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NO WAGER NECESSARY TO ENJOY LAS VEGAS By Sashya Waterman  The next time you’re in LAS VEGAS, NEVADA, USA, definitely check out one of the wonderful live performances the city has to offer. Support the arts and enjoy the inspiration of live theater. On a recent trip to Las Vegas I enjoyed dynamic acts, DANNY GANS at the MIRAGE, EFX ALIVE starring RICK SPRINGFIELD at the MGM GRAND and CIRQUE DU SOLEIL’S MYSTERE at TREASURE ISLAND. Yes, the ladies still love the early eighties’ "Dr. Noah Drake" of GENERAL HOSPITAL aka Rick Springfield, and at 52 he still looks like that fresh faced young man that wished that he had "Jesse’s Girl". The multi-platinum, multi-talented Springfield can be seen regularly in performances of EFX ALIVE. There are more than a few fabulous things about this flashy show that boasts a cast of 50. Best of all in the ensemble is Springfield’s sidekick, who reminds us to view the show with all of the capriciousness of placing that $500 bet on black. The music, lights and special effects included a 3-D journey back in time, a dragon fight and circus-like human spinning balls that twirled and whirled all over the EFX theater. If not yet impressed, Springfield even does some magic tricks…singing, acting, dancing and magic, wow! Except for a few insignificant curse words the entire family will  enjoy EFX ALIVE starring Rick Springfield.Everything you’ve heard about DANNY GANS celebrity impersonations extravaganza at the Mirage in Las Vegas is true. He's the "Entertainer of the year" in Las Vegas, and his award winning "Show of the Year" is the hottest ticket in town. He's being called the best singer-comedian-impressionist-actor in the business today, by entertainment critics and his peers. Danny Gans brings back to life such legendary performers as GEORGE BURNS and ELVIS PRESLEY. Gans’ knack for timing, hilarious song parodies and ability to get the audience participating made my cheeks hurt from laughing and smiling for the entire length of the show. After 15 years on the road and spending most of that time away from his family, Gans was finally able to settle down in Las Vegas. In Las Vegas he continues to bring in record-breaking audiences and consistently sells out the 1265 seat DANNY GANS THEATER. This keeps him humble when he breaks away from the fun and games to remind his audience what he’s all about…family.  While Gans celebrates laughter and family CIRQUE DU SOLEIL’S MYSTERE celebrates life as only the French-Canadians can. Since 1993 Mystere has been dazzling audiences and has received countless awards and accolades. Part circus and part allegory MYSTERE takes audiences on a variety of colorful adventures seen through the eyes of two babies. What these babies witness will delight and awe audiences of all ages. From huge balloon monsters to Chinese acrobats and from trapeze artists to rythmic gymnastics Mystere is a feast for the senses. This show really has it all including an indifferent ringmaster (BRIAN LE PETIT) that keeps the audience in stitches with his non-chalant participation in the children’s voyage into Mystere. Support the arts and use your money wisely – see a show in Vegas! NATPE IN LAS VEGAS January 21-24, 2002 By Sashya Waterman 1.30.2002 From the results of the attendance at this year’s NATPE, 2002 marks the beginning of the end for the NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF TELEVISION PRODUCTION EXECUTIVES. Even though the convention expanded from an exclusive appearance at the LAS VEGAS CONVENTION CENTER to the VENETIAN on the Las Vegas strip, it wasn’t so much an expansion but an exclusion, an attempt to make the conference even more elitist than before. The big guys moved to the Venetian to establish more control over the "members" that could happen upon their booth just in time to enjoy all the excellent swagg (food, booze, giveaways, etc…). Rather than stand for "stuff we are gonna get", s.w.a.g.g. now stands for "stuff we aren’t gonna get". The occupants at the Venetian went so far as to have security guards patrolling the halls to limit access to press and paying attendees. That’s right, no more food, access or celebrities. Apparently, the big studios don’t need to wine and dine their affiliates or NATPE members to sell their programming. It’s much easier than that now that the FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION has allowed greater ownership of affiliate stations by the studios. These same studios then have less need to "sell" to tv stations, since they own them. For example, WB affiliates will only show WB programs, Paramount affiliates will only show Paramount productions and so on and so forth. The end result will ultimately mean less choice for the viewer. Only time will tell how independent television stations will fare in the demise of NATPE. This year the programmers didn’t invite their celebrities to promote the shows for sale. For example, JAMES VAN PRAGUE has a new show for FOX and didn’t bother to speak with the press. Oh well, good luck James, and good luck to independent television operators, and good luck NATPE 2003 in New Orleans!
ELLEN and GARTH AGAIN and AGAIN… 11/16/01 ELLEN DEGENERES is riding high. Fresh off her performance on the on again off again EMMY’S where she received rave reviews, CBS has agreed to pick up the full 22 episodes of THE ELLEN SHOW. That will give the mediocre comedy some time to develop, and any show with 8-time EMMY winner CLORIS LEACHMAN has a chance. ELLEN has been asked to host SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE’S December 15th Christmas show. That ought to be worth watching…GARTH BROOKS has taken a page from BARBRA STREISAND’S book. He played to a packed house at the Forum in Inglewood, California, in a concert that was broadcast on CBS as one of a triplet of BROOK’S shows to pump up sweeps. The concert coincides with a new release "SCARECROW" and comes after pronouncements from GARTH that he was retiring. He reiterated that theme Wednesday, as it apparently is a sure-fire winner. It sure works for BABS. Until we meet again, GARTH… NOW YOU SEE HIM… 11/15/01 Did anyone see the MICHAEL JACKSON concert on CBS Tuesday? It kicked off the networks newly found interest in "live" concert events during November sweeps. GARTH BROOKS and JENNIFER LOPEZ are to follow. The ploy apparently worked for CBS as they enjoyed the best Tuesday night they’ve had since WALTER CRONKITE called it home. But who the heck is edited this concert footage. It is wonderful to have 40 cameras, stationed at every nook and cranny in Madison Square Garden, but for me, I’d rather they just had 2. I mean, in a "live" concert, I want to see the singer sing. In the 2-hour show, it seemed no camera position held longer than 2 seconds. I needed a Dramamine to get through it. And even with all the angles, not one ever seemed to get closer to MICHAEL JACKSON than PAULA ZAHN was to ground zero in that live coverage. What’s up with that? I know MICHAEL likes to be aloof. With that horror of a nose, who wouldn’t. But you’re on stage supposedly singing, how do you get away without a close-up of your face. That’s just baffling! The few times MICHAEL’S face was visible, he was covering it with a cupped hand, like he was making bird calls or losing his lunch. Weird, really weird. We saw people in the audience singing more than MICHAEL JACKSON. Perhaps it was to disguise the fact that for most of the show MICHAEL didn’t appear to be singing live. Or maybe it was an over baked, mega-produced sound track that killed the magic. They replicated and duplicated the audience noise so much that it drowned out the performers, even when the video clearly showed no one was screaming. Come on. The man is legendary, extremely talented, a great dancer, without question. But in a "live" concert event I would rather see, and hear the singing, nose and all. Let’s see what CBS gives us with JENNIFER LOPEZ next week. AND THE WINNER IS… The on again, off again EMMY AWARDS went on again, as scheduled, with ELLEN DEGENERES providing the light comedy, WALTER CRONKITE, the serious patriotism, and WEST WING bringing home the bacon with 8 trophies. The line of the night was delivered by ELLEN: "I’m in a unique position as host because, think about it, what would bug the Taliban more than seeing a gay woman in a suit surrounded by Jews." There was an interesting moment when ELLEN cozied up to STEVE MARTIN sitting in the audience. I thought they were going to have a dis session about ANNE HECHE. But that would not be in keeping with the celebratory yet subdued theme for the evening. Participants in the scaled down event had to endure 2 hour waits in their cars as they entered the facility. Each and every vehicle was thoroughly searched by several armed officers of the law, and guests all paraded through metal detectors. Despite a joke to the contrary, FOX stole CBS’ thunder by "crawling" the winners across the screen of game 7 of the World Series, so West Coast viewers would have no reason to tune in the show after the game. It seems we’ll never get rid of the growing universe of graphic goop that is invading more and more of television screens. First it was logos of all sizes, colors and transparencies. They even animate now, into promotional mini- infomercials. How divine! And since September 11, the lower third of the screen of most networks is now devoted to newsbites and other promotions. How about an award for whoever came up with this nonsense? Or perhaps a reward for his or her capture. The hanging goes to… u u u u u HBO and NBC tied with 16 awards each, followed closely by FOX with 15 and ABC with 10. CBS had 8, PBS and UPN had 5 each. NEILSEN estimates some 17 million people watched the EMMY’S, off nearly 20% from last year, while nearly 40 million saw the tremendous 7th game of the WORLD SERIES. Send us your complains / comments: |
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