Forever nimble, Frankie Moreno partners with NBT in Nancy Houssels tribute

By John Katsilometes

Friday, Feb. 20, 2015 | 5:30 p.m.

Frankie Moreno’s versatility has always served him well. He’s at home on the range, as it were, for his dexterous skills as a musician, composer and performer.

That capacity to perform in myriad genres in a variety of venues is becoming increasingly evident in Las Vegas and also abroad. Consider that later this spring, the longtime Las Vegas lounge, showroom and theater headliner plays Carnegie Hall in New York and Rocks Lounge at Red Rock Resort.

On consecutive nights.

“Weird, right?” Moreno says while seated outside the Smith Center after rehearsing with Nevada Ballet Theater dancers in preparation for Saturday’s NBT gala honoring co-founder Nancy Houssels on her 80th birthday. “I feel like it might have been better to put, like, a week in between Carnegie Hall and Rocks Lounge. But it is happening on back-to-back nights, and we’ll be doing different shows, obviously.”

The Carnegie Hall show is April 10, as Moreno is part of a lineup singing with the New York Pops for a show titled “Let’s Be Frank," celebrating the 100th anniversary of Sinatra’s birth (he was born Dec. 12, 1915). The next night (April 11, says this calendar), Moreno returns to town for the second of two performances at Rocks Lounge. The obvious comparison is Carnegie Hall is a wondrous and historic facility that is the destination of any serious artist; Rocks Lounge offers cocktail waitresses in sexy outfits and that big dance floor.

Before April arrives, though, Moreno is becoming one of the leading lords of the manor at the Smith Center. His performance Saturday night is in Reynolds Hall in the NBT’s “Dance Among the Stars” gala. Moreno and members of his backing band will be joined by NBT dancers in a four-song set performing on a platform stage constructed especially for the show.

Also in the performance is the urban dancer Lil Buck, performing “The Swan.” Lil Buck became famous across the country when director Spike Jonze recorded a video on his iPhone of the dancer performing on the street with the great cellist Yo-Yo Ma. The video has reached nearly 2.9 million viewers. And, excerpts of “Swan Lake” Act II will be performed by NBT dancers.

“It’s a fitting way to honor Nancy, who has given so much to this community,” NBT Artistic Director James Canfield said after Thursday’s rehearsal. “She is a dedicated, passionate, focused person, and I think that comes from her background as a dancer.”

The participation of Moreno marks a long-anticipated collaboration between he and Canfield, who caught Moreno a few times when Moreno was headlining at the Stratosphere. As Canfield says, “He’s a great, great showman, and he has a classical background, which is evident when you are working with him. He not only knows his own instrument, but those of everyone else on the stage. He is a rare talent.”

After a promotional trip to Paris and Vienna on behalf of the LVCVA this month, Moreno is beginning a busy stretch in his adopted hometown. On March 17, he starts a run of a dozen Tuesday night shows at Cabaret Jazz titled “Under the Influence,” paying tribute to a different artist or genre each week. One week it’ll be an ode to Elvis, another to crooners, another to great country artists and even a show dedicated to Mozart.

So dress accordingly.

The Smith Center partnership, too, was forged after a significant member of the Las Vegas arts community — Smith Center President Myron Martin — caught Moreno’s stage show. Moreno also performed at November’s Nevada Sesquicentennial All-Star Concert at Reynolds Hall, singing “Home Means Nevada” with kids from the Gilbert Magnet School, and recorded a video of the song in a partnership with Martin and the Smith Center.

By now, Moreno has become so familiar to the venue that during Thursday’s rehearsal, Martin approached the stage and jokingly asked if there were any other rooms at the Smith Center where Moreno might headline, specifying Troesh Studio Theater and even the men’s room.

“Hey, make it happen,” Moreno answered. “We can move a piano in there.”

As he ended his run at the Stratosphere in December, Moreno initially combed the Las Vegas marketplace for a sufficient venue to resume his regular performance schedule. But under the direction of his manager, Tamara Conniff of Roc Nation, Moreno has been picking up steady work performing one-offs across the country (and even internationally), easing the pressure of finding a new, permanent venue. He might wait until the fall, or even later, to secure a new deal with a Las Vegas venue, in the interim using the Smith Center as his primary Las Vegas affiliate.

“I have to have a Las Vegas presence, but if you look at how this works in a situation like what we’ve got with the LVCVA, it’s almost better to be representing the Smith Center and moving all around than a being at a specific hotel,” Moreno says. “In a way, I’ve become kind of a spokesperson for the LVCVA, and I’m really proud to be representing them that way because they have so many things planned worldwide to promote the city. Whatever happens, I want to be able to continue to do that.”

As he talks, Moreno suddenly adds, “Wait, we have the Kennedy Center show booked, too,” referring to a pair of “Let’s Be Frank” performances in Washington, D.C., from June 5-6 with the National Symphony Orchestra Pops lineup.

It can be a challenge to keep the schedule straight. But for Frankie Moreno, it’s a good problem to have.

Follow John Katsilometes on Twitter at Twitter.com/JohnnyKats. Also, follow “Kats With the Dish” at Twitter.com/KatsWiththeDish.