Las Vegas Sun

March 19, 2024

Suzanne Somers’ debut at Westgate is in the nick of time

‘Suzanne Sizzles’ Debuts at Westgate

Denise Truscello / WireImage / DeniseTruscello.net

Suzanne Somers’ “Suzanne Sizzles” premieres Saturday, May 23, 2015, at Westgate Las Vegas.

Updated Monday, May 25, 2015 | 12:50 p.m.

‘Suzanne Sizzles’ Debuts at Westgate

Suzanne Somers’ “Suzanne Sizzles” premieres Saturday, May 23, 2015, at Westgate Las Vegas.
Launch slideshow »
Click to enlarge photo

Barry Manilow and Suzanne Somers attend Somers’ “Suzanne Sizzles” premiere Saturday, May 23, 2015, at Westgate Las Vegas.

Click to enlarge photo

Jackie Siegel and David Siegel attend Suzanne Somers’ “Suzanne Sizzles” premiere Saturday, May 23, 2015, at Westgate Las Vegas.

The blood trickling down the right leg of Suzanne Somers on Saturday night represented a metaphor colored in crimson:

Las Vegas is an entertainment battlefield. Few come away unscarred.

Somers opened her “Suzanne Sizzles” headlining series Saturday at Westgate Cabaret (formerly Shimmer Cabaret) at Westgate Las Vegas, and she was in fine form. Let’s announce that at the top: Somers is 68 years old, and it does not matter, as she sings and sashays to great aptitude, her legs seeming to belong on a dancer 40 years younger. Her note-perfect voice carried many standards over 70 minutes, among them “Pennies From Heaven,” “It Don’t Mean a Thing (If It Ain’t Got That Swing),” “World on a String” and “I Was a Fool (To Let You Go).”

But it was not all smooth sailing at the old Shimmer. During her opening-night performance, Somers clipped her right shin on a step stool next to the piano, causing a nick that looked worse than it was. The stool was not originally part of the set, but Somers was using it to help her climb to the top of the piano, as she is suffering a sore tailbone from a fall during her recent run on “Dancing With the Stars,” where she was a partner of pro dancer Tony Dovolani.

These would seem concerns atypical for a 68-year-old individual.

As for her nicked shin, Somers seemed not to notice until a break in songs, and when she did, she asked a stagehand to tend to the problem as she slipped her leg through an opening in the curtain.

“Oooh, that feels good! Higher, higher,” she joked, adding, “Tell them it’s a motorcycle injury.”

Maybe opening-night snags are expected at Westgate, originally the International and the Las Vegas home of Elvis, of course. On Presley’s premiere at the hotel in July 1969, the microphone went dead for his opening act, Sammy Shore. The venerable comic took to reciting Shakespeare and performing pantomime until he was handed an operating mic.

Somers, too, was unaffected by whatever opening-night kinks she faced (she also dropped an earring to the stage) to deliver a satisfying performance that is likely to surprise those who know her primarily from her TV work.

As many of us TV viewers of 1970s sitcoms well remember, Somers gained national fame as the ever-bubbly Chrissy Snow on “Three’s Company.” Somers jokes about her character’s purpose on the show, which was primarily to jump with great energy while not wearing a bra. Somers even plays a montage, loosely titled as “Chrissy Jumping,” on the three new video screens at the back of the stage.

“Chrissy jumps! Chrissy jumps again … and again …,” Somers says. “This is when boobs were real, folks.” She also returns to the five seconds of fame she garnered as the blonde bombshell piloting the ’56 T-Bird and mouthing, “I love you,” to Richard Dreyfuss in “American Graffiti.” Later, when she became a TV star, the movie was shown on ABC as, “Starring Suzanne Somers!”

“It took me one night to make that scene, and I made $136.72,” Somers said. “Now it’s ‘Starring Suzanne Somers!’ ”

But Somers is a genuine star; her friend Barry Manilow was in Saturday night’s audience to verify such. She returns to a city in which she headlined beginning in the ’80s, including two years at the Las Vegas Hilton. She is now the lead headliner in a theater that has staged seemingly all variety of performances — will all variety of success.

Over the years, we’ve seen the Shimmer shimmer with The Scintas; the “Icons of Comedy” series (starring my friend Hal Sparks, among others); Rick Faugno; the stage shows “Menopause the Musical,” “Nunsense” and “The D Word”; Elvis impressionist Trent Carlini; Earl Turner with Lani Misalucha; Rich Little; and the current Prince tribute “Purple Reign” and topless show “Sexxy.”

The ornately appointed cabaret has historically offered mixed results, as entertainers love playing the two-tiered room but finding that selling a ticket to a show at the property is a maddening assignment.

Across the hall, the story is the same, as the current production “Elvis The Experience” has reportedly performed below expectations, and it is not a certainty if it will ever return after closing Wednesday.

Thoughts of crowds winding around the casino soon dissipated when, as Westgate owner David Siegel himself reminds, “We have 160 shows in Las Vegas, and success is not a guarantee.”

Somers, at least, has done her part to make “Suzanne Sizzles” a hit. This is a refined and refreshing show that is an ideal fit for its comfortable surroundings. It helps that Somers herself is wholly comfortable onstage.

Her humor is evident throughout, and she owns world-class charisma in her interactions with the audience, an enormously valuable yet nearly untrainable stage quality.

She spoke with the audience through her many costume changes, standing behind a curtain with just her head exposed. She would speak causally for a few moments, then reappear in a dazzling, gold-sequined sailor outfit or a form-fitting, leopard-print number.

As would any great cabaret chanteuse, Somers climbed atop the piano with her legs facing toward three members of her backing band (and the live music is another thumb’s-up for this show, which would not be nearly as appealing if played to tracks).

She noted the angle or her tush facing the band as her sequined dress hiked up a bit. Speaking across the stage, she said, “Oh! Well, at least it sparkles! Nice view, right, guys?” The audience cracked up. Maybe it was scripted, but it came across as an off-the-cuff moment.

Somers reminds throughout of her wide-ranging career. She summons a montage of her 23 (by my count) books displayed across the big screens. She hearkened to the memorable moments of her TV career and her many appearances entertaining the troops on USA tours.

In a hilarious clip, she recalls her first appearance on “The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson,” introduced as “the mysterious blonde from ‘American Graffiti.’ ” Carson asked Somers about her recently released book of poetry, and, man, did it seem like him putting the moves on her. Right there on national TV.

“I think, maybe, he was hitting on me,” Somers remembered, likely correctly.

Somers is a fixture at the hotel beyond even her stage show. A new spa is being built this summer with a menu of all of her recipes, and it helps immensely that she is a walking example of her own nutritional and fitness directives.

She gave thanks where it was deserved, escorting Siegel to the stage for a song and a dance and a gift: a vintage Thighmaster, signed of course. Siegel loved it, and what’s crazy about this product (aside from the old infomercials) is that it vibrates.

So there is some additional shake at Westgate, where Suzanne Somers is at home — and where we can hope that there is no more bloodshed.

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

Join the Discussion:

Check this out for a full explanation of our conversion to the LiveFyre commenting system and instructions on how to sign up for an account.

Full comments policy