25 at 25: Las Vegas Strip revue hits quarter-century mark
Some time ago, in a previous millenium, I caught a show called “Midnight Fantasy” at Luxor. It was the first topless show I’d seen in VegasVille. I watched the performance after I’d interviewed the wonderful impressionist Bill Acosta, who headlined the earlier time slot.
I stayed after for this new “Midnight Fantasy” show, walking out at 2 a.m., thinking, “That was great, and it is late.”
That was in 1999. “Midnight Fantasy” soon moved to the 10:30 p.m. slot and was renamed “Fantasy,” Choreographer and producer Anita Mann’s chic/sexy production show has purred along ever since. Along with Carrot Top, who would arrive in November 2005, “Fantasy” has anchored Atrium Showroom in the hotel’s second level.
The show formally celebrated its 25th anniversary last week. This is the opportunity for a “25 at 25” list, related to what is currently the city’s longest-running adult revue.
These are not in any particular order. Cue “Last Dance,” the song’s new finale:
25. Before “Fantasy,” Mann produced the family musical “A Blast from The Past” at the Riviera. It premiered in January 1986, her first Vegas production.
24. Mann was a backing dancer in the Elvis movies “Spinout,” “Speedway” and “Clambake,” and also Presley’s ’68 comeback special.
23. Mann choreographed the Solid Gold Dancers on the syndicated music show “Solid Gold” from 1981-’85.
22. Mann danced with Miley Cyrus as Cyrus debuted “Younger Now” at the 2017 “MTV Video Music Awards.”
21. Over the past six years, vocalist Lorena Peril has sung the national anthem at 45 sporting events.
20. Peril won an open competition over 3,000 other singers to perform the anthem at the 49ers’ 2012 season opener against the Detroit Lions at Candlestick Park. The team hosted and staged the event at California’s Great America theme park, near the team’s headquarters in Santa Clara, Calif., now site of Levi’s Stadium.
19. Former “Fantasy” singer Stephanie Sanchez, known as “Singer” in her nine-year run with the show, attended the 25th anniversary with her daughter, Shelby Tinoco, who is six months pregnant and also a former “Fantasy” cast member.
18. Featured dancer and co-producer Mariah Nieslanik’s aunt, Marcia Kennedy, was my fifth-and sixth- grade teacher at St. Anthony’s School in Pocatello, Idaho.
17. Nieslanik ’s first job in Las Vegas was at age 18, as a cast member in “Show in the Sky” at the Rio.
16. Nieslanik has performed in 3,978 “Fantasy” shows as of Oct. 16, the longest tenure of any “Fantasy” cast member.
15. Last year, Sting attended the show and applauded Peril’s version of “Roxanne.”
14. The show has employed 122 dancers, 39 singers (including swings) 21 mid-show guest stars and 16 aerialists.
13. Each performer has nine earrings and necklace changes per show.
12. There are 14 songs in the current version of the show.
11. The cast has been the focus of 14 calendar shoots over the years, with 168 cast members as models.
10. The cast has applied more than 91,000 eyelashes, worn 8,730 pairs of fishnets, and made 910,000 costume changes since 1999.
9. As a teenager, rock star Adam Lambert worked for Mann on Holland America Cruise line, his first stage experience.
8. Former cast member Yesi Burgess is a member of the Voltaire at The Venetian entertainment team. She returned to choreograph two numbers in the updated show.
7. Burgess is married to Vegas stage performer Troy Burgess, who played Dennis DuPree in “Rock of Ages” at The Venetian, in the same venue where Voltaire has been developed.
6. Renowned choreographer Mandy Moore slotted time between “Strictly Come Dancing,” which the U.K. version of “Dancing With the Stars”; and Taylor Swift’s “Eras Tour” shows at Wembley Stadium to work on the show’s new opening and finale.
5. District 78, which has supplied new arrangements for “So You Think You Can Dance,” “Dancing with the Stars,” “The Masked Singer,” and “America’s Best Dance Crew,” revamped the music for the anniversary upgrade.
4. The “Fantasy” cast makes 135 promotional appearances a year.
3. There are 54 different casting combinations in the current show, depending on which dancers are working on a given night.
2. “Fantasy” has performed 10,000 shows.
1. In a quarter-century, “Fantasy” has performed for more than 2.5 million guests.
Cool Hang Alert
Jeff Leibow is a former “Jersey Boys” cast member whose philanthropic work has outlasted the show in Las Vegas. His 14th annual NF Hope Concert is set for 1 p.m. Sunday at Myron’s (the lobby opens at 11:30 a.m. for silent-auction action). Leibow is a founding member of The Fourmers ensemble of ex-“JB” performers, booked at South Point Showroom on Nov. 28-29.
Sunday, Leibow will be joined by his wife, Melody; and their teenage daughter, Emma; who has battled Neurofibromatosis nearly her entire life. Emma is now a student at Las Vegas Academy.
Chet Buchanan of KLUC-FM and featured performer Mikalah Gordon co-host. Those in the performance lineup include Peril, Carnell “Golden Pipes” Johnson, Emmy Award-winning singer/songwriter Steph Payne; and Grammy winner Delious Kennedy of All-4-One.
Funds raised go toward the fight against Neurofibromatosis, commonly known as NF, a genetic disorder that causes tumors to grow in the nervous system and skin without warning. Tickets start at $56.40 (which includes all fees). The event will also livestream. Go to smithcenter.com/nfhope for intel.
John Katsilometes’ column runs daily in the A section. His “PodKats!” podcast can be found at reviewjournal.com/podcasts. Contact him at jkatsilometes@reviewjournal.com. Follow @johnnykats on X, @JohnnyKats1 on Instagram.