Broadway To Vegas

Copyright: October 20, 2002
By: Laura Deni
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LOVE TRIANGLE BIOPIC NEWS TO NEXT OF KIN

Pier Angeli and Vic Damone

James Dean and Pier Angeli

"I saw my mother in bed dead. I made the funeral arrangements as a teen-ager in high school. She did not commit suicide," emphatically stated Perry Damone, the son of Vic Damone and the crooner's first wife, the late actress Pier Angeli, who had a long history of medical problems and was on prescription medication.

During their divorce a fierce custody battle took place with Pier Angeli taking Perry, who was named after Perry Como, to live in Rome, Italy where they resided until Perry was 10.

A biopic about Perry's mother is in the works called No Tomorrow centering on the three s words - salacious sex sells. It's the triangle of the delicate actress Pier Angeli, Damone and James Dean.

The wife of former lightweight boxing champ Joey Gamache, Sissy Gamache, has been signed by producer Gene Corman to play Pier Angeli. Corman apparently hasn't yet cast Dean and is angling for Marc Anthony to play Damone.

We asked Perry if he knew anything about the project and his response was spirited.

Perry Damone

Perry told Broadway To Vegas; "I am not aware of any project other than a book out of Australia involving my mother. This kind of thing has happened in the past without the family being consulted."

"My mother died penniless. They stole everything from her - underwear - everything. I don't oppose somebody writing about my mother, but they need to consult with the family. When something like this happens I am right on it. We just want to make sure that the story goes out the right way. In my mind I don't mind a book or a story about my mother. But, you've got to talk to the family. If you're going to do a movie or a story you had better talk to the people who are involved," he reiterated.

"If they don't do that, there are underlying reasons for it - they are trying to avoid costs - monies to be paid to the family - because they want to take all of the money telling the story about her life. And, that's not right. They want to fly by the seat of their pants with outside information. This isn't the first time. This is like the 15th time we've had to face stuff like that."

Vic Damone and Pier Angeli share a campy wink with their son, Perry. Photo property of Perry Damone.

The interesting story that nobody ever gets into is the custody battle in which Vic didn't hesitate to send a message that a father should have rights.

"That's right and my father went to jail for that," answered Perry.

That event altered the parental mind-set, opening up the legal morass to provide rights to fathers.

The issue is one parent deliberately removing a child to a different country, making it impossible or causing extreme hardship for the other parent to ever see the child again.

If the parent has ties to that foreign country the situation gets muddy.

This is similar to what many women now are facing - especially women who married Saudi men. Now divorced, they discover their children taken to a foreign country, by the other parent who had nationality and family connections to that country.

When Damone and Angeli divorced the custody of Perry went to his mother, which was standard procedure. Co-parenting wasn't in the vocabulary. When Angeli attempted to take Perry to Italy, Vic tried to stop her. The police stopped him.

What we said to Perry was: "When your father went through this, male rights to a child were not recognized the way they are now. Had it not been for the heartache that your father went through, men today might not have many of the rights that they now possess. He took a stand in trying to be an active, participating father to you. The stand he took was not popular, not easy on him, and some of the negative of that stayed with him for decades. He truly laid the groundwork for the freedoms today that men can exercise in saying - that is my child."

Debbie Reynolds, Pier, Perry and Russ Tamblyn. It was Debbie who eventually convinced Pier to return to America. Photo: Property of Perry Damone

"Exactly," responded Perry.

To the people who want to make this movie Perry stresses: "My family needs to know about this."

Pier Angeli was born in Cagliari, Sardinia, Italy, the twin sister of actress Marisa Pavan. Following her divorce from Damone she married Italian bandleader Armando Trovajoli and had a second son, Howard Andrew, giving Perry a half-brother.

"We've both gone through a lot of hell over things like this. I am part of the first part of her life, then Andrew is the middle part of her life and I close it, because she died when we came back to California and I saw her in bed dead. I did the funeral arrangements as a kid - as a student in high school. So, I closed her life. But, basically we all have a part," he emphasized regarding the family's right to be consulted about Pier Angeli being commercialized.

PERRY COMO STATUE SINGS OUT FOR TOURISTS

Perry Como statue

In movies statues have come to life lending romance and plotlines. In Canonsburg, Pennsylvania the statue of Perry Como will begin singing in hopes of promoting tourism.

The Canonsburg native who grew up to be one of the world's most popular singers passed away in May 2001.

Music from Perry's statue? "That is correct, responded Canonsburg Mayor Anthony Colaizzo who spoke with Broadway To Vegas about the project. "People were requesting it - saying we should have music."

"Then the president of the council, Jean Popp, used her family resources and came up with the money. She said - We'll have music."

Popp paid for the sound system, a contribution she made in memory of her late aunt and uncle, Gloria and Ray Guadagni, who grew up just blocks away from Como. The sound system will be placed inside the library of the borough building. Two outside speakers will project music toward the Perry Como statue.

In addition to the sound system there are music royalties. "We are going to pay ASCAP. That's all we have to pay," added Colaizzo.

"We plan to open it in December, to coincide with the borough's annual Christmas Parade on Dec. 7."

"At Christmas time we'll have all of his Christmas songs. After that I don't know yet how we'll select the other songs. Whatever we have here we'll keep playing," continued the mayor.

Calming Como music will come from the statue 10-12 hours a day, seven days a week.

"It's a life-size statue," Colaizzo said about the 5'8" statue which was created by Vermont artist Stanislaw Lutostansqi.

"We had the sculpture go down to Florida and he measured Perry. That is his actual size."

"We have bricks with donors names on them who helped pay for the statue. It was paid for when we dedicated it. We raised over $100,000. The statue itself cost $65,000, so we had about $35,000 in our treasury."

"In making the statute The Heritage Society must have sold 2,000 plates of spaghetti and meatballs and about 14,000 candy bars with Perry's picture on them and we sold 300-400 hundred bricks," he happily recounted. "We got a bench dedicated. We had people as far away as California, England and France who came in for the dedication."

"The only thing sad in this whole project is that Perry didn't live long enough to see it," he said referring to a project important to Perry's late wife, Roselle. She was active in the project from the inception.

Perry and Roselle Como

"She promised us Perry," continued Colaizzo. "She said - 'I'll bring Perry. I'll bring him up even if I have to bring him up on a stretcher.'

On Saturday, May 15th, 1999 the statue of Mr. C was unveiled as a permanent reminder of the honor he has brought to his home town and his contribution to the world of entertainment.

Around the base of the statue are plaques that contain the names of the donors, those nearest the statue are the plaques of the Como family.

The statue bears the inscription TO THIS PLACE GOD HAS BROUGHT ME - a favorite saying of Perry's.

Perry did not attend the festivities. He was at home in Jupiter, Florida, recuperating from a bronchial illness. Four generations of his family did attend the hour long ceremony.

"The statue was designed to be a tourist draw and - it is - somebody is there all the time. People put flowers on the statue. He was well loved," softly said the mayor who paused and then thoughtfully and deliberately continued.

"Perry was made up of the fiber of all the nationalities that came to this county - the wholesome customs that they had, good religious upbringing and the determination to make something of yourself for economic reasons. That was the determination that made them overcome prejudice and all of the ills. They instilled that into their children and their children were successful," added Colaizzo.

Palena, Italy

There are smaller versions of the Como statue, which have been presented to dignitaries. In August a 28-inch version was taken by Colaizzo and his wife, LaVerne, to Palena, Italy for that town's weeklong festival honoring Como whose parents were born in Palena.The Palena ceremonies included the naming of a street in honor of the singer.

"We had a wonderful time," reported. Colaizzo. "They had their arms open for us, They just received us overwhelmingly."

"We met with the city council and the mayor and I presented a proclamation from our council. I read it in English and then they had an interpreter who read it in Italian. I didn't want to make any mistakes, so that is why I wanted the interpreter," said Colaizo who speaks fluent Italian.

"After that I spoke for an hour-and-a-half to the council in Italian. I opened up my conversation with - I do not speak in true Italian Italian, but I do speak the Italian language of Canonsburg, PA. That melted the ice."

Prof. Gabriella Castiglione who accompanied baritone Renato Caldarale at the City Theatre in Palena during the concert honoring Como

"At the Perry Como Festival they had his music playing throughout the community," Colaizzo recalled. "They had loud speakers on the streets and you go down the streets and you would hear his singing all day long - from 10 o clock in the morning to about 10 o clock at night."

"His most popular song over there is Magic Moments," Colaizzo divulged. "When they had the dedication of the street they had a procession and we all walked to the church. They had a band in front, the governor of Brutzi showed up. The assistant to the Ambassador to the United States was there. Perry's son David and his wife, Debbie, flew in from California. We all marched to the church and had a Mass there for the dedication. At the end of the Mass, another Como, no relation to Perry, played on the organ Magic Moments. It brought tears to everybody's eyes. But the crowning jewel to the celebration of the street dedication was the arrival of Debbie and David Como."

As for future plans the mayor opined that, "The Heritage Society is hoping to have a museum honoring all of the musicians from this area - Bobby Vinton, Four Coins, Jimmy Palmer - who is very popular in the Midwest."

"That is what our money is going towards now. We had to curtail our fundraising for the last two years because we were preparing our Bicentennial Centennial. We are 200 years old. That is over with. So the girls that did a lot of the fund raising for that one are members of the Heritage Society. They will now start in on the Museum project. It is a community effort."

THE CELINE DION NAME GAME

A press conference will be held Monday, October 21, to announce that the British rock band Muse doesn't need to sue Celine Dion. The diva's new Las Vegas show will no longer be called Muse.

The management company for Dion, offered to buy the rights for $50,000 but the offer was rejected by the band.

At first Dion's firm reacted to the refusal by pressing ahead informing Muse: "Our client will proceed without the proposed settlement and will use the mark Celine Dion Muse for its shows and related goods and services."

The band, who has sold about 3 million records worldwide, own the rights to the use of the name worldwide, including live performances and records, threatened to sue Dion.

Francine Chaloult, Dion's publicist, said the name will not now be used for the Las Vegas show. The actual name of the show will be announced next Monday during a news conference in Belgium, she said.

Dion will open in Las Vegas in March, at Caesars Palace in a brand-new 4,000-seat theatre designed to resemble the Coliseum in Rome. The production is scheduled to run a minimum of three years.

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SWEET CHARITY

DIVAS SIMPLY SINGING is an annual star studded magical evening of song and entertainment created by Sheryl Lee Ralph to benefit Project Angel Food and Caring For Babies with AIDS.

This unusual event features a host of exceptionally talented women in the entertainment business united in this benefit concert. Those gals include Liz Callaway, Loretta Devine, Daphne Rubin-Vega, Jenifer Lewis, Valarie Pettiford as well as Tisha Campbell Martin, E.G.Daily, Rebekah Del Rio, Moe Daniels, Joanna, Alexis, Elizabeth Berkley and China Forbes.

Each diva will perform one song with the sole accompaniment of a concert grand piano. Only the bare power of each diva's voice - in other words real ability, rather than special effects masquerading as talent.

Saturday, October 26th at the Wilshire Ebell Theatre in Los Angeles.

GIRLS WITH GUITARS presented by WGAR Radio, Fairview Hospital and Legacy Ford, stars Tanya Tucker, Terri Clark, Tammy Cochran, Holly Lamar and Jennifer Hanson. All proceeds benefit Susan Komen Foundation. The event takes place at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland, Ohio on Tuesday, October 22.

THE LION KING will stage an Actors' Fund Performance Tuesday, October 22nd at The New Amsterdam Theatre, NYC.

FRANKIE AND JOHNNY IN THE CLAIRE DE LUNE starring Edie Falco and Stanley Tucci will stage an Actors' Fund Performance on Sunday, October 27th at The Belasco Theatre, NYC.

THE MUSIC GOES ROUND AND ROUND

PARADE words and music by Jerry Herman not be confused with Jason Robert Brown's Parade which opened at Broadway's Vivian Beaumont Theatre in 1998.

This Parade is a Herman musical revue which opened at New York's Players Theatre on Jan. 20, 1960. It starred Dody Goodman, Richard Tone, Fia Karin, Charles Nelson Reilly and Lester James and helped establish Herman's reputation as a composer with his star on the ascendant.

Listeners in general and Herman fans in particular will be delighted that Herman's Parade - unavailable since 1961 - is being released by Decca Broadway - on CD for the first time - in the stores on Oct. 22.

This wonderful release can also offer insight into how composers recycle their own compositions. The song Show Tunes received a different set of lyrics to become It's Today for his hit Mame. Herman's piano playing overture would transfer into I Like to Make the World Laugh for the show Mack and Mabel.

Parade is a humorous musical time capsule featuring songs lampooning the issues of the day including Just Plain Folks which cast Dody Goodman and Charles Nelson Reilly as Mary and Nelson Rockefeller and Jolly Theatrical Season which has the duo spoofing then current theatrical flops.

Starring Dody Goodman, Richard Tone, Fia Karin, Charles Nelson Reilly and Lester James the musicians include; John Beal (Bass), Al Casamenti (Guitar), Jack Elliott (Piano), Jerry Herman (Piano) and Ralph Roberts (Percussion)

Herman's first Greenwich Village revue, Nitecap, enjoyed a two-year run. Then along came Parade which led to his first Broadway assignment, Milk and Honey, a solid hit which earned Herman a Tony nomination.

Hello, Dolly! followed in 1964, and two years later Mame conquered Broadway. Herman considers Mame and La Cage the most fun he'd ever had in the theatre and Mack and Mabel, his bittersweet treatment of silent movie mogul Mack Sennett and star Mabel Normand, his finest achievement. The latest version opens later this year in Houston. Herman was so hurt that he wasn't even nominated for a Tony Award for Mack and Mabel - for which he felt he should have won a Tony - that he almost stopped writing altogether.

He closes all of his concert shows with a song he calls his theme song - I'll Be Here Tomorrow, from The Grand Tour which he has slightly written to reflect September 11.

CLEAN UP, FIX UP, PAINT UP

THE GUZMAN CENTER FOR THE PERFORMING ARTS built in the 1920s as a vaudeville and movie palace called The Olympic has undergone it's first restoration since 1972. The major undertaking was executed entirely by hand requiring dozens of artisans to climb 63 feet of scaffolding to scrape, patch, repair and, in some cases, remold ornate details -- such as doves and pheasants carved into the plaster. All were then repainted in the original color scheme chosen by renowned theater architect John Emerson.

''This is a priceless part of Miami's past,'' said Coral Gables architect Richard Heisenbottle, who oversaw the $2.1 million effort, funded by the state Division of Historical Resources and Miami-Dade County's Cultural Affairs Department.

The 1,709-seat hall is known as an exquisite example of ''atmospheric theaters'' in which clouds and stars float across a sky-blue ceiling. The venue was renamed for prophylactics king Maurice Gusman in the early 1970s when he saved the landmark from the wrecking ball. Now on the National Register of Historic Places, it'll be Miami's star attraction during the annual conference of the League of Historic American Theatres in July. The Guzman located in Miami reopened with a concert by the Florida Philharmonic Orchestra.



CATCH! the new show presented by The Flying Karamazov Brothers those masters of juggling and cheap theatrics. The show is a celebration of their many happy and successful invasions of the Great White Way and nearby beach-heads.

Catch! includes their traditional juggling of everyday items such as sickles, hatchets, meat cleavers and torches. For fans of the bizarre and unexpected, there is that perennial favorite, The Gamble, where the audience brings whatever objects of whimsy, or of terror, that they think will prove un-jugglable, betting a standing ovation against a pie in the face that it can't be done.

These zany jugglers are touring their way around the world with great juggling, bad jokes, and lots of laughs. Oct 25-27 at The Kimmel Center in Philadelphia, then November 1-10 on City Stage in Springfield, Mass.

A LAST DANCE FOR SYBIL written by Ossie Davis will star his wife, Ruby Dee, and Earle Hyman. Edward G Smith will direct a cast that includes Teagle Brugere, Herb Downer, Craig Allen Edwards, Arthur French, Ben Hammer, Larkin Malloy, Katherine Puma, Alice Spivak, and Count Stovall.

Davis told those attending a Sardi's press conference that this has been a 40 year project. He first began work on the play when he was starring on Broadway with Dee in Purlie Victorious.

A Last Dance For Sybil is billed as "a drama about power and economic freedom that crosses the globe from Wall Street to West Africa." Davis told the crowd that the play concerns the question of how much of their cultural identity African-Americans should be expected to give up in the process of becoming integrated into U.S. society. "Was it sufficient for us just to walk into the mainstream?" Davis asked rhetorically. He also noted that the play is set in the present day but that it does take "chronological liberties, poetic license."

A Last Dance for Sybil will be performed at the 151 seat St. Clement's Theatre. Previews begin November 6 and the official opening is set for November 17.

DRACULA by Hamilton Deane and John L. Balderston, an adaptation of Bram Stoker's novel of the same name will be presented October 25 through November 16. by Actors Cabaret of Eugene, Oregon.

In Dr. Seward's (Stephen Mandell) Sanatorium, his daughter, Lucy (Jennifer Coombs), has been stricken by the same strange malady that recently killed her friend Mina. Neither Seward nor Lucy's fiance‚ can help her, so, in desperation, the doctor has sent for his friend, Professor Van Helsing (William Campbell), a noted scientist. Van Helsing's suspicions are confirmed: A vampire is responsible for Lucy's illness and Mina's death. Could it be the Sewards' new neighbor, Count Dracula (Harold Baker)? It would seem impossible. Count Dracula is from Transylvania and a vampire must return each dawn to the earth in which the corpse it inhabits was buried. The struggle of three mortal men against the satanic genius of Dracula is both terrifying and thrilling. Good must triumph over Evil, but how?

Bram Stoker's Dracula, or The Un-Dead was published in 1897. By 1924, producer Hamilton Deane's highly theatrical stage version was playing in London to sold-out audiences. Publisher and producer Horace Liveright took notice and hired American newspaperman and playwright John L. Balderston to rewrite Deane's adaptation, improving upon dialogue, for a New York production. In 1927, Dracula, featuring Bela Lugosi, ran for 33 weeks at the Fulton (Helen Hayes) Theatre, and earned over $2 million in New York and on tour. In October of 1977, it was revived on Broadway featuring Frank Langella, with sets by Edward Gorey. It is one of very few plays written over 70 years ago that is still performed frequently today.

Raymond Huntley as Count Dracula

The original role of Count Dracula went to a young actor named Raymond Huntley with an unusual provision - he had to provide his own evening clothes while the production would provide the cape. Eventually he would portray Count Dracula more than 2000 times. When Huntley refused an offer to reprise his role on Broadway, Bela Lugosi was afforded his big break, although even he never portrayed the Count as often as Huntley.

Lugosi's distinctive vocal inflections, the result of a thick Hungarian accent, made him one of the most imitated men of the 20th century. Even though dozens of actors have played the part of Dracula, including Christopher Lee, Louis Jordan and Gary Oldman, no one has come close to eclipsing Lugosi's image. Ultimately, he became so closely linked to Dracula that it ruined his career. He was instantly typecast and spent the next 25 years battling Boris Karloff for the title of Most Popular Horror Movie Star.

Dracula will be presented in ACE's Annex Theater in Eugene, Oregon. . The company opened its first season in 1979 and has since produced over 250 plays, musicals and original shows.

The twenty-fourth season at Actors Cabaret of Eugene - Artistic Director is Joe Zingo, Executive Director and Producer is Jim Roberts - is supported in part by a grant from the Oregon Arts Commission and the National Endowment for the Arts. It is also made possible in part by a grant from Lane Arts Council with support from City of Eugene Cultural Services.

SON OF DRAKULA written by David Drake, who was born David Drakula and is related to the infamous blood sucker - Valad, The Impaler, aka Dracula, Drakula Transylvania's most high-profile export. For obvious reasons Drake's mother changed her son's last name when he started school.

Directed by Chuck Brown. Produced by Paul Lucas. Previews begin October 24 running through November 10 at the at Dance Theatre Workshop, NYC.

DEBBIE DOES DALLAS based on the x-rated American film classic, is a coming of age story about a group of ambitious young women who want nothing more than to help their friend Debbie use her big assets to get a spot on the cheerleading squad of the Dallas Cowboys football team.

This production takes major liberties with the world-renowned film, and adds original contemporary music by Andrew Sherman with choreography by Jennifer Codt.

Sherie Rene Scott, last seen in Aida, has the lead in a cast that includes; Paul Fitzgerald, Mary Catherine Garrison, Caitlin Miller, Tricia Paoluccio, Del Pentecost, Jon Patrick Walker and Jama Williamson.

The show got its start at the 2001 New York International Fringe Festival in a production originally conceived and adapted by Susan L. Schwartz. Directed by Erica Schmidt. The producers are: The Araca Group, Jam Theatricals and Waxman Williams Entertainment.

Currently in previews, the show will open Oct. 29 at the Jane Street Theater.

SOUTH PACIFIC starring Las Vegas resident Robert Goulet heads back to his native Canada, opening October 22 at the Maisonneuve At Place des Arts in Montreal. The cast includes Amanda Watkins as Nellie Forbush, David Warshofsky as Luther Billis, Lewis Cleale as Lt. Cable, Gretha Boston as Bloody Mary, John Wilkerson as Capt. George Baracket, Kisha Howard as Bloody Mary's daughter Liat, and James Judy Comdr. William Harbison. Performances through October 27.

PRUNE DANISH which is Jackie Mason's latest one man show officially opens Oct 22nd at the Royale Theatre, NYC.

THE PRODUCERS national tour stars Lewis J. Stadlen and Don Stephenson. The company also include Fred Applegate (Franz Liebkind), Jeff Hyslop (Carmen Ghia), Lee Roy Reams (Roger De Bris) and Angie Schworer (Ulla). Conductor and musical director is Don York. The ensemble includes Melanie Allen, Alan Bennett, Pam Bradley, Jennifer Paige Chambers, Jennifer Clippinger, Jennifer Lee Crowl, Meg Gillentine, Michael Goddard, Daniel Herron, Nancy Johnston, Kimberly Jones, Michael Kostroff, Jillana Laufer, Robin Lewis, Kevin Ligon, Melissa Rae Mahon, Greg Reuter, Jessica Sheridan, Jerald Vincent, Patrick Wetzel and Kent Zimmerman.

The production is in Cincinnati, Ohio at the Aronoff Theatre, Oct. 22 Nov. 10.

AMOUR a translation of the French musical Le Passe Muraille, featuring music by Michel LeGrand, has James Lapine directing a cast which features; Melissa Errico, Malcolm Gets, Norm Lewis, John Cunnigham, Christopher Fitzgerald and Lewis Cleale. Opens October 20 at the Music Box Theatre.

MARTY

John C. Reilly

the musical based on the 1955 screenplay by Paddy Chayefsky and on the United Artists film starring Ernest Borgnine, has opened its world premiere in Boston. Promoted as - "By the men who brought you some of America's favorite musicals, Marty will have you leaving the theatre singing," this is obviously not your grandmother's Marty.

Book by Rupert Holmes, Music by Charles Strouse, Lyrics by Lee Adams.

Marty is the story of a regular guy in search of love. When he meets the practical Clara at the Stardust Ball one Saturday night, happiness is within his grasp -- if only he can keep his friends and family from interfering. The musical stars Tony Award nominee John C. Reilly.

Mark Brokaw directs a cast that includes, in addition to Reilly; Michael Allosso, Barbara Andres, Frank Aronson, Jim Augustine, Jim Bracchitta, Bethany J. Cassidy, Tim Douglas, Jennifer Frankel, Kent French, Alexander Gemignani, Shannon Hammons, Cheryl McMahon, Robert Montano, Evan Pappas, Marilyn Pasekoff, Matt Ramsey, Joey Sorge, Anne Torsiglieri and Mark Walker.

Choreography is by Tony Award winner Rob Ashford. Orchestrations are by Don Sebeski and Larry Hochman. Eric Stern serves as musical director. The designers include Robert Jones (sets), Mark McCullough (lights), Jess Goldstein (costumes) and Kurt Fischer (sound).

The Huntington Theatre Company, now in its 21st season, Artistic Director Nicholas Martin and Managing Director Michael Maso is located at Boston University. The annual audience exceeds 175,000.

Performances of Marty through November 24.

LAUGH A LOT

CHRIS ROCK has been in Las Vegas filming scenes for his upcoming movie, Head of State, a flick he stars, co-wrote and in which he is making his directorial debut.

Chris Rock

The comedy focuses on Gilliam (Rock), a Washington, D.C., city council candidate who suddenly finds himself running for president after the Democrats choose him to replace the party's suddenly deceased standard-bearer. Bernie Mac co-stars as Gilliam's running mate -- and brother-in-law.

Rock has been all over the country as Gilliam's bus campaign crosses the country. Rock was in Nashville to film at the National Wrestling Alliance-Total Nonstop Action (NWA-TNA) pay-per-view rasslin' show at the Tennessee State Fairgrounds. The scene features wrestlers like Jeff Jarrett and Syxxpac. Other stops included South Dakota's Mount Rushmore.

In Las Vegas the cameras were rolling when the campaign bus crossed Hoover Dam and sped along Interstate 215 and the Strip. Last Monday the Election Day scene was filmed in a Henderson, Nevada neighborhood, featuring hundreds of apathetic nonvoters, played by hundreds of local extras, sitting at home.

They suddenly come to life when they hear that Gilliam has a lead at the polls, prompting them to hit the streets running - so they can vote against him. Requirements for being hired as an extra were the ability to stay up all night outside in the elements. Those under the age of 50 were required to be able to run very fast and senior citizen extras capable of walking very fast.

THE SMOTHERS BROTHERS opens a four nighter Tuesday at the Hilton Grand Hotel in Atlantic City, NJ.

BOB NEWHART telling stories Thursday in Cedar Rapids, Iowa at the Paramount Theatre and then making the folks laugh Friday in Rockford, Ill. at the Coronado Theatre.

WHO'S WHERE

DON HENLEY the five time Grammy award winner, in his first solo tour in nearly a decade, performs in Las Vegas at the Aladdin Theatre on Saturday Oct. 26.

KORN center stage Monday in Greensboro, NC at the Greensboro Coliseum. On Tuesday the performance is in Atlanta, Georgia at the Philips Arena. Thursday finds the troupe in Tampa, Florida at St. Pete Times Forum and on Friday the show is in Miami at the Bayfront Park Amphitheatre.

BETTY BUCKLEY October 22-November 9 at Feinstein's at the Regency in New York, NY.

REGIS PHILBIN AND SUSAN LUCCI October 27 at Resorts International in Atlantic City.

GEORGE WINSTON entertains tonight in Bend, Oregon at the Summit High School Theatre. On Wednesday the performer is in Eugene, Oregon at the Soering Theatre. Friday finds him in Grants Pass, Oregon at the Rogue Theatre.

OAK RIDGE BOYS Friday on stage in Prestonburg, KY at the Mountain Arts Center and on Saturday in Pensacola, Florida at the Interstate Fair.

ARLO GUTHRIE in the spotlight on Friday at The Center for the Performing Arts in University Park, Ill. On Saturday the show is in Skokie, Ill at the North Shore Center for the Performing Arts.

ELVIS COSTELLO has a busy week. Tomorrow he headlines the Orpheum Theatre in Boston. On Tuesday he begins a two nighter in New York City at the Beacon Theatre. On Friday he's in the spotlight in Upper Darby, PA at the Tower Theatre and he closes out the week, Saturday, in Washington, D.C. at the DAR Constitution Hall.

LINDA EDER singing October 25 and 26 with the Charlotte Symphony in Charlotte, NC.

DAVID CLAYTON-THOMAS AND BLOOD, SWEAT & TEARS with guest Rare Earth Friday, October 25 at Symphony Hall, Springfield, MASS.

THREE MO TENORS centerstage Monday in Columbus, Georgia at the Rivercenter Performing Arts Center. On Thursday they are in the spotlight in Panama City, Florida for a show at the Marina Civic Center. They close out the week, Saturday, in Charlotte, North Carolina at the Blumenthal Center.

MAUREEN McGOVERN performs October 24 at a private Tournament of Roses Coronation in Pasadena, CA.

LEE GREENWOOD performs Tuesday at the Farmers Fair and Expo in Perris, CA. On Saturday the former Las Vegas casino dealer will be in the spotlight in at the San Diego Convention Center in San Diego, CA.

WYONNA entertains Tuesday in Wilkes-Barre, PA at the F.M. Kirby Center. On Friday she can be found in Lowell, MASS at the Lowell Memorial Auditorium and on Saturday she sings at the State Theatre in New Brunswick, N.J.

OZZY OSBOURNE performs at Rain in the Desert at the Palms Resort, Las Vegas on Oct. 25. The family's Las Vegas stay will be captured by MTV.

BERNADETTE PETERS performing October 24 at the Hilbert Circle Theatre in Indianapolis, IN. On October 26 she can be enjoyed at the Kleinhans Auditorium in Buffalo, NY

THE FIFTH DIMENSION performing Friday at the Lake Charles Civic Arena in Lake Charles, LA.

LARRY GATLIN singing Thursday in Youngstown, Ohio at the Stambaugh Auditorium. On Friday the entertainment is on stage in Springfield, Ill at the Sangamon Auditorium then he heads to Lufkin, Texas for a show Saturday in the Temple Theatre.

JOE DIFFIE, MARK CHESNUTT, TRACY LAWRENCE 51 number one hits, 25 million albums sold on stage at the Stardust Pavilion, Las Vegas October 25-26.

PAUL McCARTNEY Grand Garden Arena of the MGM-Grand in Las Vegas on October 26.

LUCIANO PAVAROTTI makes his final visit to Las Vegas in this his farewell tour, performs at Mandalay Bay, October .26.

BURT BACHARACH October 26 at Harrah's Hotel in Laughlin, Nevada.

JUDY COLLINS AND DAVID CROSBY on stage at the Paris Las Vegas Hotel October 25-27.

PIFFLE AND PROFUNDITIES

SOPRANOS WATCH EACH OTHER the television mob clan showed up last week to watch Jamie-Lynn Sigler make her debut as Belle in Broadway's Beauty and the Beast. In attendance at the Lunt-Fontanne Theatre - and at the Planet Hollywood after-party - were Robert Iler, Tony Sirico, Federico Castelluccio and Aida Turturro.

Karen Young, a new addition to the The Sopranos is starring in Cheat by Kennedy Center Award winner Julie Jensen, directed by Joan Vail Thorne, running through November 3 at the Women's Project Theatre. Karen plays a woman torn between her responsibilities to her family and her affection for a young co-worker in a munitions factory at the end of WWII. Karen may have been in the midst of rehearsals, but she simply had to find time to wait for the HBO guy to hook up her cable - so she could invite her fellow cast members over last Sunday, October 13, after the show - to join her in watching as she made her debut on The Sopranos playing a Federal Agent working to gather evidence on Tony and his activities.

Next Column: October 27, 2002
Copyright: October 20, 2002. All Rights Reserved. Reviews, Interviews, Commentary, Photographs or Graphics from any Broadway To Vegas (TM) columns may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, utilized as leads, or used in any manner without permission, compensation and/or credit.
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Laura Deni

U.S. Postal Address: Post Office Box 60538, Las Vegas, NV 89160
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