In one-man show, storyteller Larry King has Mirage by the tale

Joan Fuller

Larry King in suspended animation at the Encore Theater.

It’s like an encore, but not at Encore.

Larry King is bringing his throwback storytelling act back to Las Vegas, but it will not be at Steve Wynn’s Encore Theater, where King unspooled yarns aplenty during a memorable performance in June 2009.

This time the now-retired talk-show host is center stage at The Mirage’s Terry Fator Theater, fronting a one-man show set for 10 p.m. on June 11, after Fator himself packs the puppets.

King revealed plans for this show weeks ago, on Jan. 24, during an appearance on “Conan.” It was then that King talked eagerly of plans for a show at The Mirage while embroiled in a comedic back-and-forth with Conan O'Brien about Las Vegas venue sizes (this, after O’Brien coyly back-announced his own Vegas appearance at Pearl Concert Theater at the Palms).

But it was not until Tuesday that hotel officials were able to officially confirm King’s appearance. He sort of disclosed the performance long before it was on anyone’s calendar at The Mirage, but no harm has been done because King is a 50-year broadcast legend who announces shows at his leisure. Word from the hotel now is that tickets are $89.99, $79.99 and $69.99 and are currently on sale at the hotel box office.

The show will be more theatrical, with more production value, than the stripped-to-the-suspenders version at Encore. The performance is a stop on King’s “Larry King: Standing Up” tour that launches in Torrington, Conn., in April. The shows are going to be stylishly staged, but still invoke King’s penchant for telling stories about his youth and his long, distinguished broadcast career.

“That (Encore) show was very raw,” said Karl Engemann, the father of King’s wife, Shawn, and, along with Base Entertainment, the producer of King’s theater tour. “It will be a produced show. We’ll have set pieces to set the tone for what he’s talking about. If he’s talking about growing up in Brooklyn, we’ll try to use vintage photos of him sitting on the stairs at his home. It will be a tasteful, wonderful show.”

One befitting at least one King.

Follow John Katsilometes on Twitter at twitter.com/JohnnyKats.

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