Las Vegas Weekly

August 31, 2011 · 4:37 PM

Strip Scribbles: Smith Center lineup includes jazz greats, cabaret stars

By Robin Leach

The Smith Center for the Performing Arts.

Photo: Courtesy

Jazz greats and cabaret stars from across the globe will now have a home in Las Vegas when the new Cabaret Jazz venue at the under-construction Smith Center for the Performing Arts opens downtown at Symphony Park in March. President Myron Martin promises a regular schedule of top performers in an intimate club setting designed for live music.

He’s already signed Branford Marsalis and the San Francisco Jazz Collective, and his cabaret stars include Barbara Cook and Andrea Marcovicci. Additionally -- and wonderful news -- our pal and Las Vegas resident Clint Holmes is getting his own residency performing on the first weekend each month in the intimate two-level, 258-seat cabaret room.

“It allows us to bring the greatest jazz and cabaret performers in the world to Las Vegas,” Myron said. Clint, who is set to appear at the Carlyle Cafe in Manhattan later this year in a tribute to jazz great Bobby Short, also will play a key role in Smith Center’s community and education outreach programs.

“The idea of creating new shows every month in an intimate club setting couldn’t be a better fit for what I want to do as an artist,” Clint said. “This allows me to perform in New York and elsewhere while keeping a consistent schedule in my hometown.”

*Singer and actress Sierra Boggess, who opened Phantom -- the Las Vegas Spectacular at the Venetian to raves, looks headed to Broadway again this fall. After success in London’s West End, she starred in Master Class on The Great White Way. Sierra is set to headline the new musical Rebecca, which Alfred Hitchcock turned into a movie from the haunting Daphne du Maurier novel.

*If you spot an overabundance of female poker players this weekend at the Golden Nugget, don’t be surprised. It’s the four-day celebration of the 2011 Women in Poker Hall of Fame. Starting Friday, events include the Hall of Fame banquet and induction ceremony for Phyllis Caro, Kristy Gazes and Margaret Heintz and a U.S. Ladies Poker Championship. Speakers include Jeffrey Pollack, Annie Duke and Congresswoman Shelley Berkley.

Star Surveillance

Kelly Preston and daughter Ella Bleu enjoyed a shopping spree at Sugar Factory at the Paris last night and purchased loungewear, jeans, Couture Pops and a cupcake-shaped coin bank for Ella. … Reigning Ring World middleweight champion Sergio “Maravilla” Martinez wore his own blue suede shoes to watch Cirque du Soleil’s Viva Elvis at Aria last night. Also at Viva Elvis: Law and Order star and comedian Richard Belzer. … Hulk Hogan and wife Jennifer watched Cirque du Soleil’s Mystere at Treasure Island last night. The audience went wild for Hulk before curtain up, and he had to quiet down the crowd before the show could start.

Tonight’s Tips

A 12-night run of stand-up comedy starts with actor and comedian Paul Rodriguez and “The Unknown Comic” Murray Langston at the Riviera. … Ever wonder how those gorgeous models shed their clothes, yet get dressed again top to toe in cover-up body paint or intricate tattoos? Wonder no more because the Guns & Brushes party is set for Mario Barth’s King Ink at the Mirage.

Tomorrow’s Teases

Congratulations to PBR Rock Bar & Grill, which celebrates its first anniversary of dining and bullriding at Planet Hollywood. Plus, amazing photo galleries of attractions in San Diego County that lure our Las Vegas VIPs away from the scorching heat of August.

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.

Follow Robin Leach on Twitter at Twitter.com/Robin_Leach.

Follow Vegas DeLuxe on Twitter at Twitter.com/vegasdeluxe.

Follow VDLX Editor Don Chareunsy on Twitter at Twitter.com/VDLXEditorDon.

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