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| August 22, 2008 | NEWEST - PRIOR WEEK - ARCHIVES |
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| "It's The Norm" - Las Vegas Entertainment Events | |
STEVE LAWRENCE AT THE ORLEANS
Went to The Orleans last Friday to watch one of the best in the business of showbiz perform as a solo act, Steve Lawrence. And, he did not disappoint a single person in the SRO audience, and the opening number set the tone for the rest of the evening, "I Gotta Be Me." The show started right on time with a 20 minute film showing some clips of Lawrence's lifetime in the business of singing - beginning with his first appearance on the Arthur Godfrey television show at the age of 16. This film, alone, is worth the price of a ticket. Lawrence was working solo for the first time in many a year (can't remember ever seeing him solo) because his partner and wife, Eydie Gorme, was still laid up following knee surgery. But, no sweat, Steve was up to this very rare task!
One thing is for sure, you'll hear the best musicians on any stage when Steve is appearing anywhere. That's because his conductor, Vince Falcone, hand picks the 22 musicians that'll work with Lawrence's regulars: Bobby Hamilton on trumpet, Chuck Christiansen on drums, Jack Hegyi on bass, and the guitar of Al Caiola, for a total of 27 men and women. Steve sings a galaxy of songs ranging from "Room Without Windows," "Portrait of My Love," "These Foolish Things" and "More." His tribute to Francis Albert Sinatra is, without question, a huge highlight (the two men were great buddies), with such classics as "I've Got You Under My Skin," "Where or When," and "Come Rain or Come Shine," "Fly Me to the Moon" and "All the Way." Another personal highlight (to be honest with you, anything Steve or Eydie sings is a highlight) was and always is the Great American Songbook hits, including a very wonderful Gershwin medley, which included "I've Got Rhythm," "A Foggy Day" and "Porgy and Bess." The closing song has to be,and always is, "New York, New York." |
It's so neat to see and hear a 27-piece orchestra. There's nothing like it. I can remember those days, in our little village, when that was normal for all the showrooms. Sinatra used to use that many in the string section alone when he was here. Those were the days my friends, those were the days! And, Steve and Eydie, are definitely the exception to the rules of today. Thank God! A family thing is definitely going on at the Las Vegas Hilton. I will give a complete review on "Laugh Out Loud" with The Scintas next week. Just suffice to say, they have their act together now and it is tight. The comedy is crisp, the music is tops and the voices are wonderful. It's a great 75 minutes of entertainment. Another act we caught this week, and want to devote some space to next week, Well, gang, that's about it for another week. I'm outa here!
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It involves the Shimmer Cabaret and a family named The Scintas: Joe, Frank, Chrissi and Peter O'Donnell (he's the adopted one with the bald head). This writer stopped by the other evening to see what has happened with them since they returned to the Hilton about a year ago (we did a favorable review at that time, also). We did a big story about 12 years ago on The Scintas for Style Magazine. At the time they were in the same room, but it was named differently. Anyhow, to make a long story short, they went from the Hilton to the Rio Hotel / Casino where they starred for, I believe, about four years. The family took some time off, traveled a wee bit to various venues in the east and ended up for a year at the Sahara Hotel / Casino. Now they are back where it all began and it's where they are truly at home.
is Larry G. Jones, an impressionist, at the Royal Hotel on Convention Center Drive. It's not a huge showroom, gang, but it is a great show. More next week. We will also review the Motown Revue "Hitzville," now at the Harmon Theater (inside Krave) on the edge of Planet Hollywood.