Las Vegas performers rally for good cause

The gypsy life with a suitcase has its glamour. But when Broadway performers want to settle down and have a normal family, they hope and pray musicals such as “Jersey Boys” have a long Las Vegas future.

“Believe me, I pinch myself a lot for having this job, and I feel very blessed that I’m now with my daughter in a place where we’re not going to five different cities in a month,” says Jeff Leibow, who plays Nick Massi in the hit Franki Valli bio at the Palazzo.

But Leibow and his wife, Melody, discovered their almost 2-year-old daughter Emma has neurofibromatosis, a genetic disorder that causes skin tumors.

And when Broadway performers end up having a special needs child, this show business community also has proven time and again it will rally for a good cause.

“We’re in a place where I can lean on friends I’ve made over the last three years, other performers who can help out with a cause like this,” he says.

Emma’s affliction is not so rare, but lesser known than a lot of diseases with more entrenched organizations to fight them. “There is no treatment or cure. Essentially you wait for symptoms to arise and then you treat the symptoms,” Leibow says.

“One of the biggest frustrations as a parent watching your child grow up with this is there’s really nothing you can do but wait. And I don’t like sitting around and waiting. I tend to be more proactive.”

So he’s putting on a benefit today to help the organization, NF, Inc. Impressionists Rich Little and Gordie Brown and the vocal group Human Nature join performers from “Jersey Boys,” “The Lion King” and “Phantom — The Las Vegas Spectacular” for the 1:30 p.m. show at the Las Vegas Hilton. Tickets start at $39.

Leibow already is part of a network of performers that stem from monthly gatherings of The Composers Showcase. They have sung for a cause in events large and small. In fact, today’s benefit comes only two weeks before the well-established Golden Rainbow revue June 26.

“They say necessity is the mother of invention, so I guess drive comes from having a big theater to fill. I need to fill a 1,500-seat theater and instead of worrying about it, I’m going to do it,” Leibow says. But recruiting performers was the easy part. “Nobody stopped me (or said), ‘I can’t do this because I’m doing Golden Rainbow.’ ”

If today’s show works out, “then next year I’ll do it better,” he says. “If I’m ever shy on motivation or get worried it won’t happen, all I have to do is take a look at my daughter and I have all the motivation I need.”

Contact reporter Mike Weatherford at mweatherford@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0288.