VEGAS! The Show

They built this city on rhythm and “Rat Pack”, and the once desert watering hole is claiming it back. With the renaissance of Vegas' tried and tested variety formula; a number of visionary production veterans have been quick to plug the hole of demand. Devising ostentatious and dynamic revues, the creative cunning of said producers seems to lend itself to a “bigger, better” mentality – they've got to outdo the sparkle and spectacle, of the shows that shaped Sin City the first time around.

“Vegas: The Show” (at the Saxe Theater, Planet Hollywood) is stepping into the breach with a no-fluff, humbly entitled revue that promises to serve up exactly what it says on the label – albeit with the superior dash of raw talent and glamor. Rather than the syrupy spoon-feeding of comedy, interspersed with a couple of writhe-and-grind numbers, “Vegas: The Show” promises a celebratory show, that refuses to skimp on the number of tributes from the “golden era”. Here, the “Rat Pack”, Elvis and Liberace are given as equal an airing, as Tom Jones, “Folies Bergére” and Don Arden's “Jubilee”.

It's a refreshing take on rejuvenating the “underscore of Vegas” and “telling the story of the most influential entertainers” whom have contributed to the benchmark for brilliance. “Vegas: The Show” is the brainchild of David Saxe – the youngest, most prolific Las Vegas show producer in history. Born into a family of entertainers; Saxe gained inspiration from an early age. His mother Bonnie Saxe was a former dancer within the Las Vegas “Folies Bergére” troupe, as well as the woman who gave Gordie Brown his first stab at success on the Strip. David's father was an out-and-out big band leader during Vegas' “golden years” for a crock of prolific acts – including the “Rat Pack”.

A surprising “In Memoriam” montage of neon signs lights up the stage for the show's introduction – instantly recognizable as the landmark names of a bygone era. You may be too young to remember Wayne McAllister's “Sand's Hotel”, or Sassy Sally's Casino that once defined the “Fremont Street Experience” - but you'll no doubt be familiar with the legends who frequented them. The “one man force of nature” comedian Eric Jordan Young fills the boots of affable theater janitor “Eric”, whose job it would seem is to ramp up the show's pace with impromptu nostalgic vignettes. Turns out he plays a pivotal part within “Vegas: The Show”, as he also accommodates the role of Sammy Davis Junior, for Jerry Lopez's big band led “The Candy Man”. As vocal imitations go, Young seems to be a natural and even sweetens it up with a little self-deprecating humor – for which Davis was renowned.

“Vegas: The Show” quickly ascends the mountain of raw Vegas entertainment with a tuxedo clad tap-dancing spectacle, courtesy of Colburn School trained identical twins Sean and John Scott. The scene is reminiscent of the tap-piano duo “Buck and Bubbles” who wowed audiences with their vaudeville show at the Carver Club (1961). Next up, Reeva Rice raises the bar with a voluminous hair and vocal tribute to Gladys Knight, segueing into Tina Turner before you've even realized the quickest ever costume maneuver, has occurred before your very eyes. “Vegas: The Show” works very loosely around a historic time-line when it comes to music, commencing with vintage vignettes celebrating the “Rat Pack”, and gathering pace as the 60's explode onto the stage in a spectral collage of brightly colored wigs and polka-dot dresses.

A deserving swerve from the high-octane numbers comes in the form of Joseph Gabriel – a magician with a time-honored presence in Vegas, and a household name ever since his 1983 debut on “The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson”. Sleight of hand may not conjure as much enthusiasm as it once did in the “Glitter Gulch”, yet Gabriel's hypnotic illusions still prompt many a “how did he do that” from his audiences. It's usually at the point he transforms a striped handkerchief into a Macaw, and frees it for a duty-bound circuit of flight above the audience – before calling it back, like you'd holler for a pet dog! With musical interludes from Sonny and Cher, Elton John and a mannequin skit of Liberace, “Vegas: The Show” never once lets it's audience get carried away with the plumage and pliés of showgirl dancing – there's too much going on in-between for that!