The boys of Jersey Boys in Las Vegas: from left: Erich Bergen, Rick Faugno, Jeremy Kushnier and Jeff Leibow in the production at the Palazzo. Photo by Joan Marcus. Since leaving my illustrious career as a newspaper theater critic/editor in March, I’ve been doing some freelancing. Now you, gentle reader, get to enjoy the fruits of my labors. In today’s...

One more Las Vegas note before moving on: I wish I had known about AccessVegas.com before my trip last week. CEO/Managing Editor Ted Newkirk has built up quite a little online Vegas empire with a newsletter (definitely worth checking out). The site has reviews, hotel deals, ticket deals and, most helpfully, a monthly schedule of what’s playing and where....

What a party! You expect big things in Las Vegas, and that’s what you get. The Palazzo put on quite a show before and after the show as Jersey Boys officially opened on May 3, becoming the first show at the Palazzo hotel, which officially opened last January. The requisite red carpet arrivals saw the surviving Four Seasons — Frankie Valli, Bob Gaudio and...

Opened May 3 at the Palazzo Las Vegas OK, so technically we’re not “live” in Las Vegas anymore (6:05 a.m. flight from LV to SFO – ouch). But given that it feels like I’m still at the opening-night party of Jersey Boys at the Venetian (next door to the Palazzo, where the show actually resides), I feel as live as is humanly...

Second night of the Theater Dogs Vegas adventure took us to Blue Man Group at the Venetian next door, and I have to say, I wasn’t overly impressed. Can a Vegas show full of so many bells and whistles really be boring? Maybe boring is too strong a word, but there are dull stretches in this nearly 100-minute show involving the three blue men of the title...

Yes, Theater Dogs is on the road. We’re in Las Vegas for the opening of Jersey Boys, one of our favorite shows. So we decided to come a few days early, drink in the wonders of the Palazzo (the hotel where JB is housed and a sister hotel to the Venetian). Gorgeous suite rooms. Ours has a view of Steve Wynn’s golf course next door (and of the Las Vegas...