After a few crazy days of at the Vegas Internet Mafia Family Picnic, I was looking forward to decompressing & relaxing on an NFL Sunday. I was happy, happy, happy leaving the Mandalay Bay Sports Book being that my Buffalo Bills pulled out a win against the Dolphins and I won a little money on the games. I decided to hit a buffet for lunch, see a show, and have a late dinner.
My first stop was at Tix 4 Tonight to pick a show. Initially, I planned to go to a burlesque show being that my wife isn’t interested in those types of shows at all and I was flying solo but I made the smart and reasonable decision to enjoy an earlier show so I could get an adequate amount of rest for my early flight.
I was feeling particularly Vegasy so I chose Vegas, The Show for a $50 general admission ticket. The show is billed as the only Vegas show in Vegas about Vegas so naturally I was interested.
The show is in the Saxe Theatre in Planet Hollywood’s Miracle Mile. The small theatre is a quaint place to watch a show with all good seats. The only thing I didn’t like about the general admission seating was that you needed to wait in a long and unnecessary line before the show as the seats in the GA section were first-come, first-serve. It makes no sense for them not to make everything reserved seating to avoid this inconvenience.
Once I sat down in my comfortable seat, I was ready to be entertained. The show’s opening was a bit weak featuring an old man named Ernie working the neon graveyard telling the audience he would take them on a journey through Vegas history.
Eric Jordan Young played Ernie as well as Sammy Davis Jr. and Sonny Bono (hilarious!) . Young is a talented performer as is the rest of the cast that deliver some quality but, at times, uninspired renditions of class Vegas songs. The cast doesn’t try to do impersonations but rather characterization of Vegas icons such as Wayne Newton, Elvis, the Rat Pack, Betty Hutton and Tina Turner. I appreciated that the cast didn’t do crappy impersonations but rather let their voices carry the show.
The highlights include a great version of Sinatra’s Luck be a Lady which featured a gorgeous red head that was worth the price of admission. In fact, all the dancers were incredibly attractive and talented. Tamara, a hula hoop artist, opened the show with a very entertaining number, followed by a mediocre Wayne Newton scene that lacked any form of authenticity. The actor playing Newton had a great voice but failed to capture Newton’s class. The same actor performed a few Elvis songs which left a lot to be desired. He made up for it with his final set as Elton John singing Rocket Man as a slide show of Vegas throughout the years including vintage footage of classic casinos such as the Dessert Inn and Sands. The video showed implosions and construction over the years which did a nice job of capturing the evolution of Vegas. Unfortunately, the show didn’t do as well in truly capturing Vegas.
While the Rat Pack, Tina Turner and Sonny and Cher provided some very entertaining moments, many of the performances weren’t quite as authentic. The transitions were clunky and uneven.
Overall, the show was a good value and I would recommend it for the price but other shows are flat out better. The narrative of the show was uneven and the feel was a bit flat. However, this is coming from someone that is very familiar with Vegas history. In many ways, it was like watching a movie after having read the book and feeling like a lot was missing. Most notably, no Liberace? The show could be great but as of right now, it’s a solid B-
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