Las Vegas Weekly

November 13, 2009 · 10:47 AM

Uncovering the truth behind the swirling Peepshow rumors

By Robin Leach

Cheaza, Aubrey O'Day, Holly Madison and Sabrina Sloan in Peepshow at Planet Hollywood.

Photo: Ethan Miller/Getty Images

Time to put a few rumors to rest. Time to clear up the confusion. Time to unravel fact from fiction. Let’s start by making it plain and simple: Peepshow starring Holly Madison at Planet Hollywood is not closing!

Rumors have been ramping up all week to the point where they simply can’t be ignored anymore. I’d turned my back at the beginning of the week, knowing they were ridiculous, but since then, they’ve been escalating, so they must be addressed. Even rival reporters were beginning to put together death-knell stories.

Let’s unravel the fiction from the facts:

When Danity Kane singer Aubrey O’Day leaves the show in mid-December, it is simply because her original 90-day, guest-starring contract has run its course. Nothing Machiavellian there since that’s how it was planned from the day she signed on in early summer -- and it was the same for previous Peep Diva headliners Mel B and Shoshana Bean.

Photo: Tom Donoghue/www.donoghuephotography.com

Peepshow stars Holly Madison and Aubrey O'Day at Planet Hollywood.

Blonde-haired beauty Holly is not storming out of the burlesque cabaret show because of her new E! Entertainment reality series Planet Holly that likely will become the lead-in to her previous E! show The Girls Next Door. Holly is staying with Peepshow through 2010 per terms of the extended contract she signed.

Creator, director and choreographer Jerry Mitchell’s sexy, sassy, scintillating show is not shutting its doors. It may give its cast members a vacation break, as do all shows on the Strip -- including Cirque du Soleil -- during the holiday season.

Rumors of sluggish ticket sales also are ill founded. Yes, the brutal global economic downturn has led to mid-week convention drop-offs here, which hasn’t helped the box office of shows in town. But at Peepshow, they are happily reporting full houses during the weekends.

The rumors grew because of a perfect storm of Aubrey’s exit, Holly’s new TV filming and the scary economy. So I went to producer Scott Zeiger, head of BASE Entertainment -- BASE produces Peepshow -- for the definitive word:

Photo: Ethan Miller/Getty Images

Peepshow creator, director and choreographer Jerry Mitchell onstage with Kelly Monaco, Marielys Molina, Josh Strickland and Mel B.

“Aubrey’s three-month contract ends in December as planned long ago. We’ve loved having her and the unexpected luxury of two stars in Peepshow. The show is an important part of BASE Entertainment, and while we’re considering making some minor production changes, similar to what many new shows do in their first year, the show will remain the fabulous, high-energy romp that has made it so successful. You can definitely expect to see a lot of Holly Madison and the Peepshow Girls in the New Year.”

Hopefully that puts all the rumors to rest!

Robin Leach has been a journalist for more than 50 years and has spent the past decade giving readers the inside scoop on Las Vegas, the world’s premier platinum playground.

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— From Vegas Deluxe

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