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of late. I can't guarantee that you'll be able to snag these exact discounts from the
booth, as I wasn't able to get them from an official source (that would have vio-
lated these brokers' contracts with the producers), but these were the prices being
charged at the half-price booths when I last checked—several times, actually—
and thus should serve as a good general guideline as to which shows you can get
for less (and how much less).
And now, the shows themselves, grouped as to theme or content.
DIVA LAS VEGAS
Among the most coveted shows are those of the Vegas headliners, the folks whose
likenesses loom 20 feet high over the Strip, who grin at you from the sides of
busses, and welcome your arrival at the airport's luggage carousel with a never-
ending video loop of their performances. After this constant barrage, you may feel
like you've already seen their shows, but for the most part, these performers live
up to the hype.
That's especially true for Toni Braxton 555 (in the Flamingo Showroom;
% 800/221 - 7299 or 702/733 - 3333; www.harrahs.com; $ 69- $ 109; Tues-Sat
7:30pm), who, much more than Céline Dion, has inherited the mantle of the
great chanteuses who played Vegas before her—Judy Garland, Lena Horne, Cher.
Just as compelling a stage presence, just as generous a performer, Braxton has the
voice of death—a rich, vibrant alto that can suddenly sweep up into the strato-
sphere with clear, high notes of Anita Baker-like virtuosity. In fact, she can thank
Baker's songs for her discovery: When she was a teen, a gas station attendant who
just happened to know Babyface
heard her sing and offered to get
her an introduction to this leg-
endary producer/composer. She
went before Babyface, knocked
him out with a rendition of one of
Baker's hits, and the rest is Top-40
history. You'll hear a lot about that
history, as Braxton tells her life-
story during the course of the show, from her childhood as a PK (Preacher's Kid)
to her struggles as a mother upon finding out that her second son is autistic. It's
a moving story and combined with her heartfelt ballads (Braxton is the queen of
heartbreak songs), gives the show much more emotional heft than most other
offerings in town. But it's not all sob stories and sad songs. Braxton is a real show-
woman and has assembled a crack team of back-up dancers and singers to per-
form with her or to substitute for her when she dashes off stage to change into
another, spectacular, body-hugging outfit. A show that feels like an event, I'd say
Braxton is one of the Strip's true “must sees.”
You'll hate yourself in the morning for it, but you'll probably love Anthony
Cools 555 (at Paris Las Vegas; % 702/946 - 7000; www.excalibur.com; $ 52 box
office, $ 26 discounted; Thurs-Tues 9pm; ) , my favorite of the local headliners. A
hypnotist, with the grin of Mephistopheles and the imagination of
Al Goldstein, Cools entices audience members to do the most obscene, humiliat-
ing acts in public that you've ever seen. It's intensely compelling theater, and
often outrageously funny, though part of me felt bad every time I laughed at
Las Vegas without Wayne Newton
is like Disneyland without Mickey
Mouse.
—Merv Griffin
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