Las Vegas Weekly

July 15, 2009 · 6:18 PM

In an odd bit of stunt casting, Goodman takes a shot at Fitzgeralds

By John Katsilometes

Mayor Goodman, this shot's for you.

Photo: Steve Spatafore

Monday started with coffee at my grandparents’ house in Boise and ended with Carmen Electra’s final performance in “Crazy Horse Paris” at MGM Grand. Seven hundred miles of driving and a universe of cultural characteristics separated the two events. Last night, it was Mayor Oscar Goodman as a guest star in the interactive dinner show “Marriage Can Be Murder,” which this month debuted at Fitzgeralds (or “Fitz,” for us hepcats) on Fremont Street. The show has been performed in town for 10 years and is the city’s longest-running interactive dinner production (though it’s a pretty slim field, followed by “Tony ’N Tina’s Wedding,” now at Planet Hollywood). Check out URL's home court for an Erik Kabik photo gallery.

Two points about the show from last night:

1. Interactive theater is one of the riskier forms of staged entertainment, as so much depends on the quality of the audience. Last night’s audience was quick and eager to participate, and the actors had a lot of fertile commentary and behavior to play off. An actual former stripper, for example, who is not part of the cast, certainly helps keep the dialogue colorized. That she was bra-less didn’t hurt the creative process, either.

2. Mayor Goodman turned in one of the clumsier acting performances since … well, since his turn in “Casino.” He was to be shot as the first “victim” of the night. From the stage, he presented a proclamation dedicating the day “Marriage Can Be Murder Day” in Las Vegas to show founders and featured performers Eric and Jayne Post, then he returned to his seat and casually removed his coat and tie. Why? So he could better access a blood pellet in his shirt pocket. When he was shot accidentally from the stage by antsy maitre d’ Dan Druff, Goodman reached toward his chest for the concealed blood capsule. The idea was to press the prop with enough force to cause it to burst and spill red fluid across his chest. But Goodman could not push hard enough to cause the red syrup to ooze from his shirt, so he started pinching and grabbing the little prop while calling out, “Oh! Oh!” I had to keep in mind that this person is, indeed, our mayor.

He finally cracked the capsule and smeared the crimson liquid across his chest. Then the duly elected public servant gingerly took to the floor (coming to a rest at the taped body outline on the carpet) and was wheeled away on a squeaky gurney. By now, Goodman was laughing, totally out of character (while still “in” character), certainly happy that he’d make the final few innings of the Major League All-Star Game.

(That’s more than two points, right? Feel free to go back and number them yourself.)

"Marriage" debuted in 1998 at the since-imploded Showboat on Boulder Highway, then moved to the Egg & I, where it was featured for several years. Then it moved downtown to 4 Queens, where it spent about a year before moving to Fitz. Before his offing, Goodman said the production was an important part of the revitalization of downtown. That’s probably placing too much emphasis on this little dinner show, but it is a fun time -- even on nights when the mayor doesn’t get plugged.

Spiral notecase

Some notes taken on the fly, on the road and elsewhere:

*A final thought on “Crazy Horse,” featuring Electra: Give the producers credit for placing her onstage with some of the top adult performers in the most stylish adult production in town. It was yet another inspired bit of stunt casting that reminded me most of David Hasselhoff’s camped-out appearance as Roger DeBris in “The Producers” at Paris Las Vegas. As they say at the Goodyear plant, Electra is hot like a new set of radials on August asphalt. I don’t know that they say that, actually, but they should … Regardless, Electra turned in a wildly energetic performance in her Monday night sendoff show, giving a full workout to the show’s lips-shaped sofa (lucky piece of furniture, that) and tossing her torso around the behind the jail cell set for the Chain Gang. She went topless at the end, matching Holly Madison’s willingness to pop her top in “Peepshow” at Planet Hollywood. Something annoying, though, were the women seated just behind me -- probably members of Electra’s entourage or inner circle or scrap-booking club -- who incessantly shouted, “You GO, Carmen! You GO, girl!” Where? Back to Dennis Rodman? Quit yapping and enjoy the show back there. All this shouting is doing nothing but distracting Carmen, and might make her forget to take off her top later -- and we can’t have that.

*As I tweeted from U.S. 93 in Wells, on my way back from Boise, Ira David Sternberg is no longer vice president of communications at the Las Vegas Hilton (where tension rules the day these days). Sternberg was informed Thursday that he would be kept on as a consultant, ceasing full-time status but maintaining an office and a presence at the hotel several hours a week. He says it’s not a negative thing, so I’ll believe him, and he will be free to focus more on his KUNV 91.5-FM radio show “Summer With Ira,” which airs ” at 6 p.m. Thursdays. Ira is an ace in the PR world, no matter the title.

*Given Brock Lesnar’s post-match decorum after his victory over Frank Mir in the UFC 100 card over the weekend, I’m having him represent me in my attempt to refinance my house.

*Speaking of which, my change in address has led to a slight reduction in my auto insurance policy. I’m told this is because my new (old, actually) ZIP code is considered a “safer” driving ZIP than my former ZIP. Not taken into account is that I am driving about 40 miles more each day than I was before, and am driving over, through and around some of Vegas’ more challenging road conditions (I usually set the over-under on orange pylons at 99½, and it usually comes in “over.”). But the records say I’m safer now than I was when I drove just five miles to work instead of 20, and I am not arguing. Especially via text, while on the 215.

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