Barry Manilow in Ultimate Manilow: The Hits

The Copacabana may have once been the hottest spot north of Havana, but now, with Barry Manilow performing in the showroom, that honor belongs to the Las Vegas Hilton.

Manilow’s show, which runs two weeks every month, has been a smash hit with fans and critics since it opened at the hotel in 2005. A taping of the 100th performance of the show for a PBS special even won an Emmy Award in 2006.

Prior to 2005, Manilow had decided to stop touring. Then, an offer came from the Hilton to do a steady gig in Las Vegas. It was a deal he couldn’t refuse and he joined the growing list of headliners who have made Las Vegas their home away from home. Manilow is also following in the footsteps of Elvis, who performed regularly in the Hilton Theater for eight years.

Manilow recently revamped his show with new costumes and sets, new numbers and a fitting new moniker, “ULTIMATE MANILOW: The Hits.”

Ultimate Manilow: The HIts

“I’m going to try and squeeze in as many of the hits as I’ve been fortunate enough to have over the years,” the singer promises at the beginning of the show.

Where his previous show, titled “Manilow: Music and Passion,” took audiences on a journey through popular music of the ’40s, ’50s and ’60s, “ULTIMATE MANILOW: The Hits” is more like a concert experience, with Manilow singing all of his familiar and most beloved songs like “It’s a Miracle,” “Daybreak,” “Weekend in New England” and “Bandstand Boogie.”

Manilow doesn’t completely ignore hits from the other eras in his new show – they are now condensed into a medley of songs. This includes his renditions of songs from the ’50s that brought him major success on the record charts. His album, “The Greatest Songs of the Fifties,” debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 chart in 2006. It was the first time since 1977’s “Live” that Manilow had debuted at No. 1.

“I never thought that I’d be back on top of the charts. I felt like Hannah Montana or something,” Manilow jokes.

He then switches into what he dubs ’70s ballad mode, performing many of his popular songs from that decade including “Looks Like We Made It,” “Tryin’ to Get The Feeling Again” and “Even Now.”

“ULTIMATE MANILOW: The Hits” is not all about ballads and love songs though. The show switches tempo with the upbeat “New York City Rhythm,” which features Manilow and his keyboard players taking turns trying to outdo each other with ivory-tickling piano solos.

Manilow is comfortable in front of an audience and the personable entertainer maintains a good rapport with them throughout the show. He gets close enough to shake hands with some and even slow dances on stage with one lucky fan.

Barry’s Personal Stories and Humor

He’s also not afraid to share personal stories with the audience. “Singing these songs brings back memories,” Manilow says, while describing singing for his grandfather and his life growing up in Brooklyn before launching into “I Made It Through the Rain” and “Can’t Smile Without You.”

Although Manilow’s voice and many familiar songs are the stars of the show, “ULTIMATE MANILOW: The Hits” is more than just singing. Manilow injects humor into his act as he constantly banters and jokes with the audience.

One of the most energetic performances is a song, “Could it Be Magic,” that Manilow (tongue firmly in cheek) says is from his first album “recorded back in 1821.” The song was originally a ballad that Donna Summer turned into a disco hit and it’s the disco version that Manilow performs. The entire crowd is on their feet dancing to the lively number and at the end, Manilow proclaims “I’m still a sex god! … But now this sex god has got to sit down.”

He doesn’t sit down for long though. The moment everyone is waiting for, “Copacabana (At The Copa),” comes complete with lasers, confetti and singers in showgirl headpieces and leaves audiences dancing in the aisles once again. During the number, a catwalk enables Manilow to wander out into the audience and get closer to those in the balcony seats. It also gives him a chance to prove he still has his old dance moves.

One of the final highlights of the show features classic footage of Manilow singing his first big hit, “Mandy” on “The Midnight Special,” a weekly musical television series from the ’70s and early ’80s. Manilow sings part of the song live on stage and then it turns into a show-stopping duet between him and his younger self, showcased in footage from the show.

The production is the perfect mix of Manilow’s classic hits and he has such an impressive catalog of songs that the material changes every night. As fans exit the theater, they’ll also hear a newer song, “Here’s to Las Vegas,” which Manilow wrote just for the show.

Whether you’re a lifelong “fanilow” or you just fondly remember many of the hit songs that Manilow has had over his illustrious career, his show “ULTIMATE MANILOW: The Hits” can be summed up by the title of one of those songs: “This One’s for You.”

Barry Manilow’s Background

With worldwide sales of more than 75 million records, there’s no denying that Barry Manilow truly does write the songs the whole world sings.

His musical journey began at the age of seven when he took accordion lessons and learned to play the piano. By the time he was a teenager, Manilow knew music would be his career path and he attended New York College of Music and the Julliard School of Music.

Manilow became musical director for a CBS show named “Callback,” which led to a very successful career writing advertising jingles. If you can hum the advertising tunes for companies like State Farm Insurance, Kentucky Fried Chicken, Pepsi and the McDonald’s “You Deserve a Break Today” campaign, you have Manilow to thank for it.

His big break came in 1971, when he met Bette Midler and became her music director, arranger and pianist. The following year, he signed a record deal of his own and in 1975, Manilow scored his first No. 1 hit song, “Mandy.”

Manilow had 25 consecutive Top 40 hits on the Billboard Hot 100 between 1975 and 1983 including the familiar songs “It’s A Miracle,” “I Write the Songs,” “This One’s For You,” “Weekend In New England,” “Looks Like We Made It,” “Can’t Smile Without You,” and the Grammy Award-winning “Copacabana (At the Copa).”

In 2005 Manilow recorded a collection of tunes from the 1950s with producer Clive Davis. The resulting “Greatest Songs of the Fifties” became a surprise hit and brought Manilow back to the top of the charts. Also in 2005, Manilow premiered his show at the Las Vegas Hilton. Now in its third year, the show continues to wow critics and fans in Vegas.

Q&A with Barry Manilow

Q: You have an all-new production at the Las Vegas Hilton. What made you want to change the show?

A: “‘Music and Passion’ was tremendously successful, but my co-creators and I kept seeing things that we wanted to make better and there was never enough time to do them. Since we had the summer off, we all decided to dive in and make the show more exciting, more beautiful and with more hits than ever.”

Q: In your new show, you sing a lot of your greatest hits. How did you select which ones to sing? And will that line-up of songs change each night?

A: “We’ve rehearsed all 40 of them. We can do any one of them in different places every show.”

Q: You’re headlining in a very famous room – the same one that Elvis called home. What is that like? Were you an Elvis fan?

A: “Now and again I get a shock of realization that I’m standing on the same stage that he stood on; that I’m dressing in the same dressing room he used. Sometimes I get an irresistible urge to wiggle my hips, but you’ll be glad to know that so far I have resisted that urge.”

Q: Your show is very physical – there’s a lot of dancing and moving around the stage. How do you stay so energetic?

A: “It’s easy. The power that comes from the music and the excitement I feel from the audience.”

Q: You have a lot of very dedicated fans. What’s your most memorable fan encounter?

A: “A mother once told me that her child had learned to speak by listening to my records.”

Q: You’ve written literally hundreds of songs over the years. Do you have a favorite?

A: “My favorite song changes every week or so. This week it’s ‘Could It Be Magic?,’ the song I wrote based on the Chopin Prelude in C minor.”

Q: Did you play Vegas a lot when you were starting out? How has it changed since then?

A: “We would play a hotel now and again on early tours. Even though I was told that the audiences would be drunk, eating, talking, heckling…I never got that kind of audience. I always had a great time in Vegas. Still do.

There are loads of production shows in Vegas now, but I’ve got my own little piece of the town – a guy in front of a band and in front of a beautiful set singing his heart out. That’s just fine with me. I’m a grateful guy that I’ve still got an audience that is interested in hearing my music.”

Q: You have a charitable foundation, the Manilow Fund, which among other things, gives money for music scholarships. What inspired you to create that and what do you hope to accomplish with it?

A: “I’ve been blessed with a lot. I wanted to give back. The goal of my fund is to give assistance to organizations and people that are under the radar. My fund aims at small town charities that are recommended by my fans.

There’s nothing more heartwarming than surprising a small town charity with a thousand dollar check out of the blue that pays their rent for the next three months.”

Q: You have been nominated for Grammys, Emmys, Tonys – is there one award that means the most to you?

A: “I was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame a few years ago. It meant a great deal.”

Q: You once worked in the mailroom at CBS. Did you ever have any other odd jobs?

A: “I was a helper on a beer truck in Brooklyn when I was a teenager. I was AWFUL! The drivers would moan when they realized that I was their helper for the day. After that summer, I knew I was cut out for better things!”

Show Dates:

2008:
Nov. 19 – 22
Dec. 17 – 20, 29 – 30

2009:
Jan. 16 – 18
Feb. 18 – 20, 26 – 28
Mar. 19 – 21, 26 – 28
April 9 – 11, 16 – 18, 23 – 25
May 22 – 24, 28 – 30
June 18 – 20, 25 – 27
July 30 – Aug. 1
Aug. 6 – 8, 27 – 29
Sept. 4 – 6, 24 – 26
Oct. 1 – 3, 8 – 10, 29 – 31
Nov. 12 – 14, 27 – 29
Dec. 28 – 30

Blue Man Group Adds Colorful Touch

Blue Man Group at the Venetian is unlike any other show on the Las Vegas Strip. There are no elaborate costumes, no death-defying acrobatics and no scantily clad dancers. There are simply three blue-hued men dressed in black who make music, make you laugh and make you think.

This avant-garde, unorthodox show is part comedy, part performance art and part wacky science experiment, accompanied by a percussion-driven soundtrack. The performers never utter a word, but instead use their eyes, facial expressions and subtle gestures to evoke responses from the audience.

Your first clue that this is no ordinary show is when you are escorted to your seat in the custom-built 1,760-seat theater, handed crepe paper and encouraged to decorate yourself with it…and the adventure is just beginning there. What follows is 90 minutes of fast-paced fun.

The show begins with the Blue Men creating their own brand of unique art by drumming on top of brightly colored paint that splashes onto a blank white paper. They go on to create art by spraying paint from their mouths onto spinning white canvases. The paint comes from rubber balls they toss to each other across the huge stage and catch expertly in their mouths.

Later in the show, a giant video screen is used to explain to the audience how the world is becoming more and more interconnected – not through advances in technology – but by good old fashioned plumbing. What better segue into the group’s exploration of PVC pipe as a musical instrument? The Blue Man Group’s trademark primitive, tribal percussion sound is generated by a host of specially-designed instruments made from the plastic tubes.

Take for instance the drumbone, which is made from large PVC pipes. As one Blue Man strikes the contraption, another slides sections of it in and out, changing the pitch of the sound, much like a traditional trombone.

Another unique instrument is the Backpack Tubulum, which looks like curvy organ pipes strapped to the Blue Men’s backs. The backpacks glow as the Blue Men beat rhythms on them.

Plumbing materials aren’t the only unusual instruments the Blue Men use. Believe it or not, they can also make percussion-based music from loudly chewing Cap’n Crunch cereal. Blue Man Group’s band, which features seven musicians, also uses some pretty non-traditional instruments including a zither and a Chapman Stick, which looks like the fret of an electric guitar and is played with a tapping motion.

Blue Man Group’s show features plenty of wacky, off-the-wall vignettes that will make you laugh, including a tutorial on rock concert moves that everyone needs to know whether they want to become a rock star or just worship one. The show relies heavily on audience reactions – the performers constantly play off and respond to the crowd and there is definitely audience participation.

One of the most spontaneous bits is when a member of the audience is invited on stage to share a snack of Twinkies with the group. The three men watch intently as the volunteer tries to eat the Twinkie with a knife and fork. The Blue Men imitate every move the person makes and they try to get the person to join in on their antics as well. The results are hilarious.

Watching a Blue Man perform is sort of like watching a strange, other-worldly creature explore his surroundings. It also makes you kind of wonder what exactly a Blue Man is and just how someone becomes one.

Blue Man Group was created in New York in the late ’80s by three friends, Matt Goldman, Phil Stanton and Chris Wink, who started out performing in the streets and eventually opened their show in an Off-Broadway theater in 1991. They continued to add shows in other cities and debuted in Las Vegas at the Luxor in 2000 before moving to the Venetian in 2005.

Blue Man Group has recorded three albums including the Grammy-nominated “Audio,” “The Complex” and “Live At The Venetian – Las Vegas,” which is available exclusively on iTunes.

The group also collaborated on the score for the animated motion picture “Robots,” for which they created more than 25 new metal percussion instruments to accent the music.

There are always three Blue Men featured in each show and a cast of eight men at the Venetian are constantly rotating in and out of the schedule.

Trying to describe the Blue Man character can be a challenge. Some people believe he’s a child, some think he’s an alien.

“Blue Man is not an alien in the sense that he’s from another planet, but alien in the sense that he’s very different than what we’ve all become,” said Matthew Banks, a director and performer who has been with the show for eight years.

He likes to describe the character as “part dog, part five-year-old and part hero” or “part shaman, part trickster and part scientist.”

“Blue Man knows nothing, but he’s got curiosity,” Banks said.

However you choose to describe a Blue Man, it definitely takes some special skills to become one.

“You have to be six feet tall, an actor/musician and be able to catch things in your mouth,” said Banks. He’s only half joking. The performers really do have to be able to catch paint balls and marshmallows in their mouths from across the stage and learning how to do that isn’t easy. Banks said it takes about a half hour of practice every day over a six-week period to really master the feat.

Although the cast in Las Vegas is all male, Banks said there has been a woman in the group’s show in Boston. Women are allowed to audition for Blue Man Group as long as they meet the height and build requirements.

The costumes in the show are not elaborate, but the performers do have to transform themselves into the blue-hued creatures.

Banks said the brilliant blue color comes from greasepaint and although it takes about 45 minutes to get into costume, it’s relatively easy to wash the color off. The more challenging task is removing the glue that’s used to attach the bald skullcaps. “We’ve become masters of exfoliation,” Banks said.

Since the Blue Man character is silent, Banks said one of the biggest challenges he faces as a performer is not laughing during the show. He said another challenge is constantly working as a group of three and reacting to and playing off each other. Playing off the audience can have its moments too.

“It takes a lot of nerve,” Banks said. “We walk into the audience and we’re up on chairs and in people’s faces but we try not to be invasive.”

Banks said when it comes to choosing audience members to participate in the show, there is a certain demographic the performers look for. “We try to get the right amount of shyness and excitedness.”

Some audience members have proven to be a little too excitable though. Banks relates a story about a Blue Man who was actually punched in the face after startling a sleeping audience member who suddenly awoke to see the unearthly-looking creature in front of him.

Despite a few challenging aspects, Banks said being a Blue Man is a rewarding experience. “When we go into the lobby and meet the audience afterwards, they are so heartfelt. There are 86-year-olds telling you it’s the best show they’ve ever seen or there are little kids seeing it for the first time.”

“There’s a sense that something beyond entertainment is happening here.”

Show Dates:

Ongoing Daily

Not showing:

Jan 7, 2009
Feb 1, 2009
Mar 7, 17-18, 2009

Phantom – The Las Vegas Spectacular

When the Venetian resort announced it was spending $40 million to design a custom-built theater for “Phantom of the Opera” and renaming the show “Phantom – The Las Vegas Spectacular,” audiences knew they were going to be getting a little something extra in this version of the popular Broadway musical. Even though the Las Vegas production has been enhanced, fans of the original will not be disappointed. Creator Andrew Lloyd Webber, director Hal Prince, choreographer Gillian Lynne and others from the show’s original creative team helped develop “Phantom – The Las Vegas Spectacular” and pared the show from its original two and a half hours down to one hour 35 minutes. Some dialogue and the intermission have been cut from the original, but all of Webber’s well-known songs remain intact.

The things that distinguish the Las Vegas version of “Phantom” from its Broadway counterpart are elaborate new sets and special effects and the 1,800-seat theater, which is itself a spectacle.

Welcome to 19th century Paris

The Venetian employed renowned architect David Rockwell to design the Phantom Theatre, which took 11 months to build. Rockwell’s work includes the Kodak Theatre in Hollywood and Nobu restaurant in Las Vegas. The site, which is located in a space formerly occupied by the Guggenheim Museum, had to be completely excavated and the theater was built from the ground up.

Designed to closely resemble the Opera Garnier in Paris, the lavish Phantom Theatre features plush red seats and curtains, gold statues and carvings, a hand-painted ceiling topped with an 80-foot wide dome and opera boxes lining the sides. The opera boxes are inhabited by 70 colorful mannequins, which were built in Belgium. No two are alike and each one is completely outfitted in an authentic period costume.

The centerpiece of the theater (and major plot point of the show) is the chandelier, which weighs 2,100 pounds and cost $4.5 million to create. The shimmering chandelier is comprised of 29,444 individual crystals that were hand strung.

In this version of “Phantom,” the chandelier hangs in four pieces, which assemble in dramatic fashion during the beginning of the show. The spokes of the ceiling’s dome support 32 cables that guide the chandelier into place and it takes 40 individual computers, complete with navigational software, to run the chandelier. During the show’s climactic scene, the chandelier falls 45 feet in three seconds and stops only 10 feet above those seated beneath it – an effect that always causes a stir in the audience.

“The people sitting underneath feel the wind rush and some people scream … and I don’t blame them,” said Production Stage Manager Ray Gin. In addition to the customized theater, the Las Vegas production of Phantom differs from the original with new sets, state-of-the-art technology and special effects. This is a show where what goes on behind the scenes is almost as incredible as what happens onstage.

Enhancement and modernization of the illusions throughout the show were developed in part by Jim Steinmeyer, who has also worked with David Copperfield.

One of the new sets includes a beautiful opera house façade not seen in other productions of “Phantom.” Gin said the lights on the set run on car batteries that must be recharged each night. During the scene that features the façade, fireworks explode above the opera house – another effect seen only in Las Vegas. “Phantom – The Las Vegas Spectacular” employs two pyrotechnicians to oversee the fireworks and other fire illusions in the show.

Everything in the Phantom Theatre is state-of-the-art including the sound. Gin said the entire theater is filled with surround sound speakers — there is even sound coming up from the stage, immersing the performers in the music, which is provided by a live 19-piece orchestra.

The stage measures 60 by 50 feet – mammoth by Broadway standards. A special CO2 fog machine spreads dry ice 360 degrees around the stage to fill it quickly during the lake scenes.

Besides the 43 actors working onstage, there are 70 crew members behind the scenes making the magic happen and making sure everything runs smoothly including stunt people, wardrobe, makeup and wig assistants.

One crew member drives the Phantom’s boat with a joystick controller, maneuvering around a maze of candles on stage and another drives the huge staircase set seen in the “Masquerade” number.

A day crew is specifically assigned to do things like dust the mannequins, hand-paint shoes, check the intricate beading on all the costumes and repair even the most minor flaws.

“Our credo is that it’s got to look like it’s opening night,” said Gin.

The Music of the Night

“Phantom” recently celebrated its one-year anniversary in Las Vegas and Gin said the audience reception has been very positive. “I think these audiences are great. They go in expecting one thing and they’re astounded…They’re very appreciative. They’re loud.”

They’re loud because “Phantom – The Las Vegas Spectacular” features an incredibly talented Broadway-caliber cast. Anthony Crivello is the Phantom, Kristi Holden and Amanda Huddleston play Christine Daaé and Andrew Ragone appears as Raoul. The show, a tale of unrequited love, is based on Gaston Leroux’s famous novel about a ghost haunting the Paris Opera House. Christine Daaé, an aspiring opera singer is being tutored by a mysterious man she believes is her “angel of music,” sent to her by the spirit of her dead father.

In reality, her angel is the Phantom of the Opera, a lonely, disfigured man who hides behind a mask and lives in an eerie lair beneath the opera house. Not only does the Phantom fall in love with Christine’s magical voice, he becomes obsessed with her as well.

It doesn’t bode well for anyone when Christine becomes engaged to her childhood sweetheart, Raoul. The Phantom is thrown into a jealous rage, causing mayhem around the opera house and ultimately forcing Christine to choose between the two.

“Phantom – The Las Vegas Spectacular” definitely lives up to its new name. Whether you’re a longtime fan of the show or it’s a first-time experience, you’ll leave the theater wishing the music of the night would never end.

Mamma Mia Las Vegas!

Sophie, an average twenty-year old bride to be, sits under the moon and sings of her dream. Next to the crystal blue Mediterranean, her wedding day anxieties, life’s ideals, along with her desire to discover who her real father is are belted across the showroom in powerful song. When her two friends stumble into the scene, drunk with pre-marital madness, it becomes obvious- this show is no circus act; here’s a story to which everyone can relate.

Mandalay Bay is the proud home of the longest running and most successful full-scale Broadway musical ever to play on the Las Vegas Strip…Mamma Mia! With a total of 11 global productions, the show has managed to attract over 27 million people worldwide. And with good reason- the content of the show holds something special. It’s adventures into real-world family issues and life’s less than perfect idiosyncrasies, for audience members just, well, hits home.

If you love the music of ABBA, you might find it hard to remain in your seat and refrain from jumping up and singing along with the actors on stage, but what could be better than being able to sing and dance to your favorite music, a live orchestra and some lighting special effects?

No wedding mayhem is complete without some off the wall aunties. Donna, the mother of the bride and hard-working-who-needs-a-man sole owner of a resort in Greece, is reunited with her two best friends. Although complete opposites (one a high rolling jetsetter and the other probably only jetsetting the grocery store), both waste no time making light of Donna’s wayward past with men resulting in Sophie’s mystery father. While these may normally be solemn circumstances during a wedding, all it takes for these seasoned party animals to lighten the mood are some old camaraderie singing routines- one in particular, singing into a blow dryer and snorkle mask Abba’s renowned “Dancing Queen.”

Ah yes, Abba! The very backbone of Mamma Mia for both the music and story line. Abba’s feel-good, timeless pop songs perfectly compliment the relationship trials of two generations of women and all the chaos real life likes to toss around. Abba songs, music and lyrics by Benny Anderson and Bjorn Ulvaeus make the trip through life a little easier, and a lot more fun.

And this is exactly how these very multi-dimensional, very realistic characters carry on; taking everyday issues and illuminating them with beautiful, energetic song and outrageous, fun filled dance. Yes, everyone has confusion, pain, and skeletons in the closet, but Mamma Mia knows that’s no reason to hold up the party. This show clearly states that the search for identity and a picture perfect life must never over shadow what is truly important: the joy of the moment. Ideals aren’t so far away after all.

Abba’s songs reach another level of enjoyment through this fun-filled show, and don’t worry about not really being able to cut loose to the music during the show. Just wait, you will have your chance after curtain call when all of the performers take the stage for one last hooray where they encourage everyone in the audience to get up, sing along and tap into their inner “Dancing Queen.”

Show Dates:

Fridays through Jan 4, 2009
Nov 30, 2008
Dec 24, 2008
Jan 1, 2009

Better Midler in The Showgirl Must Go On

She’s a tiny woman with a big voice and an even bigger stage presence.

Bette Midler has no problem at all commanding the audience in the 4,296-seat Colosseum at Caesars Palace. In The Showgirl Must Go On, she works the 7,000 square feet of performance space with all her usual charisma — so much so that even she admits there are times when “the showgirl must sit down.”

Midler’s prolific career spans more than 40 years, with numerous appearances on stage and in film, including the Broadway musical “Gypsy” in the early 1990s and the movies “The Rose” (1979) and “Beaches” (1988). Her albums “Bette of Rose” (1995) and “Bathhouse Betty” (1998) both went gold, while “Bette Midler Sings the Rosemary Clooney Songbook” was nominated for a Grammy.

“The Showgirl Must Go On” is different from other Vegas shows. As the Divine Miss M will tell you, her show doesn’t use any French-Canadian circus performers like Cirque du Soleil. Instead there are backup singers, the Staggering Harlots (Jordan Ballard, Kyra DaCosta and Kamilah Marshall) and 20 showgirls, the Caesars Salad girls.

The stage is decorated simply, with a mountain skyline and a drop screen projecting various images set upstage behind Midler’s 13-piece band. Hanging strands resembling beaded curtains mechanically move and shift into various shapes and configurations throughout the show, creating very simple but elegant scenery such as a forest of trees.

Designers Carol Dodds and Michael Levine conjure up some lovely visuals, aided by a massive video screen. For example, Midler sings the touching “Hello In There” amidst multi-layered scrim projections of vintage New York engulfed by fog. The gold coin curtains also become a character in the show, forming objects such as trees, clouds, and rain for several numbers. Costume designer Constance Hoffman has crafted some eye-popping outfits, including reversible clothing that gives the illusion that Midler’s back-up singers — here dubbed the Caesar Salad — clad in black have instantly exploded into bright floral colors.

As Soph, the oldest living showgirl in the world with a pink feather headdress “half the size of Tennessee,” she rattles off a series of scandalous jokes, dirty enough to make even a drunken sailor blush.

But beneath all the showgirl glitz and glamour, the strongest moments in the show come when it is just Midler alone on the stage. Her rendition of “When a Man Loves a Woman” is so powerful it drives the entire audience to its feet. It’s when singing her hits like “The Rose,” “From a Distance” and “Wind Beneath My Wings” that this diva is truly divine.

Show Dates:

Nov. 25 – 26, 28 – 30, 2008
Dec. 2 – 3, 5 – 7, 9 – 10, 30 – 31, 2008
Jan. 2 – 4, 6 – 7, 9 – 11, 13 – 14, 16 – 18, 20 – 21, 23 – 25, 27 – 28, 2009

Cher Plans Artistic Rebirth

The indestructible diva, who retired from touring in 2005, will star in a song-and-dance spectacle starting May 6 at the 4,100-seat Colosseum in Caesars Palace. She’ll perform four shows weekly for one month, then return mid-August through early October, leapfrogging stints with Bette Midler. Her pact with promoter AEG Live extends three years.

Cher, 61, promises a “visually unbelievable” hit parade that entails elaborate choreography, complex staging, eye-popping costumes, 14 dancers and four aerialists.

“Creatively, we’re doing something that’s never been done with sets,” she says. “Getting the whole thing in book form, in pictures, has taken months. Our set moves down from the ceiling, in from the sides, up from the floor. We have screens in the foreground, the center and the back. We can change a city into a forest in two seconds. You’ll see a different stage for every song.”

The music will access all chapters of Cher’s career, from her Sonny & Cher start to her recent dance-pop phase, and she’s plotting updates of both old and new hits.

Cher’s extravagant 2002-05 Farewell Tour rang up $192.5 million from 273 shows, the ninth-highest-grossing tour in history, according to Billboard Boxscore.

“Cher definitely achieved elite status as a live performer on her Farewell Tour, which was a remarkable endurance test and a hugely popular draw,” says Billboard touring editor Ray Waddell. “With her elaborate costumes, long list of hits and over-the-top presentation, I can’t think of another artist more suited to Vegas. A Cher concert is just a really good time.”

Cher insists her Vegas splash won’t recycle Farewell’s motifs: “I’d like to be challenged.”

She hasn’t seen Colosseum concerts by previous residents Celine Dion or Elton John, nor the venue itself (“I saw a picture of it”). She’s furiously working out to gear up for rehearsals, and she likes the idea of bouncing between her home in Malibu and a steady gig in Vegas.

Show Dates (2009):

Feb.: 21 – 22, 24 – 25, 28

March.: 1, 3 – 4, 7 – 8, 10 – 11, 14 – 15, 17, 20 – 21

April.: 25 – 26, 28 – 29

May: 2 – 3, 5 – 6, 9 – 10, 12 – 13, 16 – 17, 19 – 20, 23 – 24