Afternoon shows offer audiences head start on entertainment plans

Mac King takes the stage, greets his audience with a friendly "Howdy," and kicks off one of the 10 afternoon comedy/magic shows he performs each week at Harrah's Las Vegas.

But you don't need a watch to see that King is performing in front of an afternoon crowd. Noticeably missing from his show are the dancers, sports cars, circus animals, homicidal bunnies and other by-now requisite accouterments of a big-budget, evening Las Vegas magic show.

What's also missing: an astronomical ticket price.

Audience members enjoy King's expert sleight-of-hand, corny jokes, card tricks and mystifying illusions for a maximum of $24.95, which would pretty much cover the service charge at other, higher-priced shows in town.

King, who has performed at Harrah's since January 2000, is a practitioner in a Las Vegas entertainment tradition that has, with the usual ebbs and flows, survived for decades. Currently, Las Vegas' roster of afternoon shows features everything from magic (by King, Dirk Arthur and Nathan Burton) to comedy ("Defending the Caveman") to music ("Fab Four Live," "Hitzville The Show" and "Singer Impressionist Tom Stevens") to performing animals ("Gregory Popovich: Comedy Pet Theater") and, even, a live-action game show ("The Price Is Right -- Live.")

For a casino or hotel, afternoon shows are an opportunity to attract customers during an otherwise slow time.

"If a showroom sits empty, it only makes sense to explore avenues to keep people on your property rather than explore outside your property," says John Bentham, producer of "Defending the Caveman," which has run for almost two years at Excalibur. "So if that can be achieved by adding a show or some kind of entertainment, then I think the casino will see the value."

David Saxe, who owns the V Theater at Planet Hollywood Resort and produces some of the shows there, agrees, adding that four-wall arrangements -- in which a producer leases a theater from a hotel and assumes the costs of actually producing a show -- mean accommodating an afternoon show involves "very little risk" for a casino.

On the other side of the equation, afternoon shows give value-conscious audiences the opportunity to enjoy entertainment that offers great bang-for-the-buck.

Take Janice and Daniel Stone, who last week took visiting friends Pat and Renee Claytor of Denton, Texas, to see King's show at Harrah's.

"My friends have gone and said he's wonderful," Janice says. "I like afternoon shows, and my friends were coming in from Dallas, and I thought, what better idea than to come here?"

One advantage of going to afternoon shows is that "you're not as tired," she jokes, and they're "a little more casual, too."

Bill and Terry Hartman of Cleveland learned about King's show through a special offer at Harrah's, where they stayed. Terry says the couple usually catches a show or two while in town, and have found that afternoon shows -- they also caught "The Price is Right -- Live" on this trip -- provide "a nice break."

Compared to prime-time shows, afternoon shows are "a lot more fun," Terry adds. "Evening shows are more glorified, more spectacular." The Hartmans enjoyed King's show. In fact, Bill says, "I'd just as soon see something like this than ..."

"Cher," Terry offers.

"She's a great entertainer," Bill agrees. "But this was really good. He was excellent."

A few blocks down the street, "Defending the Caveman" represents a twist on the standard afternoon show model. According to Bentham, the former Broadway hit has evolved during its Las Vegas residency from "an evening show with a few matinees" into "primarily a matinee show with a few evening shows."

While both afternoon and evening audiences expect good value for their ticket prices -- a $5 differential separates the lowest-priced ticket for afternoon and evening shows -- "in the evening, people have a different mindset," he says. "They're, 'We're going to a show,' where, in the afternoon, it's sort of a stop-off point from their regular day."

But, Bentham notes, "the show material is the same for afternoon and evenings."

While afternoon shows can span a variety of genres, in general, "you're looking for afternoon shows that are happy-go-lucky," explains Laura Ishum, director of entertainment for Harrah's. "You want (audiences) to come and you want them to leave happy. You don't want them to feel like they've been stuck inside in the afternoon."

Afternoon shows also generally are "more family-friendly" than evening shows, Saxe says, while Bentham suspects that comedy, music and magic work well in the afternoon, while "more risque comedy" may not.

But, Bentham adds, "I think, as a general rule, your afternoon crowd is just as sophisticated and eager to see good entertainment as your evening crowd."

Yet, at least in some quarters, afternoon shows may suffer simply because they aren't evening shows. For instance, Saxe says, "I can't tell you how many magicians I've talked to who want to come to Las Vegas and want a full-time evening show.

"And I'll look at the show, and it's good but it's by no means Las Vegas prime-time good. I'll recommend, 'You'll be successful in the afternoon.' They're: 'How dare you. That's an insult. I'm not an afternoon show. I'm a star.' "

King doesn't worry too much about any of that. He calls his afternoon schedule "great for me. I'm off Sunday and Monday. I get up when my daughter wakes up, or a little later. We have breakfast together and I drive her to school. And each night we have dinner together."

And, having evenings off also frees him up for corporate shows or other pursuits. Nonetheless, a reporter once told King that he's so good he should be headlining at night.

But, he says, "I make enough money. I'm happy. I have a nice life with my wife and daughter."

Still, is he ever tempted by the higher profile a nighttime showroom gig would provide?

"Sometimes, you know," King answers.

Then he laughs and adds, "at tax time."

Contact reporter John Przybys at jprzybys@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0280.