Las Vegas Weekly

August 12, 2008 · 10:44 AM

Crazy Girls, Aleman celebrate anniversary undercover

By Robin Leach

The gorgeous Crazy Girls have appeared on hundreds of magazine covers as the best long-running show dubbed, "Las Vegas' Sexiest Topless Revue" time after time. Now producer Norbert Aleman is premiering tonight (Tuesday) the first of a series of Crazy Girl movies. It’s a spy-spoof Undercover and it screens at the Brenden Theaters in the Palms.

No show in Las Vegas’ history has raised so much controversy as the topless showgirls at the Riviera. Norbert Aleman, creator and producer, explained: “Crazy Girls is the No. 1 sexy revue on the Strip and plays six nights a week at the Riviera Hotel & Casino. I began at the Riviera with a 12-week engagement and here we are in our 22nd year of Crazy Girls. I was told that we’d never survive by naysayers. We’ve faced controversies with the National Organization of Women, Las Vegas City Hall and a powerful state senator and we held our ground. The public was supportive and we are still here. During the early to mid-’90s Crazy Girls was the only show of its type and now there are copies that keep closing. It’s a competitive business where you need to be detail-oriented and the Gentlemen’s Clubs have a natural advantage for those who want to push the envelope. But I must explain that we in no way are like the clubs and are a safe alternative with the world's most beautiful dancers who spent their lives since early childhood learning to be professional dancers.”

Norbert continued: “I have chosen 10 talented technically trained dancers for the current edition of Crazy Girls and during the past 22 years we have created 150 to 200 Crazy Girls and ex-Crazy Girls. Maybe it’s time for a `Crazy Girls’ reunion. Change is a constant for this type of revue. Over the years, we have had many emcees from Bambi Jr. (Montel Williams’ ex-wife), comedian Carole Montgomery, prop comic Joe Trammel, the late Pudgy to Jahna Reis Steele. The average Crazy Girls can do a run of three to five years.

“It’s like a second family among the `Crazy Girls.’ When we began in 1987, Crazy Girls and La Cage were doing 18 shows each per week with three shows nightly six nights a week. We now do one show a night, which has quality over quantity. Most of the audience comes from out-of-house via word of mouth. Only about 10 percent are staying at the Riviera.”

Reviewers and critics alike are unanimous with their praise: The Robb Report said, “The Crazy Girls are the best alternative to the vast array of pricey gentlemen clubs in Las Vegas and a much better value.” AOL reviewers have lauded the Crazy Girls show. David Hofstede said, "It's The Strip's most iconic girlie show with an old school Las Vegas vibe with booths and tables. A female AOL critic said, "It is definitely Las Vegas' sexiest topless revue." NBC's Channel 11 said, "Crazy Girls apparently has become such an institution in Vegas that its poster, which features the rear view of a line of scantily clad dancers, their arms around each other, is seemingly plastered on every bus and otherwise available space in the city. And not only that, but the cast has been memorialized in front of the Riviera's main entrance. A bronze statue featuring the scantily clad revue greets visitors."

Norbert added: “The Crazy Girls and the Riviera are keeping the memories of Las Vegas alive at the Riviera. When our show began in 1987 we had a predominately male audience and bachelor parties and now it’s Middle America along with people from the four corners of the world. They don't have to understand English to enjoy Crazy Girls. The show has gained wide acceptance among adults 18 and older. The strip clubs are taboo for Middle America’s couples and many people of foreign cultures.”

Aleman’s sexy provocative dream show has left a permanent imprint on the Riviera and Las Vegas history. It's the only show on The Strip to have their ADDY Award-winning ad for "Best Advertisement" made into the largest life cast bronze statue in the world called "NO, Ifs ands OR ..." It's attached to the front entrance wall of the Riviera . After 10 years it even had its own reputation: legend has it that rubbing the famous derrieres will bring you good luck! Could it be because there are seven showgirl-dancers intertwined and that's the universal number for good luck and the statue is 1,777 pounds? Is it urban legend or fact?

Share This