‘Let’s Dance’ casts spell on audience

I wasn’t the only one scouring the program notes moments into the show trying to find out more about the stars. The one-performance Vegas Leisure Service production at the Charleston Heights Arts Center was titled "Let’s Dance: A Romantic Musical Comedy," and I wasn’t expecting much. It was headlined by unknowns-to-me Michael Kessler (who also directed, choreographed and wrote) and Melinda Jackson, with an 11-member chorus.

Its script was a backstage bio of a stage-struck couple who dance together, slowly fall in love, build a duo career, then grow old and fragile but still loving. These old-hat showbiz stories usually are written with such an air of self-importance that you want to remind those involved that singing and dancing isn’t in the same league as finding a cure for cancer.

But, somehow, the production found just the right tone to take us under its spell. Kessler comes across as a streetwise hustler type. It was fun to watch him try to woo the much more cautious Jackson and watch how she winds up softening him up. The show had genuine romance.

It didn’t hurt any that the songs were among the best show music ever written, courtesy of the likes of Comden and Green and Berlin and Gershwin. And the choreography was equal parts jazz-playful and operatic ballet.

It was unusual to find a pair of performers — both New Yorkers — who can carry with equal grace dance, song and acting. It was unusual, too, to find such top-notch entertainment for a mere 10 bucks. How does the city manage to find these talents? And why can’t other venues book New York talent with equal skill and economy?

Next up: "Barbara C. Williams’ The Songs of Broadway Company" at 3 p.m. Sunday. Info: 229-6383. …

Las Vegas Little Theatre is coming up in the world. Used to be you had to buy tickets online (lvlt.org) or in person just before the show opened. Now, they’ve found a way to finance regular box-office hours, just like the big theaters do. The box office is open from 4 to 8 p.m. Mondays, 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Wednesdays and 9 a.m. to noon Saturdays. …

Theatre in the Valley is stepping up its efforts to survive. The Henderson troupe has had to give up its space at the Valley View Recreation Center. It’s put its season on hold while it mounts an aggressive mail campaign for donations. And the group will be doing a fundraising reading of "Brighton Beach Memoirs" Oct. 6 and 7 at the Henderson Convention Center, complete with T-shirts and other goodies designed to seduce your wallet. Info: 558-7275.

Anthony Del Valle can be reached at DelValle@aol.com. You can write him c/o Las Vegas Review-Journal, P.O. Box 70, Las Vegas, NV 89125.