Jason Alexander will say this about his experience on “Seinfeld”:
He doesn’t know what else to say.
“There’s not much more ground to cover, honestly,” says the onetime and forever George Costanza during a phone interview last week, the purpose of which is to promote The Donny Clay Experience, his one-man comedy/inspirational speaking performance, this one at MGM Grand’s Hollywood Theater.
Alexander assumes the alter ego of Clay tonight through Nov. 10, in the same venue that often hosts a different sort of professional illusionist, David Copperfield. But Clay’s act is more sleight-of-brain than sleight-of-hand. The badly toupeed character is a self-unaware Tony Robbins disciple who conveys such advice as “Discover the YOU in YOU, because only YOU can be YOU!”
Alexander most recently trotted out the bizarre, and occasionally brilliant, character at Planet Hollywood in February.
But with Alexander, the conversation must spin toward Costanza. You feel almost reluctant to ask him about George, because he has to be weary of discussing his iconic TV character.
“If anything, the enthusiasm and affection for him and for the show has grown,” Alexander says. “People ask, ‘Do you just get sick of people talking about it?’ It’s just, I have no more snappy answers. The fact that we’re still talking about it 15 years after the fact amazes me.”
Alexander has been advised by one of the actors he most admires, William “Captain Kirk” Shatner, to just ride out the adulation. It is mentioned to him that Shatner and Leonard Nimoy happily shared a stage before several thousand Trekkers at the Las Vegas Hilton’s Star Trek convention in August.
They had a blast, too.
“We could be like that, me and Jerry,” Alexander says. “Jerry came out and did a benefit for my theater company (Reprise Theater in Los Angeles) in a 2,000-seat theater. He did an hour of stand-up, and afterward we took questions for an hour. It was like Lennon & McCartney -- I’m not kidding.
“But to be getting advice from William Shatner, I am breathing rarefied air, my friend.”
More from Alexander
Alexander still says that Donny Clay is difficult to market because it is so far-flung. “It’s always evolving, and it’s a little hard to describe the show. It’s stand-up, I play a character. It’s a little like a theater piece, more so than a piece of stand-up. … (But) when we were at Planet Hollywood, the reviews we got were outstanding. The audiences had a blast. In fact, the best live performing experience I’ve ever had was in Vegas, and I’m thrilled to be coming back. … Alexander is pitching the character as the centerpiece of a TV show, a parody of “Dr. Phil,” where guests show up and encounter Donny in a largely unscripted format. “The underlying, ongoing theme is that his producers never tell him it’s a parody,” Alexander says.
Ryan’s hope
Singer-songwriter Ryan Calhoun is taking the traditional path to stardom -- Los Angeles to Singapore to Henderson.
First, know that Calhoun is one of the more promising young artists to arrive on the Las Vegas scene in quite a while, the recipient of the Los Angeles Music Award for Best Male Pop Vocal. His music has been featured on Keeping Up With the Kardashians, adding a measurable dose of art to that show, Cougar Town, So You Think You Can Dance and One Tree Hill.
One of his original songs, Who We Are, reached No. 1 on iTunes singer/songwriter charts. Another, Everything I’m Not, reached No. 3.
Calhoun begins an open-ended gig from 8:30 to 11 p.m. Saturdays at Lobby Bar at Green Valley Ranch, where Rande Gerber’s Whiskey Bar once stood.
Calhoun is rooted in the L.A. club scene that produced such breakout artists as John Mayer and Sara Bareilles. While Calhoun was onstage, a rep from a new club in Singapore caught his act and booked him as one of the first performers in a venue called Tab.
“They are trying to establish local artists and outside artists, so I played Singapore for the first time,” he said. “I enjoyed it a lot. I always enjoy seeing other parts of the world, learning from different cultures. I tend to be more open, as an artist, to new and different things.”
The 27-year-old artist says he has no overarching objective in Las Vegas other than to keep “creeping up” the ladder of stardom.
“It’s so funny, I’m in the trenches, grinding it out, and I don’t have much of a chance to step back and look at what I’ve done, or what I want to do,” he says. “I just want to have this as a career and progress and move forward. I’m never stagnant.”
Splash!
I don’t know much about training for the Summer Olympics, and I know even less about what it’s like to hang out with Tera Patrick at a club in Las Vegas, but give credit to gold medal-hoarding swimmer Michael Phelps for his training dexterity. Days after it was reported that he was focusing his energy on the 2012 Olympics in London, he was spotted Wednesday night at Moon at the Palms with Patrick. The night before, he was doing the VIP freestyle at Blush with Eddie Murphy’s ex-wife, Nicole.
Maybe it’s a new biathlon: clubbing and swimming. Take the American kid to win the gold.
Diamond setting
Maybe it's not the place for the real Neil Diamond, but don't be surprised to see a tribute production to Mr. Longfellow Serenade move into Saxe Theater at the Miracle Mile Shops at Planet Hollywood.
Ordering a shot
You know who is proud gun owner, avid recreational shooter (as in, at non-breathing targets) and new candidate for mayor? Steve Ross. Honestly. He told me this during Mayor Oscar Goodman’s trifecta of ribbon-cuttings at Maharaja Hookah Cafe, Vanguard and Azul Tequila back in September.
This is a way to note the American Heroes Challenge set for Saturday and Sunday at Clark County Shooting Park. The event draws Las Vegas area and national law enforcement officers, military personnel and first-responders in a wide-ranging firearms and tactics competition.
Several vendors will be on hand to show their wares to the gun-toting community. An activity area for children, with a bounce house, climbing wall, face painting and military vehicles -- think of them as life-size Tonkas -- will be displayed. All of this will take place far away from the shooting range, of course. Admission is free, and the event runs from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. each day.
Follow John Katsilometes on Twitter at twitter.com/JohnnyKats.
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