Th;anks for the wonderful review of ShowStoppers!
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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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