hotjohn's New York round-up — Page 2

John, from your Las Vegas swimming pool what two shows would you suggest to transfer to the West End from what you saw?

Well what a wet New York that was, the weather cleared up on Wednesday. Hope you are enjoying a warmer and drier Vegas?

YANK seems like the it could work great at the Arts or maybe even the Union Theatre!

Thursday April 1st

DONNY AND MARIE - Flamingo Showroom

I had forgotten how much musical theatre experience both Donny and Marie have between them. Donny played Joseph on and off for 6 years on tour, racking up 2,000 performances, he then played Gaston in 'Beauty and the Beast' on Broadway. Marie achieved great reviews for her performances as Maria in 'The Sound of Music' and as Anna in 'The King and I'.

Their Las Vegas show reflects very well the sheer professionalism they have learnt from their Broadway experiences. The show has just the right mixture of nostalgic, campy, cheesy numbers (usually accompanied by suitable clips from their 1970's shows) and up-to-the-moment, glossy production numbers, complete with large band and a host of energetic dancers.

They covered just about every musical genre with Donny presenting a medley of his teenybopper-years hits and some rock'n'roll, Marie performed her big hit "Paper Roses", a great version of Eurythmics' "Would I Lie To You?", a Broadway medley and some opera (okay, "Pie Jesu" but it was quite operatic").

We splashed out on VIP tickets which included a meet'n'greet with Donny but really we did so to get the best seats - and, boy, did we? Right in the front, right in the centre and next to the small stage extension, we got so much attention from Donny and Marie we felt like part of the show - just as well we dressed up for the occasion. After her first solo number, Marie knelt at the edge of the stage and massaged the bald head of my partner, Kenneth, and then planted a glittery-lipstick print on his head. Later in the show she came to the edge of the stage to take advantage of one of the electric fans dotted around. She motioned to Donny to help her up but he just stood with his arms crossed, then she looked sympathetically at me so I stood up and held her hand to help her stand up, after which she then planted a sticky glittery lip-print on my forehead! Donny went to give me a kiss also but changed his mind at the last moment - damn!

After the very energetic show, during which they both displayed their dancing skills (Donny won the last series of 'Dancing With The Stars', Marie came third a few years ago) we had the meet'n'greet which seemed the least rushed that it could possibly have been. Donny was so friendly and personable, signing a photo (which was supplied), posing for a number of pictures and chatting away and answering questions without anyone hassling him to wind up - it was quite a surprise.

Here's one of the photos we got (I actually shot the 10x8 print with my iPhone).

Updated On: 4/3/10 at 02:41 AM

John, you and your partner look very flamboyant, glad you are having a good time. Matt Goss asked you for a photo, that must of 'put a cat between the pigeons'.

Take it not much going on in the theatre side? With only Phantom, Jersey Boys, The Lion King and Menopause the Musical there. I would imagine and you have seen the show that Come Fly Away would do very well there?

Is it warm?

Updated On: 4/4/10 at 06:48 AM

Sunday April 4th

VIVA ELVIS - Aria Hotel and Casino

This is the Cirque du Soleil show I've been waiting for in that it's very much like a spectacular cross between musical theatre and a rock concert and, compared to their other shows, is lighter on the acrobatics - no bad thing, in my opinion.

As with all their other Las Vegas shows the theatre has been built specially for this production enabling some magnificent stagecraft - sections of the floor open up, platforms are raised and scenery etc. appears in an instant. The stage is a proscenium set-up and very different to the usual Cirque shows which have an element of theatre in the round. Very clever use of video on moving lcd screens, projections onto various screens that appear and one amazing sequence with a wedding cake that turns into a huge dress and has video projected from inside (it's hard to describe it adequately - you'd have to see it to appreciate it).

Most of the vocals are Elvis' own but some are provided by the three female vocalists, one of whom, floating down from the rafters with her piano, was pure Lady GaGa. All the music is played live by a rock band augmented with a brass section, many times on the stage.

The dancing is fantastic (I counted at least 26 dancers in one sequence) and brings to mind the work of Twyla Tharp but on a much grander scale than possible on your typical stage.

Throughout the show I couldn't help thinking that, in this type of theatre, with all the technology and expertise to hand, Las Vegas would make a much better home for 'Spiderman - Turn Off The Dark' than any Broadway theatre.