Bill
Acosta, the ultimate entertainer and just plain nice guy, along with his buddy
Vincent Falcone (conducting a fantastic seven piece band) and tap dancer
extraordinaire Jay Fagan entertained a SRO crowd the other night in the
showroom at the Suncoast Hotel & Casino. It was, without question, one of
the best single performances (ranking at least among the top three this year)
this reporter has seen in a hotel this year.
Acosta
doing himself is a real honest to God treat in that the man, who has been
billed as "The Man of 1001 Voices," usually does a show composed of impressions
of other entertainers. Don't get me wrong, he still does some of those "1001"
voices during his new show. But now days he is including more of Bill Acosta
singing Bill Acosta. And if the last time you saw him perform was at the Luxor
(where he held forth for a few years) or at the Flamingo (where he starred in
his own full production show) then you must make a point to see him again when
he returns to the Suncoast or any Las Vegas stage.
In
this particular version Acosta revamped one of his standards (what he refers to
as "chasing voices" in the famous "12 Days of Giving" with some new voices and
gifts and it scored big with the audience. Another new addition is what he
called his Computer Age, chasing with such voices as Humphrey Bogart, George
Burns, etc. It is a funny set!
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But
what we had went to hear and enjoy (there was so much great stuff during the 90
minute performance) was Bill singing himself, as when he sang, "I am a Singer."
It was beautiful gang! His tribute to Sammy Davis, Jr, was as usual a
highlight. Then it was Jay Fagan's spotlight. The fabulous tap dancing star
really got to stretch his legs during this stint and did a marvelous tap
dancing routine. It was now time
for his New York melody (as done in his own voice) followed by an absolutely
beautiful "Send in the Clowns." Of course he closed his show with my favorite:
a tribute to The Man, Frank Sinatra. A perfect ending to a perfect
evening.
Just
a note as I finished writing this particular column. It was Wednesday,
September 11th and I had set my alarm for 5 a.m., so that I could
watch television coverage of the remembrances from New York, Washington D.C.,
and Shanksville, Pa. It was a beautiful morning in Las Vegas and I thought the
ceremonies were very well done and the anchors did a very thoughtful job of
covering the events. It was not a job they welcomed, but a job that had to be
done.
And,
finally, by the time you're reading this I will be on the Carnival cruise ship
"Spirit" heading up the inward passage towards Alaska with my family in tow.
This will mark my first visit to what I have been told is absolutely a
breathtaking vista. I plan on filing my next column from the ship and when I
get back I'll write about my coverage of the Rick Thomas' magic show at the
Tropicana and "The Spirit of the Dance" at the Golden Nugget. Both shows,
however, I must tell you, are tops in presentation and you'll not be disappointed
if you take an hour (for Rick) and a little longer for "Spirit" to see either
show.
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