‘Thunder’ doesn’t impress Jake Pavelka, but the power of ‘Chippendales’ does

By John Katsilometes

Friday, Feb. 24, 2012 | 5:10 p.m.

Sometime you feel you know too much about a certain topic to be deemed healthy.

The dissimilar marketing and casting strategies of the two predominant male revues in Las Vegas, for instance.

“Chippendales” at the Rio, celebrating 10 years at that hotel this weekend, is prone to “stunt casting.” That is, inviting a celebrity with no discernible experience in disrobing while dancing in public to help boost the production. Jeff Timmons of 98 Degrees is the leading example, as he spent several weeks as the star host of Chipps in the spring and fall of last year.

The new star host is Jake Pavelka, once of ABC’s “Dancing With the Stars” and “The Bachelor.” He’ll be the production’s emcee through March 18, fronting the show without exposing his, uh, front.

Meanwhile, at Excalibur, the Chipps’ chief rival among Vegas male revues, “Thunder From Down Under,” never trots guest stars to its stage. That company’s line has always been: We already fill the room. Why bring in a former boy bander or a person who might be famous from network TV but who has no skills relative to the production?

Given that nationally recognizable Pavelka is center stage for the Chipps’ milestone performance, he is allowed to speak to this disconnect.

“It’s like being on ‘The Bachelor,’ which is the 800-pound gorilla of falling in love on TV, then you have ‘Sweet Home Alabama,’ which is a much smaller version of the 800-pound gorilla,” he said during a phone conversation this week.

Of the comparison between Chipps and Thunder, he says, “Chippendales is a brand that is known around the world, and they (Thunder) are not the Chippendales. It’s a brand known around the world versus a brand known in Australia and Las Vegas.”

It should be clear by now that Pavelka’s contribution to the show will be largely verbal. He is best known as the man in command during the 14th season of “The Bachelor” two years ago, proposing marriage to contestant Vienna Girardi (the couple split in June 2010). On “Dancing With the Stars,” Pavelka and partner Chelsie Hightower were the fifth contestants to be eliminated during that show’s 10th season.

Pavelka says the “Chippendales” familiar name and relatively high production value have made prepping for the show “nerve-racking.”

“I’m feeling mostly trepidation,” he said. “I’m going to come out, warm the audience up and try to be dry, sarcastic and quick-witted with the audience … whatever the audience throws at me, that’s what they’ll get back.”

Pavelka agreed that the primary objective in any “Chippendales” performance is to achieve controlled chaos.

“As host, there is only so much you can do to control your audience, but control is not what this is all about,” he said. “We want to get them to participate and be really excited. That is one of my charges -- to encourage chaos.”

At the end of the process, Pavelka says, “I want to do a great job and have people say, ‘He was great with the crowd.’ ”

Unnecessarily, he adds, “I am a people person,” even if those people happen to be from Australia.

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