V Is for Variety
at the Planet Hollywood Resort
Las Vegas—Not every rewarding entertainment experience in Las Vegas tries to blow away audiences with a massive cast, dazzling special effects, and topless dancers. Consider “V Is for Variety” at the V Theatre inside the Miracle Mile Shops at Planet Hollywood Resort.
The variety show is housed in a small theater, part of a complex of miniature theaters on the Strip. The performing space is intimate but sufficient to accommodate some terrific specialty acts. The lineup of performers tends to rotate but patrons can expect to see terrific acrobatic performances, maybe a juggler and a magician, aerialists, and some comedy.
The production is advertised as a family show, which is true as far as the variety acts are concerned. The masters of ceremonies at my performances were a pair of comedians from Argentina called the Crazy Gauchos who tossed in some gay humor that wasn’t exactly X rated but seemed unnecessary for a family oriented evening.
Questionable comedy aside, the show is awash in high-grade talent. There is a superb Ukrainian rhythmic gymnast named Tamara Yeroffyeva. A duo called the Aerial Expressions (actually Chris Santistevan and John Hams) do their act inches above the audience, where a slip would be disastrous for the performers and any spectators beneath them.
Russ Merlin presides over one of the guilty pleasures in a variety show, an act that humiliates people taken from the audience. The gimmick is that the “volunteers” sit on chairs on stage wearing stupid rubber masks and put through some pretty crass humor. But credit Merlin with orchestrating the action so deftly viewers have to laugh in spite of themselves.
The mind-boggling act of the event was the roller staking team of Iouri and Nikoli. The young couple operates in a circular area about the size of a large manhole cover. As they spin around at warp speed as Nikoli variously grasps his partner’s ankles and arms and hands. Any glitch in their teamwork would send the young lady soaring off the stage like a Frisbee. The audience’s proximity to the performers intensifies the thrills of the act. Stunning stuff.
The questionable but not really offensive humor aside, this is a fine show for parents and offspring at the adolescent level. Call 866 932 1818.
This show gets rating of 3 stars
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