Vegas Voices: Keith Thompson, at home in LV, has his eye on ‘Idaho!’

By CAROL CLING LAS VEGAS REVIEW-JOURNAL

9 years ago

Keith Thompson, “Jersey Boys” conductor and co-composer of “Idaho! The Comedy Musical,” discusses his path from New York to Las Vegas in The Smith Center’s Foundation Room. Bill Hughes/Las Vegas Review-Journal

“Jersey Boys” conductor Keith Thompson, whose comedy musical “Idaho!” debuts at The Smith Center in July, chats about Vegas life in The Smith Center’s Foundation Room. Bill Hughes/Las Vegas Review-Journal

Keith Thompson, “Jersey Boys” conductor and co-composer of the comedy musical “Idaho!” makes himself at home at The Smith Center, where he hosts the monthly Composers Showcase in Cabaret Jazz. Bill Hughes/Las Vegas Review-Journal

Keith Thompson — “Jersey Boys” conductor and co-composer of “Idaho! The Comedy Musical” — performs the musical’s title number at the Smith Center, where the show debuts in early July. Bill Hughes/Las Vegas Review-Journal

Keith Thompson –“Jersey Boys” conductor and co-composer of the comedy musical “Idaho!” — performs the show’s title number on a piano at The Smith Center for the Performing Arts. Bill Hughes/Las Vegas Review-Journal

Keith Thompson, “Jersey Boys” conductor and “Idaho!” co-composer, performs the comedy musical’s title tune at The Smith Center for the Performing Arts, where “Idaho!” debuts July 6. Bill Hughes/Las Vegas Review-Journal

“Jersey Boys” conductor Keith Thompson takes a break at The Smith Center, where he hosts the monthly Composers Showcase. The comedy musical “Idaho!” — which he co-wrote with longtime friend and collaborator Buddy Sheffield — opens July 6 at the center’s Reynolds Hall. Bill Hughes/Las Vegas Review-Journal

“Jersey Boys” conductor Keith Thompson “didn’t want to be stuck in Las Vegas” before he moved here from New York, but he’s discovered more chances for creativity — including the comedy musical “Idaho!” coming to The Smith Center July 6. Bill Hughes/Las Vegas Review-Journal

Vegas Voices is a weekly question-and-answer series featuring notable Las Vegans.

Keith Thompson wouldn’t dream of quitting his “day” job: music director for “Jersey Boys” at Paris Las Vegas. (He auditioned for the gig by conducting one of the show’s Broadway performances.)

But Thompson, 59, keeps padding his resume.

Every month, he organizes, hosts — and often performs — at the Composers Showcase at The Smith Center’s intimate Cabaret Jazz.

These days, however, Thompson’s focus has shifted to The Smith Center’s larger Reynolds Hall. On July 6, that’s where “Idaho!” — a comedy musical he co-wrote with comedy writer Buddy Sheffield (“In Living Color”), whom Thompson has known since his college days in Hattiesburg, Miss. — marks its work-in-progress premiere.

We recently caught up with Thompson at The Smith Center (where else?) to chat about his journey from Broadway to the Strip — and beyond.

Review-Journal: What first brought you to Las Vegas?

Thompson: ”We Will Rock You” (featuring the music of Queen) in 2004 at Paris. … A year and a half before that, I was approached about (conducting) “Mamma Mia!” but they wanted a year commitment. And I wanted some sort of an out. I didn’t want to be stuck in Las Vegas. I couldn’t imagine living in Las Vegas for a year and a half. … I was brought in to audition for Queen. … They offered me the job on the spot. … I didn’t know if I could do it. I was in New York for 25 years. But I decided to take the leap. … The show ran one year, and there I was going, “What have I done?” But then “Hairspray,” “The Producers” and “Jersey Boys” happened. … I never thought I would stay, but now I’m so happy that I did. I just love it here.

R-J: Did you have any expectations when you moved here?

Thompson: At first I felt lost, disoriented. I thought maybe my creative life had died. It felt different and weird. But then I thought, “I have to make it happen.” And I started the Composers Showcase and, with my friends, produced concerts. … It was a salvation for me.

R-J: What factors have kept you here?

Thompson: To be able to work so steadily in my profession. That’s the main factor. … Then, of course, the quality of life. Living in New York is hard. … Out here, the livin’ is easy.

R-J: Have you always written music? When, how, and why did you start?

Thompson: I started out of boredom. … I was living in Florida (where his minister father had been sent) … and I had all this time on my hands, so I started writing songs and music. In high school, I did two religious musicals. And when I got to college, with my friend, (comedian) Jay Rogers … there was a dinner theater thing, where they said, “We can’t afford to do musicals because we can’t afford the royalties,” so we said, “We’ll just write them.”

R-J: What’s your most memorable Las Vegas performance?

Thompson: Probably when we did opening night for “We Will Rock You” and (Queen’s) Brian May guest-starred as the guitarist on “Bohemian Rhapsody.” That was a huge event for me. In my past, I had played for certain celebrities (including Lea Thompson and Donny Osmond), but never a rock icon.

R-J: What’s your favorite performance venue?

Thompson: I’m a big fan of that little room, Cabaret Jazz. The sound in there is spectacular. I’m very proud, when guests come, they always just say, “What is this?” … At the Composers Showcase — if I’ve left a legacy, I guess that’s it, promoting people in the desert writing original music.

R-J: What’s your favorite thing about living in Las Vegas?

Thompson: The weather. … The fact that I can wake up in the morning and go out to the patio in my backyard with my coffee … surrounded by flowers and trees and birds. I’m not holed up in a dark and dusty apartment. … I did not come out here to live like I lived in New York. It feels like a higher quality of life.

R-J: What’s the most surprising thing about living in Las Vegas?

Thompson: Maybe it’s because of the field I’m in, but for me, the amount of talent that is here in the community. In New York, it’s very large and very competitive. In L.A., it’s really competitive because of movies and TV. But here, we have a community of people who are really gifted and on our own paths, but who really come together to support each other. That’s the biggest surprise — in a really good way.

Read more from Carol Cling at reviewjournal.com. Contact her at ccling@reviewjournal.com and follow @CarolSCling on Twitter.