Oh, how I wish I’d had the presence of mind to snap a photo of the Tropicana Las Vegas marquee last night. It reads, in part:
WAYNE
NEWTON
Once Before I Go
NOW
The concluding imperative makes the sign look like a plug for Flomax. The Wayner stars in a desperate struggle between a strong will and a weak bladder! Newton’s show is definitely not for the incontinent (even though its appeal will be scant for the under-65 set), running approximately 100 minutes and feeling much longer still.
Cheetah Girl in the house! If you don’t subscribe to the S&G Twitter feed, here’s a mini-chronicle of last night’s opening …
Wayne Newton’s “Once Before I Go” is once too often. Worse than [Matt] Goss, Zowie Bowie & Gordie Brown combined. No Kym Johnson sighting … Sight of the night: Robin Leach, tummy protruding like the prow of a zeppelin, his sweater front covered in stains. Stay classy, Robin … Also present: Drew Carey, Wayne Brady, Sabrina Bryan, DWTS’ Cheryl, Edyta, Alec, Anna & Jonathan, Wink F. Martindale & sundry lesser lights [Zowie Bowie, Holly Madison, Alicia Jacobs’ dog, accompanied by Jacobs, etc.]
After the show, media and other invitees noshed on finger foods in a white-carpeted area at the center of which was a roped-off sort of VIP room-cum-goldfish bowl. Thus, the Red Carpeteers could hobnob in semi-seclusion, while everyone was tacitly invited to stand around and gape.
Random observation: Cheryl Burke must bathe in spray-tan, although even her not-found-in-nature ruddiness paled next to Mr. Martindale’s hair dye. The assembled glitterati afforded some visual relief from the sorry spectacle onstage but nothing, alas, could efface the sounds emerging from Newton’s tortured throat. He’s not resting on his laurels so much as actively demolishing them.
All Caesars’ horses and all Caesars’ men can’t improve a grim outlook for Harrah’s Entertainment‘s Canadian flagship.
The CBC segment on Windsor broke my heart. When I lived in Detroit, we would cross the river at least once a week for dinner or a trip to the casino.
The biggest problem now is U.S. Customs/Immigration. One never knows whether the crossing back into the U.S. will be one minute or one hour. It has killed business in Windsor. Last year, we sat in the tunnel, under the river, breathing exhaust fumes for 55 minutes. That was the end of Windsor trips for me. Very sad.
Love the tweets on the show, didn’t get a chance to respond to them on there, but thought they were good. Drew C’s tweets fawned over the show, but I can understand the professional courtesy angle. You have me revisiting whether I wanted to give the show a chance. I’ve known his voice is gone, but I thought it might be worth seeing Wayne once before he’s completely gone from the scene for a chance to say, yep I actually saw him, even if he sucked.
If you’re considering seeing this show, here’s my opinion. First, I’m glad word’s getting out that Wayne’s voice is shot. That came as a surprise to me when I saw him at the Stardust a few years ago, and it’s only fair to warn people. Still, I’m 100% glad I went. Wayne is one of the great showmen, and I enjoyed it in a completely unironic way. His song arrangements were smart enough to give the difficult passages to his backup singer/dancers. The highlight was to behold the devotion and joy on the faces of the 60-year-old women in the audience. I can’t be the first to quip that Wayne puts the “sex” in “sexagenarian.”
It’s perhaps worth mentioning that Newton has the biggest band on the Strip — 20 players, plus three backup singers. The Tiffany Theater sound system still needs work, as The Wayner’s microphone was making some nasty feedback noises the other night.
With that a big band, I’d think Wayne would have that Musician’s Union grievance settled. Have you heard anything?
I’ve been wondering the same thing … but too busy with other projects to ask around. Honestly, I’ve been trying to think about Wednesday night’s show as little as possible.