“The Hook” recently marked its first anniversary as Atlantic City’s first and only Vegas-style production.
Proving once again that time does indeed fly at supersonic speed, the creative and somewhat twisted folks at Las Vegas-based Spiegelword recently hosted a private soiree at Caesars Atlantic City.
The bash included a pre-show dinner at Superfrico, Spiegelword’s “psychedelic-Italian” restaurant, and a performance of “The Hook,” which recently marked its first birthday. The show remains Aycee’s first and only Vegas-style, full-time resident production, with a custom-built venue that houses Superfrico and is also known as The Hook.
The Spiegelword celebration also offered this observer another look at a production that proved as raucous and entertaining as it did the first time.
If you haven’t yet seen “The Hook,” the show is an adults-only affair that melds coarse, un-PC humor with turns by a roster of you-gotta-see-’em-to-believe-’em specialty acts. Think Borgata’s “The Burlesque Show” with contortionists, aerialists and jugglers as the featured acts instead of women stripping down to G-strings and pasties, although there is plenty of male and female flesh on display.
The show’s pretext is presented with spectacular staging; I can’t say more without spoiling the effect for those who have yet to see the show. From there, we meet the presentation’s two comedy stars, Phil Nichols and Scout Durwood.
Nichols is an old-fashioned, foul-mouthed jokester whose material is much like that of Chris Morris in “The Burlesque Show”: juvenile and unsophisticated, but consistently funny, at least for those who don’t mind four-letter words and what used to be called dirty jokes.
Durwood’s equally rib-tickling schtick is steeped in her feminist-lesbian point of view and keeps “The Hook” from being a mere throwback.
The pair’s antics are interspersed with segments featuring a variety of Cirque-style performances, all of them top-notch. Among them is a high-energy magician, Tan BA, whose stock in trade is the swallowing of objects not meant to be ingested. He does a razor blade bit that is a variation on the needle-swallowing sequence performed by Teller (of Penn & Teller) for some 50 years.
Although not for the overly squeamish, contortionist Nikita Gergert, who apparently has steel coils instead of bones, is absolutely riveting as he bends his body into ostensibly impossible positions.
The team of Nate Armour and Kellin Quinn Hentoff-Killian deliver the single greatest juggling routine I have seen in more than 40 years of attending gaming hall shows, including more jugglers than I could possibly remember. The two performers strip down to their skivvies, then re-dress while keeping three clubs airborne.
It’s a wonderful piece of stagecraft and an astonishing display of precision teamwork and concentration.
The show’s venue is an very intimate space with a horseshoe stage that is, at best, just 40 or 50 feet from the farthest seat. That means The Hook has a total absence of “bad seats.” And audio problems during a performance of the production last July seem to have been rectified.
“The Hook” is a knee-slappin’, eye-poppin’ extravaganza that shouldn’t be missed. For tickets, go to ticketmaster.com.
Fieri ‘Chickens’ out
Speaking of goings-on at AyCee’s oldest legal gambling den, the newest munchies stop has been hatched at Resorts Casino-Hotel. That would be Chicken Guy! – from “Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives” overlord Guy Fieri and serial restaurateur Robert Earl of Planet Hollywood, the Earl of Sandwich and others.
Located at North Carolina Avenue and the Boardwalk, Chicken Guy! opened last week and specializes in – wait for it – chicken offerings in a fast-food format. The bill of fare features what are dubbed Big Bite Chicken Sandwiches and includes such fowl dishes (sorry, I couldn’t resist) as the Bourbon Brown Sugar BBQ, the Hot Honey and the Buffalo Mac ‘N’ Cheese.
Also on the menu are fresh chicken tenders slathered with house-made sauces such as garlic parmesan and chipotle flavored. They are prepared in fresh lemon juice, pickle brine and buttermilk, and infused with herbs. Dessert options include the Flavortown Shake in various flavors and there is a full-service bar with specialty cocktails.
“We’re ecstatic about the opening of Chicken Guy! at Resorts,” said Resorts’ CEO and president, Mark Giannantonio. “These restaurants are known for their fantastic chicken and exceptional guest service. Chicken Guy! is a fantastic addition to our boardwalk front.”
Ocean tests its ‘Medal’
Also making waves is Ocean’s new Medal Bar, a “pop-up” concept inspired by the upcoming summer Olympics in Paris. Located inside 1927 Lounge on the casino floor and opposite Nola’s, the spot was officially christened last weekend by Dominique Dawes, the only American gymnast to win medals in three separate Olympic games.
Medal Bar is billed as a “summer games experience” with “an international flair (and) Americana spirit and a nod to the (Olympics’) host city.” Not surprisingly, its TVs will be tuned to the games. While the worldwide competition runs from Friday, July 26, through Sunday, Aug. 11, Medal Bar will be open through Sunday, Sept. 1, from 5 p.m. to midnight Thursday, Friday and Sunday and 3 p.m. to 1 a.m. Saturday.
Buddy system at Harrah’s
Also open now is Buddy’s Boardwalk Empire, a new food outlet at Harrah’s Resort from TV “Cake Boss” Buddy Valastro. The casino, of course, isn’t on the Boardwalk, but why nitpick?
Located in the bayside pleasure dome’s grand lobby, Buddy’s is a casual-dining operation whose bill of fare includes Jersey-style sandwiches, pizza and pasta. Desserts include cannoli and Valastro’s signature Lobster Tail pastries from Carlo’s Bake Shop, the chain upon which Valastro built his culinary kingdom.
For more informaton, go to caesars.com/harrahs-ac.com.
