‘Vegas! The Show’

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It sounds great and looks better.

Of course. It’s "Vegas! The Show."

It’s over baked and doesn’t understand that sometimes less is more.

Of course. It’s "Vegas! The Show."

Either way, it’s true to a city’s entertainment legacy. More important, its heart is in the right place.

Anyone who misses the iconic, eccentric entertainment mostly buried with the rubble of the Sands and Desert Inn will appreciate the effort. Producer David Saxe has us with hello — or at least an early joke about the Strip beginning with the El Rancho, not the Flamingo, as told in "that ‘Bugsy’ movie."

That comes from a friendly caretaker (Eric Jordan Young), who pulls back the curtain on "the moments and the memories" from a place where all like-minded lovers of old Vegas would converge: the "neon boneyard" of bygone casino signs (now the fledgling Neon Museum).

Saxe could get federal stimulus money for the work he has given to 40-plus people in a theater foreclosed from another entertainer. A real, live, 11-piece band? Showgirls doing a full-on can-can? A spirited cast doing everything live, with no recorded tracks?

It’s almost a mirage in this hot, dry year that has seen only one other production show ("Dao — The Asian Celebration") since "Viva Elvis" opened late last year.

And Saxe has a fine, hiding-in-plain-sight idea here: tracing the Strip’s golden age from the ’40s to the early ’70s. What Cirque du Soleil and the Blue Man Group ignore should be as simple to bring back as reintroducing the Statue of Liberty to native New Yorkers.

But the devil, as always, is in the details. And the details emerge when you start to break down what golden-age Vegas offered. Showgirl productions? Yes, sir. Lounge acts? Covered. Comedians? Well, they are everywhere else, so skip that for now. Magic? Can’t not have an obligatory bird act from Joseph Gabriel.

But most of all, classic Vegas is synonymous with the names. Personalities. Elvis and Sinatra, fronting a long list of stars you could see in a down-front setting. How do you capture that?

Instead of a literal, "Legends"-style tribute, Saxe opts for an ensemble approach in the teamwork vein of "Ain’t Misbehavin’ " and "Five Guys Named Moe." It’s a format that works here … well, a lot of the time.

The male and female singers usually alternate, and the women — especially Reva Rice and Trina Johnson-Finn — have a better grasp on how to glide gracefully in and out of quick takes on Tina Turner or Gladys Knight.

The men have the vocal chops, but only Young has the personality to step into the shoes of such greats as Sammy Davis Jr. Tom Lowe has the unenviable task of covering three very different icons: Tom Jones, Sinatra and Elvis; the latter an especially vexing task if you’re trying to keep him out of caricature and the jumpsuit.

But choreographer Tiger Martina almost never leaves the singers alone long enough to give them a chance. Just about every number is overstuffed with frenetic dancing, often compounded by arrangements from music director Pat Caddick that leave no room to breathe. The tributes to Louis Prima and Sonny and Cher especially come off like cruise-ship fare.

But that’s a circular comment, because what we now call "cruise ship" they used to call "Vegas." And that’s what they’re trying to bring back: a legacy never known for "under the top." And here’s another thing they used to say about classic-Vegas shows: For all the individual talent onstage, the collective effort seldom goes beyond eye candy to touch the heart. The most poignant moment comes from a film montage of the Vegas gone by.

What could help here is the perspective of distance. Too much of this one plays as if Vegas producers of the ’70s were asked to do a show about themselves.

But "Vegas! The Show" was created from the ground up in three months and tinkered with constantly since it opened in late June. It’s sure to build on this solid foundation. An older cast member could help ground the thing and give it some gravity. Maybe just maybe, Saxe could pencil out guest stars to front the cast for a few weeks at a time.

But that’s asking a lot for a 400-seat theater and a show that already brightens up a bummer summer.

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