 Girls
on a Mission
It’s
hard work being a Crazy Girl. On a recent photo shoot, we caught
up with Producer Norbert Aleman; General Manager, Karen Raider and
a few of the ladies – Eliset, Liz, Jennifer and Weendy, to
find out the secret to their staying power.
For
those who haven’t been to Vegas in 20 years, Crazy Girls is
one of the longest-running revues in town. It has outlasted and
out-publicized most, if not all of the other similar shows along
the Strip, since it began at the Riviera in September 1987, and
it has never looked back. In the 20-odd years that the show has
been playing, there must have been over 200 girls that have been
in the production.
Producer
Norbert Aleman adds, “We change the show every other year.
For me, I base it more on the audience’s reaction rather than
just the girls. When we started out, we were much more conservative,
but then America became much more open, more provocative, so now
we can have this number with the two girls, that I call “the
lesbian number,” which is sexier.”
 Karen
Raider says, “I think most of the girls who audition don’t
realize how difficult it is. We usually ask them to perform one
of our numbers called “Check it Out,” and most times,
a lot of them can’t follow the routine or find it difficult
because they don’t have enough of a technical dance background
to keep up.” We’ve seen the show and let us tell you
– this isn’t bar-top dancing, not even close. First
off, each Crazy Girl needs to be classically trained in dance. Lest
you think all it takes is a good body and a pretty face, the girls
also have to re-hearse one night a week, plus they need to have
a daily ‘weigh-in.’ On top of all this, there’s
acting classes to take, and for some, who are working to get their
degrees, actual school to attend. There are others in the group
who juggle work and performing, such as one who is actually a nurse
by day, and Crazy Girl by night. One of them even holds a Masters
in Engineering, but has put this on hold for her first love –
dancing. How’s that for an ultimate fantasy?
As
clichéd as this might sound though, all 10 girls (eight perform
and two are ‘understudies’), together with Norbert and
Karen, are really one big family, where as Norbert says, “I
send them to school, some to acting and make-up classes, some to
finish their degrees; in a way, it’s giving them a future,
where they might not have had one before.” Karen echoes this
statement, “Every girl has the opportunity to be something
else.” She speaks from experience, as she herself was an ex-Crazy
Girl, who was with the show for more than 10 years, until she hung-up
her dancing shoes and now prefers the backstage to the limelight,
where she has taken the role of General Manager, adding “Now
I prefer what I do, because it’s more exciting to see other
people develop.”
 In
the works are several projects keeping the girls busy – one
being the movie, “Las Vegas Crazy Girls Under-cover,”
which has already wrapped-up and currently in the negotiation stages
for distribution in the U.S. and Europe. All the Crazy Girls took
part in the movie with some of them like Eliset, Rayma, Valentina
and Anita playing bigger supporting roles. Karen, who serves as
an Associate Producer on this show, shares a bit about the movie’s
plot, “It’s done in the theme of a “James Bond-/Charlie’s
Angels-type” movie; where the girls are actually agents and
being a Crazy Girl is their cover.” Sounds intriguing enough,
and fun at the same time.
Another
project which is in the works is a reality show, although this is
merely in the pitching stage. We’re sure this is going to
be another coup for producer Norbert Aleman, if this pushes through.
Finally, the world of fantasy and reality will merge into one…
we can’t wait.
-Rachel
M. Sugay
On
our cover: we shot the Crazy Girls – from left to right: Weendy
DeVaux, Jennifer Stowe, Liz Grantham and Eliset Labato, on location
at the second floor showroom of the Riviera Hotel.
Crazy
Girls
Second Floor Showroom, The Riviera Hotel, 2901 Las Vegas Boulevard
South. Show times are 9:30 p.m., Wednesday through Monday. Tickets
are $39.95 - $60. Call 794-9433.
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