 Legends
In Their Own Right
Oh,
the pressure to imitate a ‘legend’ – especially
one who is still alive and performing. Legends in Concert at the
Imperial Palace is almost three decades old, and still packing them
in. The original concept 25 years ago was to bring-in acts of performers
who were… well, dead - thereby earning the ‘legend’
title. And that’s maybe the only thing that has changed today,
with the line-up also including today’s younger stars like
Britney and Gwen.
All
performers, except ‘Elvis,’ get rotated every four to
six months. With over 100 tribute artists in their stable of talents,
and two other locations in Myrtle Beach and Branson, Missouri, there
is no shortage of talent that goes around. On Stage Entertainment’s
Gina Capecci adds, “We try and put something in the show for
everyone. Deciding on talents is based on our 25 years experience
producing the show, surveys we do and what the customers would like
to see.”
The
show we caught had a more standard, classic Vegas-feel, and “starred”
Ray Charles, Bette Midler, Tom Jones, Diana Ross and The Supremes,
and of course, Elvis. It’s not hard to imagine that this set-up
in the Imperial Theatre was exactly the same 20 years ago, except
for modern additions like video screens.
Ray
Charles opened the show. Ably-performed by Charles Middleton, he
had just the right amount of soul, with his rendition of “What
I Say,” “Hallelujah, I Love Her So,” and the evergreen,
“Georgia On My  Mind.”
A musician in his own right, Middleton used to be a member of a
band called The Jaguars, and has played for other legends like Chuck
Berry and Little Richard. He came into this by accident, when one
night at a karaoke bar, someone suggested that he looked a lot like
Ray Charles. From then on, he was hooked and with a little bit of
practice, he was “re-born” as Ray Charles.
Next-up
was Bette Midler, in all her over-the-top glory. Sherie Rae Parker
transforms into Bette with her opening number, “Big Noise
from Winnetka.” She followed this with a comedy routine, throwing
in a couple of raunchy jokes, though I think she only hit her stride
with her rendition of “Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy.” And
her powerhouse closing number, “When A Man Loves A Woman,”
will make you forget her first two songs. A little bit of trivia,
Sherie was part of the original ‘cast’ of Legends in
1983, and actually performed as Janis Joplin.
Steve
McCoy as Tom Jones follows. He opened with “She’s A
Lady” which was a good choice because it immediately got the
audience going. A medley of “What’s New Pussycat”
and “It’s Not Unusual” is a given in a Tom Jones
tribute, and he did this perfectly. While his voice sometimes veered
from sounding like the real thing, he had Tom’s moves perfected.
McCoy has been doing this since the age of five, and got his break
when he was crowned the winner of a radio contest which had the
real Tom Jones as a judge.
 A
little bit of Motown followed, with The Supremes. Marva Scott, as
Diana Ross, was great. You can’t go wrong with opening with
a ‘greatest hits’ medley of “Where Did Our Love
Go,” “Set Me Free,” “Baby Love,” “Can’t
Hurry Love” and “Love Bug.” Multi-talented Scott
also does Whitney Houston, Donna Summer and Tina Turner, aside from
Diana Ross.
Last,
but definitely not the least, was The King, or Matt Lewis as Elvis.
I can see why ‘Elvis’ is a mainstay - I was not an Elvis
fan, but I am now. The shift in energy was palpable and I don’t
think it would be a stretch to say that this was the best part of
the show. From the moment Lewis opened with “Trouble,”
all attention shifted to him. He became ‘The King,’
big-time. The moves, the voice, the get-up, the slicked-back hair,
the southern accent – Lewis has it, to a tee. My favorite
number was “A Little Less Conversation,” though the
best video-montage had to be the intro to Elvis’ ‘Vegas
era,’ circa 1969 and you have to see it to appreciate how
smooth the transition was, from screen to stage.
No
short-cuts are taken and each performer is accompanied by The Legends
Band comprising Jim Buck, Simon Adam-sson, Atticus Finch, Joe Escriba
and Marcus Vann; and a group of talented dancers and back- up singers
(Renee, Kate, Julie, Andrea, Krissy, Melissa, Daniel, Curtis, Justin
and Melden).
These
tribute artists are the reason why this show has been around for
decades; and why it’s going to be around for longer.
-Rachel
M. Sugay
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