Las Vegas Weekly

April 12, 2009 · 9:36 PM

A quick peek at the grown-up fun in ‘Peepshow’

By John Katsilometes

Mel B in Peepshow.

Photo: Kirvin Doak Communications

Quick thoughts about "Peepshow," which has opened for previews at Planet Hollywood. I caught one such performance last night:

The adult-themed show uses the tease to great effect -- most of the dance numbers use a now-you-see ’em, now-you-don’t approach to up-top nudity. The naughty parts are alternately concealed by hands, pompoms and paint, and flashed ever so briefly. The staging is ambitious -- expect a giant pumpkin, a huge plastic case filled with what seems to be milk and what is certainly a trio of dancers pressing their bodies against the sides. Kelly Monaco and a male dancer (the show gives as much attention to heterosexual women and gay men as to straight males) cavort in, around and atop a bathtub, with the male dipping high above while wrapped in a long cord. Late in the show, one dancer performs in a giant metal sphere above the stage; you have to look closely to know there is actually a person inside that prop. The theater, formerly home to "Stomp Out Loud," has been fairly stripped bare of that show's artifacts, which made the venue seem like a very large garage sale (they should call this one "Hump Out Loud.") Three audience members are invited onstage to help poor Kelly find a suitable suitor; the lucky fella, whom we might call Peter Plant, winds up stripped to his boxers (at least, I expect they are his) and strapped to a bed as Monaco spills pink paint over his body (later, Monaco exposes her upper half, to show pink-painted handprints across her chest). Monaco and Mel “Scary Spice” Brown are both sizzling, Monaco usually clad in a light-blue negligee number and Brown in a black-and-red bustier. Brown is really digging this gig, you can tell.

Photo: Planet Hollywood

Kelly Monaco in Peepshow at Planet Hollywood.

The music is live, and the humor sharp. At the end, Mel B demands, “Good night, everybody, thanks for coming, now go home and get laid!” Even after the show, Mel B is running the show. Fun stuff.

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