A sneak peek at ‘Vegas! The Show’

By Allison Duck

Saturday, June 26, 2010 | 5:48 p.m.

Fans of Las Vegas lore and theater alike will soon have a new show to enjoy. David Saxe’s Vegas retrospective, Vegas! The Show is set to open Saturday night, ready or not. Friday’s dress rehearsal showed there are still plenty of kinks to work out, but of course that is what run-throughs are for.

Most of the issues seemed to be technical, as the singers and dancers appeared well rehearsed and suffering no shortage of talent. On opening night, patrons will see several familiar faces, and legs, from various other Strip productions including Peepshow. The caliber of singing and dancing bodes well for the future of the show.

Akin to the vocal power of Peepshow’s Josh Strickland, a true standout in a production known for its dancing, the Vegas! The Show vocalists threaten to steal the show. From the Rat Pack standards to Wayne Newton’s “Danke Schoen,” Saxe’s singers are poised to do justice to the classics of the Vegas cannon.

Before rehearsal began, Saxe let the handful of onlookers know there was a photographer present, “who assures me she will not get a photo of me looking like I just had a stroke.” Despite the challenges the crew was still dealing with a mere 24 hours before takeoff, Saxe remained calm, eerily calm, as he gently announced his corrections into a microphone so the entire crew could make adjustments on the spot.

Shelley Bruner, vice president and director of communications for David Saxe Productions, noted that Saxe himself had decided to redo the curved staircase prop very recently. When asked if it was more than once, she exaggeratedly exclaimed, “Once! Ha!”

Throughout the rehearsal, Saxe would pop up onstage to remove a piece of duct tape or move a prop from the Neon Boneyard set a quarter inch. He chimed in repeatedly to remind the stage crew and musicians of last minute changes they needed to remember to implement and audio cues to listen for.

Only time will tell if David Saxe has the formula to conquer the curse of the space so many shows have had trouble filling. After several pushed back openings, tonight is the night. As the adage says, the show must go on and this time it appears it finally will.