequila and Grey Goose vodka! Michael went into the DJ booth to wave to the crowd after getting a shout-out from comedian Pauly Shore, who re-did a 10 to 1 midnight countdown. Lance Bass, along with fellow DWTS contestant Maurice Green and pro dancer Cheryl Burke, also joined in the fun. Cheryl showed off some of her serious dance moves to actress Mena Suvari and her fiance Simone Sestito, who were seated alongside in the VIP section for the second consecutive night! Before the night was over, Staind lead singer Aaron Lewis arrived with his crew. Also there was Dr. 90210 star Dr. Gary Motykie and up-and-coming actress Briana Evigan with beau Max Nash. … Master illusionist Lance Burton led the cheering section for his girlfriend Gabriella Versace’s opening night of her new run of shows at the Palazzo’s lounge as lead singer for the band Nitro.

Tonight’s tip

It’s New Year’s Eve all over again as far as members of our hospitality industry are concerned. Since they all had to work through the midnight countdown as 2008 turned into 2009, tonight Jet at The Mirage throws them their own New Year’s Eve party now that the tourists have returned home. … It’s also the premiere of Victor Drai’s new XS nightclub’s Industry Night at Steve Wynn’s just-opened the Encore. … Hip-hop star T Pain entertains and plays guest DJ at Prive in Planet Hollywood and promises to “make it rain” with greenbacks all over the dance floor.

Tomorrow’s tease

Funnyman David Spade becomes the hottest cult comedy star in town -- and takes all 700 members of his audience out for drinks! … The giant Consumer Electronics Show pulls into town with a slew of NBC stars in tow along with game show titan Alex Trebek and a host of other celebrities. … Iron Chef Kerry Simon throws a fun, star-studded pajama party at his Palms Place restaurant Simon. Check out those sexy nurses at the Bloody Mary Hangover bar! … Plus four other super chefs make headlines in a restaurant-themed day focusing on the tastiest treats! … Then on Wednesday, get ready for our exclusive, sizzling, sexy, sassy and sensational interview with porn princess Jenna Haze, as she gives us the advance peek at the Adult Video Network convention and awards show.

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01.5.09 · 6 AM

Morning Call Exclusive Interview: Fergie talks about music, marriage and starting a family

There’s no question that pop superstar Fergie is “over the moon” happy in love with actor Josh Duhamel. There’s no doubt the handsome, lip-locked couple will tie the knot almost immediately. However, her lips were sealed about the exact date when I talked with her -- even though she proudly showed me her engagement ring and chatted about marriage and starting a family!

But in talking to her friends during her Las Vegas visit with Josh and their respective families, it looks as if five days from now -- this Saturday, Jan. 10 -- Fergie and Josh will marry and become the new hottest Mr. and Mrs. in show business.

Fergie, 33, confirmed to me that they will marry. “I love being in love,” she said. “It’s such a great feeling, and it’s so right.” Try as I could, though, she wouldn’t budge on the exact date and place (some rumors pinpoint Southern California), so I switched the subject to babies.

She told me that she definitely wants children -- but that is going to wait for a while for a couple of reasons!

“First,” she said, “let’s get the rest of all this weight off that I put on. Second, we’re going out with another Black Eyed Peas tour, and that has to be wrapped before we begin to start a family. But, yes, we both want babies!”

The three-time Grammy Award-winning artist explained that she’d gained 15 pounds for the upcoming movie based on the Broadway musical Nine, in which she plays a salty hooker!

“I literally pigged out and stopped working out,” she said. “I went to In-N-Out Burger and just ate what I wanted. I really went for it. I loved it. I felt a complete glutton because I didn’t say no to anything, and I knew I was getting bigger by the moment without even looking in a mirror. I moved differently because my body was getting bigger.” She co-stars with Penelope Cruz, Kate Hudson, Sophia Loren, Nicole Kidman, Dame Judi Dench and Daniel Day-Lewis in the movie.

Now, though, she’s fighting to be able to squeeze into her Fergalicious and glamorous wedding gown.

“I’m not shedding the pounds right off, though. It’s not easy trying to get healthy again and stay that way. It’s hard because, whereas I gave up working out, now I’m back working out every day. We’re going hiking, and I’m doing tons of sit-ups and walking and running twice as much as Josh does just to keep up with him.”

She explained that she’s got to get it all off before long, though, because it’s not just the wedding but also to wear swimsuits at the beach when they go off on their honeymoon vacation! And also because this year’s new Black Eyed Peas tour is just ahead on her calendar.

“That’s going to be really big,” Fergie told me. “I’m excited about that new tour. I just love all that hard work and energy. But when that’s over with, we will start to think about a family of our own. Let me get the weight off this time before I start putting it on again with that,” she laughed.

Click below to watch my laugh-a-minute video conversation with Fergie on the red carpet at Lavo in the Palazzo.

I asked her how she was able to juggle such an intense, jam-packed schedule of movies, music, TV and traveling between two cities in the same night for different work assignments. Fergie performed at The Venetian Ballroom and then hosted the midnight countdown at Lavo in the Palazzo here on New Year’s Eve -- all after completing a performance in L.A. a few hours before flying to Las Vegas!

“I thrive on this,” she said. “The more work, the better it is. The more energy I have somehow. I don’t know why because it’s an incredibly busy and hectic timetable. We just race right through it, and to be honest, I revel in it! I don’t think I’d be this happy if I wasn’t this busy.”

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01.5.09 · 9:49 AM

Exclusive Interview: Samantha Harris celebrates her birthday and a new job and dishes about Dancing

After four years with E! Entertainment news, sparkly Dancing With the Stars co-host Samantha Harris begins her new job as senior correspondent at The Insider today. She’ll also serve as the standby anchor, and her first assignment is this weekend’s Golden Globe Awards. She celebrated her new contract over the weekend in tandem with a belated birthday party here in Las Vegas.

The partying ran three days from start to finish and included a family dinner for 20 people at the new Encore restaurant Society and a party for 40 family and friends at Blush in the Wynn. Her husband, Michael Hess, was on hand, and they even brought their 15-month-old daughter Josselyn with them. Their group also took in the spectacular water-themed production Le Reve, and Samantha met the cast backstage. Click HERE for our Saturday morning report.

“Our Max Chmerkovskiy from Dancing With the Stars did all the new choreography for Le Reve, and he’s simply amazing. I’m actually seeing it twice while I’m here,” Samantha told me. “Max had hoped to get a day off from the Dancing tour, which was playing Oklahoma City on my birthday, but he couldn’t get a pass. They’d all hoped to zip in and out to join me, but they had to work!”

Incidentally, congratulations to Max, who popped the question to fellow dancer Karina Smirnoff on New Year’s Eve at midnight. She said “yes” -- six months to the day she’d broken off a romantic relationship with Mario Lopez, her former dancing partner! Both Karina and Max are from the Ukraine, and Samantha promises to make a fuss about that love match on The Insider tonight and when DWTS resumes in March.

Samantha’s mother and sister flew in from her hometown of Minneapolis for the fun festivities. Said Samantha: “My birthday has always been over the Thanksgiving and Christmas New Year’s holidays. I always went home for those holidays after I left Minnesota, so I always got to celebrate my birthday. It was never overshadowed or squeezed out by the holidays. It became a part of it, so it was an advantage rather than a disadvantage.

“However, this was the first weekend in a long, long time I had three days all to myself and my family. I feel like the princess at the ball. I’m so excited to have all of this excitement ’round the clock in Vegas. I love coming to Vegas. It’s not just about the gambling: It’s about great food, great shows and, yes, dancing!

“I love being here at the Encore. It is breathtakingly beautiful. I’ve been dancing two nights in a row at Blush, so I’m kicking up my feet for a night off on the third night and just going back to see Le Reve again.”

At Blush, Samantha was presented with a birthday cake replica of the gold disco ball DWTS award. I asked her why she thought the TV show had become a top-rated series in the U.S. when ballroom dancing shows stateside had never done well previously.

“The timing was just right -- and important -- because viewers simply wanted good, wholesome, entertaining fun. They love the drama of when people have something at stake, but we’re not mean-spirited like all the other reality shows. My 3-year-old niece can sit and watch it with my grandparents. Everybody of all ages can root for somebody dancing on the show -- and that’s why it’s friendly competition and everybody enjoys it.”

Samantha revealed that Season 8 begins March 9 on ABC and that rehearsals will begin the weekend of Feb. 8. She said we can expect the new lineup of celebrity contestants to be announced on Good Morning America this month. I told her that my friend Donny Osmond had started taking dance lessons in case he accepted the show’s invitation to participate in Season 8.

“It never hurts to take dance lessons,” Samantha laughed. “Donny would be incredible for our show. He knows what’s involved because he was there for every show that sister Marie danced in. He really gave her tremendous support, and I’m certain if he takes part, the roles will be reversed and Marie will be there in the audience cheering him on for every show.

“I used to think I was a dancer. I was in ballet class at age 7, but after watching what our professional dancers do, I realize I’m just a person who can move, not dance properly. Their showmanship and technique is something to really admire and marvel at.

“You understand when you see what they put their bodies through with all that twisting and stretching, why we had so many injuries last season. It was the most we’ve ever had. The previous shows had set the bar so high that all the dancers wanted to go way beyond that. Sometimes rehearsals would run nine hours in a day. It was the most injury-prone show of all that we’ve done.

“With all that slicing and dicing, it led to injuries and to the point of casualties where the producers were asking themselves if they would have a show. It’s a very difficult task to work the body day in and day out for weeks. We were really concerned for Julianne Hough. But even she came back from the hospital with a reignited passion, and her fervor infected all the others to push even harder!

“Who knows what the next set of stars will bring with their dancing shoes? It’s hard to believe, but they may be even more competitive.”

Also seen at Le Reve in addition to partying at Blush was Seth MacFarlane, creator of Family Guy. He sipped on Jack Daniels while the rest of his party, including Edi Gathegi who played Laurent in Twilight, enjoyed Dom Perignon and Ciroc Vodka.

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01.5.09 · 8:15 AM

Paris who? Benji Madden celebrates New Year with DJ set at Body English

While Paris Hilton was ringing in the New Year Down Under, former beau and Good Charlotte frontman Benji Madden was right here in Las Vegas. With a 12-strong entourage of friends, Benji partied up a storm at Body English inside the Hard Rock Hotel -- and even helped give away $25,000 to the rowdy revelers.

After handling the 10 to 1 countdown to usher in 2009, Benji went straight into his guest DJ set. He wound up having so much fun, he went right over his scheduled 90-minute set time.

“He was in a great mood, and it looks as if he’s over the split with Paris,” my spywitness told me.

Even though Benji was guest DJ at the Hard Rock, he stayed in one of George Maloof’s Palms Place tower condominiums -- and got himself a new hairstyle for 2009 at Michael Boychuck’s Primp salon there. Benji is an investor in Carey Hart’s Wasted Space and also met up with Pink’s ex and checked up on the club while he was in the rival hotel.

Meantime, Paris with sister Nicky and beaufriend David Katzenberg were at the Trademark nightclub in Sydney, Australia, for the Bongo Virus party. The Times newspaper there reported that the sisters were paid $600,000 for the appearance and countdown.

Paris wore a vintage Versace dress and abstained from all alcohol for the big night! Her Hollywood “friend” Brandon Davis, also in Australia, allegedly tried to crash the party but was rebuffed by security forces. And two men who tried to throw sand at Paris were physically knocked out by two others who sprang to her rescue!

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01.4.09 · 6 AM

Exclusive: Cheers and tears as Mamma Mia! ends its six-year Vegas run

Vicki Van Tassel (left), distinctively costumed with Carol Linnea Johnson and Robin Baxter, in Mamma Mia! at Mandalay Bay.

Photo: Joan Marcus

After performing more than 2,200 shows to 2 million ticket buyers, the ABBA-based musical Mamma Mia! ends its nearly six-year run at Mandalay Bay tonight, and in the audience will be a couple who have seen the show here an amazing 73 times!

It was back on Feb. 13, 2003, that the show with the unforgettable musical score of ABBA hits first premiered in Las Vegas. This past summer, Mamma Mia! even became a feature film hit with Meryl Streep and Pierce Brosnan, and the DVD has become a top seller in worldwide sales. To this day, Mamma Mia! has grossed more than $2 billion at the worldwide box office and been seen by more than 32 million people around the world, with more productions playing globally than any other current Broadway musical.

The final performance for the Vegas cast starts at 6:30 this evening, and we’ll be there to witness the closing and then join the 30-strong cast after-party celebration! We’ll have the full photo report of the festivities tomorrow. Walt Disney’s hit and award-winning musical The Lion King takes over and opens in April after a theater redesign is completed.

Hours before the curtain went up on the last show, I talked with lead actress Carol Linnea Johnson, who with Vicki Van Tassel and Robin Baxter, has been with the show the past three years in the starring roles. Carol is the only member of the cast to be staying on as a Vegas resident.

Here’s our exclusive conversation:

Robin Leach: How do you celebrate cheers and tears at the same time? It must be a mixture of real sadness, yet joy reaching a finishing line?

Carol Linnea Johnson: I think you honor all the hard work that got you there and accept the fact that Monday morning, we will have a rough day. I know that the only moment you are guaranteed is the one you are in right now. I try to live in that moment as much as I can whether you are sad or happy. Hopefully, the work has gotten us to a place where we can celebrate. Yes, it’s safe to say there will be some tears, but also a lot of joy and satisfaction.

I think when a show has run as long as this one has and especially when it means something to so many people. In a sense, we also need a break to recharge and grow again and move onward. We are happy we have meant so much to so many people. We have so many repeat attendees of the show; I ask them why they keep coming. We have honestly become friends with many of them. I talked to a couple of Vegas people this week who come so often, it was their 72nd show.

They are Ray and Nancy Sommer, and the cast has invited them to our farewell party because they have become so close. They said no matter what kind of day they have had -- even if it’s the worst day in the world -- they know they can come to the show and it will lift them up and they will feel better. At first they came because they loved the music and the songs. They fell in love with the characters and the performers. They became experts on the show. They are the nicest people in the world, and they come just to appreciate it one more time. They love the differences at each performance they see, and they even know when something goes wrong! It’s not at all weird. and we all agreed to invite them to our closing party.

RL: What stands out for you over the three years you have been with the show?

CLJ: The 10 p.m. show is always a very difficult show -- incredibly difficult. You come off the high of the early show and then you have to re-psych yourself back up. It is so late. The audience comes in high. They have gone to dinner and had a few drinks. It’s exciting, but by 11:30, that glow has worn off.

The thing that was the best about the 10 p.m. show is that someone, usually me, would try to make it special, different and more fun like with facial mole night. Everyone would take a brown eyeliner pencil and put a mole on the entire cast just for fun. One night it was kick-your-heels-up night. Everybody had to do it. Because you have crazy people in the show like Robin Baxter, she looked like she had a leg issue by the time the show was over because she did it so much.

RL: What do you think the recipe for success was for Mamma Mia!? If you told somebody take a foreign pop group, here are their 17 songs, now write a two-hour romantic play around them, you’d be taken you off to the funny farm.

CLJ: I think ABBA has a perfect balance of good music, and Mamma Mia! has a great story. So it proved a perfect combination. The group wasn’t obscure for America, so if you pull anyone off the street and said name one ABBA song, they probably could, at least “Dancing Queen.” The music is familiar in a positive way. It brings back special memories -- a wedding, a bar mitzvah. Then you recognize Judy Kramer, producer, and Catherine Johnson, author, were brilliant with the story line. They thought it should be about women and a wedding.

Women are the ones who want to go to the theater and buy the tickets, so make it a story about women in their 40s. Make it about friendship and a daughter. This story line is so classic, it can apply to any person and situation. They gave it a hook to people’s emotional life, and that is what we try to do as artists.

RL: Today, if you told a musical story of a woman having an affair with three different men and didn’t know who the baby’s father was, no one would bat an eyelash, but back then it was not the norm. Did anybody ever think that having that as the plot line was running a risk?

CLJ: You pose a dangerous question. I think that because you have the backdrop of the ’60s, early ’70s, it was a time and place that people go, “Uh, OK.” Audiences have a vague idea of what the timeframe was. It has always been interesting to see the audience’s response. The reality is that she was disowned by her mother and ends up having to live abroad.

RL: You play that role of the mother having the affair. Did you think it was important that it was somebody with your likeable personality playing the role so the audience got past the storyline?

CLJ: The thing that I have always loved is that the Donnas have been every flavor and every age. I tend to be on the young spectrum. I think the producers always go for quality. You have to want to root for Donna. We are all quite different. They’ve had older Donnas: They chose Meryl Streep for the movie. You want to see the vulnerability, whether softer or tougher. The original Donna on Broadway was a hard shell, chewy center who fought for everything. When you saw the vulnerability, it really meant something.

You have me who is strong, but the vulnerability is on the surface, and they can respond to people who strike that balance -- fight for their place and fight for their kid. At a certain point, we all look at our lives and the choices that we have made and go, “How did I get here?” and “Is this all that I wanted?” Donna is presented with that and gets a second wind. I think that is so rewarding for an audience. They like her so much -- getting something she’d never get. They see her getting something, a second chance.

RL: What is the sense of theatrical family? You walked into an already built theater family and had to make it a new family all over again?

CLJ: When I came in, the producers changed all of the principals. Because Mamma Mia! is an interesting company to work for, I would say nine times out of 10 the big motivating factor for them hiring someone is how likable the person is. Honestly, in these three years, I have worked with some of the kindest, most fun, wonderful, generous and hilarious people in my whole career. They put really good people together in a family. The last 10 minutes of the show is so exuberant, it’s impossible not to be a family as a show.

It’s so easy to stay in love with the show. You leave so high, and you leave seeing how you have affected an audience. That goes a long way in terms of keeping a company together. The ensemble was so open to us when we came in three years ago and all the changes that happened since. We have all new dads; we have had three Sophies, so many different Harrys. Every time someone new comes in and because Mamma Mia! doesn’t want you to be a cookie cutter of the original version, it is someone slightly different. It always has a new perspective. I think that is awesome. It stays fresh, but we always become an instant family group again each time.

RL: Will the three of you leads and Sophie do anything special before curtain up to make the last show the very best of the run?

CLJ: It’ll be interesting to see what falls out. There is no advance plan at this very moment. It is a blessing and a curse having the closing coincide with Christmas and New Year’s. It is such a busy time, I think in a funny way it has allowed a lot of us to live in denial. It was there, so we wouldn’t think of it. Now we’re waking up to reality. It will be interesting. I always say what happens naturally is always the best. If you plan it too much, you are always disappointed. Mamma Mia! has never disappointed me with the magic that can happen without any planning, so I am sure some nonsense will ensue. All of us will wind up doing something tonight to remember it by forever.

RL: Is bittersweet the right word to use for all of this?

CLJ: I think that is a great word. I also think that for those of us that have been in the business for a while, what a luxury to have had this much time to invest in a role, to build relationships with other actors, and to be employed for this long. Sometimes it’s only two months to less than a year and even one night only, and we had three years here in Vegas and the cast before us another three years! I think all of us will walk away and be proud of the work that we have done. We always made somebody’s day better.

We have some extraordinary memories -- even extreme cases. We had a little girl that had just had cochlear implants, and one of the first things she wanted to do was to go to Mamma Mia! It became the first show she ever heard. She came back several times. I came out one time onstage, and she ran down the aisle with her arms so wide open and hugged me. I had to start deep breathing because I was crying so much. We’ve also had a guy in the audience sitting in the front row the last few shows. He is losing his sight, and he wanted to see the show as many times as he could before it closed. These are extreme cases, but it’s a show that touches so many people in so many different ways. It became more than just acting for us: It became truly meaningful.

RL: You are staying in Vegas while a lot of the company will pick up and move away? You have fallen in love with Vegas, and you’re staying with your new band. You’ll all be performing here, but will you also audition for other shows that come to the Strip?

CLJ: Yes. I am so open to my new life and career in Vegas. I have had six years to hone my craft. My life has been so blessed. I got pregnant doing the show on Broadway; I went back to work when my daughter was 3 months old. I have been blessed with balance. I had time with my daughter during the day, and then I played Donna at night. With the exception of never getting enough sleep, I lived a dream. I am very grateful. I have fallen in love with Vegas, but it is hard to get to know. It is not like New York, where you get to know your neighbors and run into all your friends. Finding that sense of community in Vegas is not easy, but once you have, it is so precious. People who have moved here are all so motivated: We’re part of a new movement out here in Vegas. I may be the only person from New York that is going to stay. A lot of people are going back to New York and L.A. but have that pioneer spirit.

I have only had one night off for so long, and I have not seen many shows on the Strip. I’m going to play catch-up with all the other shows on the Strip after three years of not being able to see any. The last time I saw Mystere was 11 years ago. I have my work cut out for the next couple of months seeing everything I missed out on.

I will let you in on one secret for tonight’s last show: We are re-choreographing the ending scene so that all four swings who are only on if somebody is sick and can’t be in the show can be onstage for the last one.

RL: So Monday you wake up, and I’m guessing it will feel something like post-partum depression?

CLJ: I’m so glad to be having this happen in Vegas in January. At least I can go out into the desert sunshine and have a good time, unlike cold and dark New York City!

RL: Good luck night, and don’t be too sad. A new life begins tomorrow!

Click back here tomorrow for our full exclusive photo feature of the last show and the cast’s farewell party.

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01.4.09 · 8:30 AM

Exclusive Photo Galleries: Kid Rock and ZZ Top close out holiday weekend

Just when you thought it was impossible to “top” the megastar power that lit up Las Vegas for New Year’s Eve, along come two rock music superstars in dueling battles to close out the long holiday weekend.

ZZ Top and Kid Rock went into head-to-head rivalry last night, and both acts had jam-packed, sellout crowds for their sensational shows. For Detroit-born rock-rapper Kid Rock, it was his second show in less than 96 hours at The Pearl Concert Theater in the Palms.

Our contributing photographer Denise Truscello was onstage and backstage for the candid shots of Palms President George Maloof and Kid Rock, aka Robert Ritchie and former three-month-long husband in a stormy marriage to Pamela Anderson. Another contributing photographer, Erik Kabik, also captured some of the other platinum performance photos.

Earlier mid-week, Kid Rock was up at both the Palms’ Playboy Club and Moon nightspot for the New Year’s Eve countdown -- and that’s where he hung out again early this morning!

Over at the Hard Rock Hotel, the three men who make up ZZ Top took to the stage and dazzled fans with a “wow of a performance.” Black-hat-wearing guitarist Billy Gibbons, bass player Dusty Hill in his trademark white hat and drummer Frank Beard, who was without a trademark beard(!), presented a superb show that even had the trio dancing onstage and dueling with their guitars!

Our contributing photographer Scott Harrison captured this great collection of ZZ Top performance photos to close out the holiday weekend in typical over-the-top Vegas fashion.

When it comes to rock shows and holiday headliners, nobody does it better than Vegas!

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01.3.09 · 7:45 AM

Samantha Harris dances with the stars at her Blush birthday bash

Samantha Harris and cast members of La Reve.

Photo: Blush

It was a whirlwind three-day-and-night birthday celebration for Dancing With the Stars co-host Samantha Harris, and Samantha also was celebrating the big news that this weekend is her last with E! Entertainment and on Monday she starts as special correspondent and new relief anchor on The Insider.

Samantha’s 72-hour birthday celebration spree began backstage with the cast of Le Reve at the Wynn, moved on to her special dinner at the new Society restaurant in the Encore and ended with a DWTS-shaped birthday cake at Blush in the Wynn.

Here are our first two overnight photos of all the fun that ended only a short time ago in the wee hours of this morning. We were with Samantha every step of the way, and on Monday we will feature all the photos and our exclusive interview with the television talent.

Be sure to click back here to Vegas DeLuxe then for the words and photos you simply will not find anywhere else!

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01.3.09 · 6 AM

Morning Call: Pink & Carey Hart reunite! Will New Year bring a reconciliation?

Pink and Carey Hart at Wasted Space on New Year's Eve.

Photo: Hard Rock Hotel

For lovers and those in love, New Year's Eve is a very special night! Promises and resolutions. Maybe even an attempt to right a wrecked marriage? The reunion between torn twosome Pink and Carey Hart, rock music’s reigning hot couple, was eagerly awaited by those of us with the prying eyes and the nosy tongue wagging!

The reunion at the Hard Rock Hotel between the superstar singer and the tattooed motocross stunt king on the second most romantic night of the year was pulled off without a hitch. “It’s obvious that they still care about each other very much,” one spywitness told me. “If they could get whatever problems they have resolved in 2009, you just know they’d love to be back together again.”

Their New Year’s Eve began with a dinner at Nobu at the Hard Rock, but it was the tell-all midnight hour that reignited the sparks. Carey walked his ex-wife from his VIP table right to the stage, and then escorted her to the mic and remained at her side as they toasted each other privately and publicly with champagne after she did the 10 to 1 countdown.

The crowd cheered them -- and the arrival of 2009! Nobody could make out what their knowing glances said, but everybody guessed that whatever happens, they will still look after and care for each other. Pink has admitted that she still loves Carey and has one room of her L.A. home dedicated to his memorabilia. She even had him appear in her video for “So What”!

“They simply can’t be apart too long, even if they can’t be together for that long, either,” my club spy said. “They were completely comfortable with each other all night long. There was no tension you’d expect from separated married couples, so they’re obviously getting on beautifully together.”

Pink then rocked Carey’s Wasted Space with a 45-minute show, and Carey was her biggest fan of the night watching with co-owner and New York Yankee Jason Giambi. Pink sang songs from her new album Funhouse.

After her song set, she rejoined Carey, and they hung out at his VIP table until about 2 a.m. We know that Carey also stopped by Body English to check in with Good Charlotte rocker and Wasted Space co-investor Benji Madden, who was guest DJ there for the night.

Click back here Monday when we have that set of photographs of Benji at play. He partied until 4 a.m. and gave away $25,000 in cash to partygoers there.

Now we wait to see if Pink and Carey reunite. After all, Valentine’s Day -- the most romantic day of the year -- is just six weeks away! You just know Vegas DeLuxe will have its ears and eyes wide open for that magic moment if it happens! Ain’t love grand -- even if it is no easy road!

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