By Carol Davis
LAS VEGAS, Nevada—-I had the good fortune to make my last trip of this past year to Las Vegas to visit dear friends. That said I never pass up an opportunity to see as many shows as possible that I can squeeze in-between my compulsive gambling spirit. It’s all about winning the money back that I left there the time before. I’m hoping that if I keep playing the same machines at the same casinos it will happen…I know, the definition of insanity.
I did manage to see two shows: Menopause the Musical and Sinatra Dance With Me . I had seen Menopause the Musical written by Jeanie Linders (lyrics and book over ten years ago), many moons past in Los Angeles with several of my girlfriends when most, if not all of us were going through or had already gone through menopause and it was quite relevant as well as funny.
It really doesn’t have to be relevant though to be funny. At least the concept of watching other women singing about hot flashes, night sweats, and just celebrating and experiencing ‘going through the change’ is a step in a positive direction especially since it’s been kept under wraps for so long.
The show, now at the Luxor’s Atrium Showroom in Las Vegas, is a 90 minute faster than the speed of sound production that parodies songs from the 60’s 70’s and 80’s.The whole thing takes place when four women meet up in a Bloomingdale Department store at a lingerie sale. All are either in the middle of or entering the ‘m’ word phase of their lives: Menopause.
The four member cast sing, dance (sort of) and wing their way through familiar tunes: “I Heard it Through The Grapevine”, “ “A Sign Of The Time”, “Heat Wave”, “Wishin’ And Hopin’”, “Great Pretender”, “Puff The Magic Dragon”, “Looking For love In All the Wrong Places” and “Good Vibrations” just to name a few. The lyrics are clever and Linders was definitely on to something when she penned the show.
Golden Girl Susan Anton came in to join the cast through the 22nd of this month. She plays the ageing soap star. I hope she had fun with the show even though she looked and it felt that she was out of sync with the rest of the cast. Rounding out the cast is Lisa Mack, the professional woman, Laura Lee O’Connell as Mother Earth (very funny and accurate) and Annette Houlihan Verdolino as the Iowa Housewife.
All four are fine talents, but the overall production looked worn, tired and seemed to be missing heart. The show is a fun show and I’ll just attribute my experience as an off night at the theatre.
For more information visit http://www.luxor.com/
On the same Vegas get-a-way I had the privilege to see “Sinatra Dance With Me the new Twyla Tharp musical and dance tribute to the ‘Chairman of the Board’ who did it his way and did it very well, thank you. Tharp conceived, choreographed and directed this well-oiled machine now playing at the Wynn in the Encore Theatre. The show opened on December 11th celebrating and honoring Frank’s 95th birthday, which just happens to be on the 12th.
Tharp’s show opened on Broadway at the Marquis Theatre in 2009-10. The tribute to Sinatra opened as Come Fly With Me. What audiences in Las Vegas are privy to see is a shortened version, (rather than two acts) a one-act 80-minute extravaganza that razzle-dazzles the senses.
It would be hard for me to imagine anyone seeing the show not to have loved Sinatra, seen Sinatra, heard Sinatra over the years or in some cases worshiped the man. He is after all an icon. So that when 25 or so of his most popular and recognizable tunes are being piped through Peter McBoyle’s sound design and Don Sebesky and David Pierce’s additional orchestrations and arrangements with a 17 piece orchestra under the direction of musical director Dave Loeb come across into the auditorium, it’s like being in Frank Sinatra heaven.
The frosting on the proverbial cake however, are Tharp’s dancers and her exciting choreography. Four couples, (along with an ensemble) with immense physicality and athletic prowess dance to the script of Sinatra’s tunes falling in and out of love, telling their stories through dance.
Each of the four characters is a distinct personality and over the course of the evening, we grow to know, cheer them on and like them a lot. Several in the show are straight from the New York production. The Broadway version, Come Fly With Me will be coming to San Diego as part of the Broadway/San Diego lineup in November 2011.
Because the overall show is so physical, there are alternating casts. The night I saw the show, there were several alternates, Marielys Molina as Kate (is an absolutely stunning performer), Carolyn Doherty as Babe (part of the Broadway production) and Meredith Miles as Slim. It mattered not, since I couldn’t see any room for improvement in any of the outstanding troupe of dancers.
I must confess though Charlie Neshyba-Hodges and Amanda Edge the opening act couple who stumble on to the stage and fall in and out of love throughout are a rare treat to watch. (“Stardust” and “Let’s Fall In Love”, “Pick Yourself Up”, “The Way You Look Tonight”/”My Funny Valentine”)
The show is set in a nightclub (James Youmans). Chairs and tables act as minor props for some of the dances. The orchestra is clearly seen on stage in the back of the ‘club’ as the dancers evolve on to the stage dressed in Katherine Roth’s appropriate costumes. Donald Holder’s lighting design gives the show the extra-added glitter. That and “old Blue Eyes” crooning for a straight 80 minutes adds up to an ultimate Sinatra evening.
Just as a side note, the audience collectively rose to a standing ovation at show’s end. No question, it was nothing less than “Witchcraft” for me; I was so taken with the show.
For more information visit www.wynnlasvegas.com.
See you at the theatre.
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Davis is a San Diego-based theatre critic