RE: [vpFREE] xvp - Review of "Showstoppers" show at Wynn Las Vegas

Th;anks for the wonderful review of ShowStoppers!

To: harrahscasinos@yahoogroups.com
CC: vpFREE@yahoogroups.com
From: vpFREE@yahoogroups.com
Date: Thu, 5 Mar 2015 22:14:04 -0500
Subject: [vpFREE] xvp - Review of "Showstoppers" show at Wynn Las Vegas


























Great singers, fantastic dancers, wonderful show tunes = a great show in

Vegas. This show was conceived and written by the Wynn Casino's own Stephen

Wynn, stringing together a number of great hit musical numbers from

Broadway shows. I expected to see exact recreations of the numbers, but that

isn't what you get. Instead the show takes many of the famous and wonderful

numbers and does them with new (but often reminiscent or somewhat similar)

choreography and costumes, which makes the show a bit more "Vegasy" but no

less wonderful.



The show is greatly enhanced by the excellent 30 or more piece on-stage

orchestra. Live music of this quality is found all too rarely nowadays in

shows, even on Broadway. Also several of the singers are outstanding.

Randal Keith has a wonderful baritone and full range. You might have seen him

on Broadway staring as Jean Valjean in "Les Miserables" or in Vegas in the

Phantom, or as King Arthur at the Wynn in Spamalot, or elsewhere. Kerry

O'Malley is a wonderful soprano, and has had many leading roles on Broadway.



When the two of them sang "Anything you can do" from "Annie Get Your Gun"

it was truly a showstopper. O'Malley is terrific in every song she sings,

and her work in the "Cabaret" section of SHOWSTOPPERS was outstanding.



One of the highlights of the evening for me was "The Game" from "Damn

Yankees" -- this is where the whole baseball team sings about "thinking about

the game" instead of thinking about women. It was very well sung by the

male chorus, and very funny, with singer David Burnham taking the lead and

doing an especially good job of making this outstanding number.



I'm a big fan of Damn Yankees, so I also enjoyed "A Little Brains, A Little

Talent" sung by Nicole Kaplan, though I thought she didn't quite do the

number justice. "Chicago" is another of my all-time favorite musicals (I saw

it on Broadway with Chita Rivera and Gwen Verdon -- unbelievably great

show). Lindsay Roginski sings in "Cell Block Tango" in this show, and she

starred as Roxie Hart in Chicago on Broadway and in the national tour.

SHOWSTOPPERS also includes a terrific "Razzle Dazzle" number that echoes the

Broadway version but with even more Vegas touches. Showstopers also included

"All That Jazz/Hot Honey Rag" from "Chicago."



Other numbers in the show include a wonderfully danced "Put On Your Sunday

Clothes" from Hello Dolly that didn't remind me of the original show at

all, but was great, and "There's No Business Like Show Business", as well as a

surprising and fun "No Name City (Ol' Las Vegas) from "Paint Your Wagon."



Another showstopper was Kerry O'Malley's perfect rendition of "Everything's

Coming Up Roses" from Gypsy. And the end of the show was a terrific "One"

from "A Chorus Line" with the dancers in perfect sync -- it was a perfect

ending to the show.



I don't think you have to be a Broadway/musical buff, as I am, to enjoy the

show. It is tune-filled and so well danced and sung that even if you've

never seen a Broadway show you will enjoy it. But if you do love Broadway

shows, this is really a must. It definitely is totally Broadway in quality,

and not just any Broadway show, the quality here is the best.



Of course the one problem with a show like this is linking all the various

songs together, because they are so diverse. Stephen Wynn tries to solve

the problem with some voiceover introductions to link the pieces, but his

voiceovers are just the only thing I would have cut.



The costumes are also outstanding -- full of life and glitter and glitz and

beauty. The women dancers are also beautiful, and men will enjoy seeing

them gyrate in a couple of numbers (most noticeably in Cabaret). The male

dancers are no slouches either, and looked great to my eyes. There is no

nudity in the show, and I think it is okay for most children (but don't

bring babies!).



I noticed the list of musical numbers in the show was included in the

program on a separate sheet of paper, so I wonder if Steve Wynn plans to change

them around and bring in different numbers over the years. That would be

great. Of course this is the kind of show that is so good I would be happy

to see it again tomorrow just as it is, but seeing more outstanding numbers

in the future would also be fun.



Right now the Wynn is offering a special $75 price for locals. I did that

and had a great seat in the 5th row.



One note of caution for anyone with mobility difficulties -- the theater

has a lot of steps down to the front of the orchestra. If you have

difficulty with steps or need a wheelchair, be sure to mention this when booking

tickets. The view should be good from any seat in the house, so if you have

a problem with stairs, stay towards the back.



-----------a note on the buffet----

Before the show I played a little and scored a comp to the buffet. New

signups apparently get a free one at about 750 points. Since I already had

an account they wouldn't tell me how much I needed to get a buffet, but it

seemed to be about 2000 points. The buffet was still quite good, I hadn't

eaten it for a couple of years. Cost is around $40 if you have to (horror)

pay for it. And the deserts are really yummy.



I don't know how easy it is to get Showstoppers comped, but if you want

to try, I would go midweek, when there are bound to be more empty seats and

last minute comps.

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