Acclaimed comic, storyteller, NPR contributor and filmmaker Mike Birbiglia is known for charting his emotional growth through narratives as embarrassing as they are revealing. He’s also a Vegas virgin. Going on nothing more than the names of a few local people, places and things, here’s what he’s expecting from his first Sin City experience.
• Zarkana “I’m gonna guess … is it Siegfried and Roy’s tiger? Oh, it’s Cirque du Soleil? I’m dying to see a Cirque du Soleil! I’ve only seen it on television, and I know there’s, like, nine versions of it in Vegas. My wife makes fun of me all the time for how much I want to see it. Do they have daytime shows?”
• Gregory Popovich “I went to high school with a guy named Jim Prokopovich. But I’m guessing that there’s no relation, because that’s not how last names work.”
• The High Roller “I can only guess it’s a hotel for wealthy people who like to gamble a lot? Is that right?”
• Rose. Rabbit. Lie. “Is it the name of a restaurant that serves exotic meat?”
• Stratosphere “I feel like maybe it’s a strip club.”
• Oscar Goodman “Sounds like an entertainer who makes balloon animals or something.”
• The Double Down “How come everything sounds like a strip club? It’s probably a casino, right? It actually sounds like it could be a clever name for a bakery, with a Double Down cookie or something. A kind of double-creamed Oreo dipped in chocolate.”
• Neon Museum “That sounds like a little bit of a gimme, because I’m going to guess it’s a Neon Museum. It’s another one that falls into the category of ‘I’m glad it exists, but I don’t know if it’s going to be on schedule.’ But it’s got a great marketing plan, because it’s advertising itself as it’s advertising itself.”
• The Luxor “The Luxor I’ve heard of! The Luxor is, if I’m not mistaken, a replica of … not Venice, because that’s the Venetian, right? So the Luxor is … is it New York City in Las Vegas? It’s a replica of … Paris? I’d say it’s a replica of Luxembourg, but I don’t think anyone’s really working on that.”
• Terry Fator “Terry Fator is the namesake of the theater that I am performing in. And since we all know who he is, we just don’t even need to say what he’s known for. He is, of course, well … you know! And Mr. Fator and I have such mutual respect that we don’t try to describe each other’s professions.”
Mike Birbiglia With Henry Phillips. May 3, 8 p.m., $44. Terry Fator Theatre, Mirage, 792-7777.
