Photos: ‘One Epic Night’ at Plaza is, well, one epic night of entertainment
There’s a fear among us ink-stained wretches that when producers put the word “epic” into the title of a show that it can hardly live up to its name. But once you’ve been blown away by the spectacular opening magic trick by Jarrett & Raja in ONE EPIC NIGHT at the Downtown Plaza, you know that what follows lives up to its impressive description.
Add amazing drummer Stet Howland — better than I remember Buddy Rich! — and you have ONE EPIC NIGHT of entertainment. Jarrett & Raja start with a nearly empty wooden crate that contains a miniature piano. Raja steps in and begins to play it as curtains close, then reopen in a split-second with the cast and crew jammed in around him.
It’s a sensational opening and one I’ve never seen. Even the cast of SEXXY at Westgate Las Vegas squeezed in for our photograph. Truly mind-blowing … and epic! There’s a larger-than-life story of how Las Vegas’ Jarrett & Raja landed as stars of ONE EPIC NIGHT.
They appeared on ABC’s SHARK TANK pitching Barbara Corcoran, Lorie Greiner, Mark Cuban and Robert Herjavec an idea for a Las Vegas show. They didn’t win financial backing, but producers Frank DiMaggio and Nick Padgett of American Dream Concerts saw the episode and decided that the magic duo would be perfect for ONE EPIC NIGHT.
Add in talented singers country rocker Megan Ruger of AMERICA’S GOT TALENT, James Durbin of AMERICAN IDOL and Will Champlin of THE VOICE, and you have a power punch. Will’s dad was a guitarist for Chicago, so you know he has musical chops. Megan is a gorgeous, tall, sexy charmer who wears leather and studs like an S&M siren. The girls go wild for James.
“I really wanted to keep these reality-TV star finalists in the spotlight,” Frank told me. “I didn’t want them to have overnight TV stardom and vanish. I thought we could build a show around them. We had 400 wannabes for our audition, but I thought these three would wind up making the most impact.
“Nick and I produced a show in Kansas with Billy Bob Thornton, and we shut down the city using six of the singing reality-TV stars. There was such a fantastic reaction that we instantly thought to tour them and wind up with a Las Vegas residency.
“We’re not corporate guys. We are all into music, so when I saw SHARK TANK, I realized immediately that we could have Jarrett & Raja as the perfect hosts for the singers.” Guitarist Brent Muscat (L.A. Guns, Faster Pussycat) is in the backup band with drummer Stet, and they explode onstage. Michael T. Ross is another musician.
Frank added: “Stet was in the ’90s band Wasp for 16 years — big heavy metal. Our mutual friend Vince Neil toured with him at one point. I met Stet in Florida, and nobody compares with him on drums. He has the entire room pulsating. He has a unique look and performance.”
I agree: Totally epic! An absolute marvel to watch in action. If juggling drumsticks doesn’t impress, he’ll wow with beer bottles he uses on the skins and cymbals. It’s almost unbelievable what he can pull off behind a drum set. I swear he’s so incredible that, at some point, Jarrett & Raja will have to vanish him inside one of their big-box tricks.
The duo of piano magicians have been regulars on the current Season 3 of The CW’s MASTERS OF ILLUSION and were AGT semifinalists. They add to the epic-ness of the show with a series of stunning tricks in between the singers, including the amazing disappearance of Raja playing a piano, with both reappearing in the middle of the audience seconds later.
I’ve never seen the sawing-in-half illusion in such close up as at the intimate Plaza Showroom, then Raja caps off its incredulity by playing another piano with just the top half of his body before he’s rejoined at the quip.
ONE EPIC NIGHT is a definite must-see. The 70-minute show runs Saturdays through Wednesdays at 7 p.m. through Jan. 4 at Plaza Showroom, with occasional 4 p.m. Saturday matinees.
