Summer Splash : Meanwhile, in Vegas . . . : As if the Strip weren’t already a three-ring circus, a unique troupe offers a great alternative to the desert resort’s usual fare

Summer in Las Vegas not only attracts vacationers but also some of the biggest names in show business.

The usual cast of Vegas favorites--names like Wayne Newton and Steve & Eydie, Bill Cosby and living legends Frank Sinatra and George Burns--will be joined by musical acts ranging from ‘50s and ‘60s rock faves to more contemporary pop and country performers.

And if you missed Cirque du Soleil during its stop in Santa Monica--or even if you didn’t--it’s worth the drive to Las Vegas to see its unique combination of circus, street performance and theater.

The Mirage Resort has built a yellow-and-white big-top tent adjacent to the hotel to give the Montreal-based troupe a home in the United States. The 43 artists will be performing their “Nouvelle Experience” show, which toured North America in 1990-91, and which the Las Vegas Review-Journal called “the best thing to happen to Las Vegas entertainment in years.”

The Cirque plays Tuesdays to Sundays, 7:30 p.m. and 10:30 p.m., at the Mirage Resort, 3400 Las Vegas Blvd. S. The troupe is on hiatus from Tuesday to June 7.

*

Here is a list of performers heading for the desert over the next couple of months: Through Wednesday: Bill Cosby and Tony Tillman, Las Vegas Hilton Showroom. Monday-next Sunday: Comedians Dan Bradley, Robert Allen, Donald Barnhardt, Robert Rothstein, the Improv at the Riviera Hotel. Tuesday-next Sunday: The Smothers Brothers, Stars’ Desert Inn, Crystal Room. Wednesday-next Sunday: Ann-Margret with Max Alexander, Caesars Palace Circus Maximus Showroom. Friday-June 16: Wayne Newton (except Thursdays), Las Vegas Hilton Showroom. Next Sunday-June 9: Anne Murray, Bally’s Casino Resort, Celebrity Room. June 7-13: Comedians John Henton, Jerry Miner, Butch Fiscoe and Jim McDonald, the Improv at the Riviera Hotel. June 8-13: “Jesus Christ Superstar,” Aladdin Hotel Theater for the Performing Arts. June 8-13: Debbie Reynolds and Don Rickles, Stars’ Desert Inn, Crystal Room. June 10-23: The Righteous Brothers (Brad Garrett, opening artist), Bally’s Casino Resort, Celebrity Room. June 11-13: Jerry Seinfeld, Caesars Palace Circus Maximus Showroom. June 14: Oingo Boingo and X, Aladdin Hotel Theater. June 14-20: Comedians Stanley Ullman, the Fettacine Brothers, Destiny and Tony Camin, the Improv at the Riviera Hotel. June 15-20: Willie Nelson, Stars’ Desert Inn, Crystal Room. June 15-20: Reba McEntire, Caesars Palace Circus Maximus Showroom. June 18-23: Gladys Knight, Las Vegas Hilton Showroom. June 21-25: Barry Manilow, Stars’ Desert Inn, Crystal Room. June 21-27: Comedians John Mendoza and Karen Anderson, the Improv at the Riviera Hotel. June 23-July 6: David Copperfield, Caesars Palace Circus Maximus Showroom. June 24-25: The Oak Ridge Boys, Bally’s Casino Resort, Celebrity Room. June 26-30: Ventriloquist Jeff Dunham, Bally’s Casino Resort, Celebrity Room. June 29-July 4: Steve Lawrence and Eydie Gorme, Stars’ Desert Inn, Crystal Room. July 1-14: George Carlin (Dennis Blair, opening performer), Bally’s Casino Resort, Celebrity Room. July 6-11: Paul Anka, Stars’ Desert Inn, Crystal Room. July 9: “Summer in the ‘60s,” a concert by the Association, the Buckinghams, Gary Lewis & the Playboys and Gary Puckett & the Union Gap, Aladdin Hotel Theater. July 9-11: Natalie Cole, Caesars Palace Circus Maximus Showroom. July 14-18: Frank Sinatra, Stars’ Desert Inn, Crystal Room. July 15-18: Johnny Mathis, Caesars Palace Circus Maximus Showroom. July 15-21: The Four Tops, Bally’s Casino Resort, Celebrity Room. July 21-26: Julio Iglesias, Caesars Palace Circus Maximus Showroom. July 28-Aug. 1: Ann-Margret, Caesars Palace Circus Maximus Showroom. Aug. 3-8: Liza Minnelli, Stars’ Desert Inn, Crystal Room. Aug. 6-8: Sheena Easton, Caesars Palace Circus Maximus Showroom. Aug. 10-15: Smokey Robinson, Stars’ Desert Inn, Crystal Room. Aug. 12-13 and 15: George Burns and Florence Henderson, Caesars Palace Circus Maximus Showroom. Aug. 17-22: Don Rickles, Stars’ Desert Inn, Crystal Room. Aug. 19-22: Chicago, Caesars Palace Circus Maximus Showroom. Aug. 24-29: Shirley MacLaine, Stars’ Desert Inn, Crystal Room. Aug. 24-Sept. 6: David Copperfield, Caesars Palace Circus Maximus Showroom. Aug. 31-Sept. 5: Paul Anka, Stars’ Desert Inn, Crystal Room.