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'Folies Bergere' Gives Taste Of Classics
Show Holds Up With Talented Cast
Rick Garman, Vegas4Visitors.com
Updated: 10:31 a.m. EDT September 15, 2003 "Les Folies Bergere" opened at the Tropicana in 1959. Take a moment to appreciate that thought. The show outlasted many now-imploded hotels. It stayed alive through 10 presidencies and a bunch of wars. When it opened, Siegfried and Roy were still middle-aged. Over the years, the details have changed -- new dance routines, new music numbers, new costumes. But the primary formula remained pretty much the same: Beautiful women parading around topless in feathered and sequined getups that made Liberace jealous. In 1959, you couldn't see dancing, singing, big-production numbers with real, live breasts other than from your wife, if you were lucky. In 2003, you can see dancing, singing, big production numbers with real, live breasts on most cable channels. But the show had to be doing something right to last that long in Vegas, where the next best thing is always nipping at your heels. It's been a few years since I've seen the show, but my reaction has always been a respectful shrug. It's fine -- not the best show in town, but not the worst by a long shot. Recently, I got a chance to see the latest incarnation of "Folies" and was pleasantly surprised to find that it has improved with age without the need of Siegfried's plastic surgeon. Don't let the Tiffany Showroom color your judgment. It has certainly seen better days, as has much of the hotel, but you can soak up the Vegas traditional showroom layout (high-backed booths and long, cramped tables) and pretend it's 1973. But you'll have to do it either sober or serve yourself. There is no cocktail service in the showroom, so schlep to the bar early -- the line can get long. The current theme of the show is to "spotlight the grace, mystique, and allure of women through time." Someone actually says that. Yeah, I know -- kind of cheesy. But what it all boils down to is an excuse to put the dancers in various period costumes, from the ball gowns and tuxedos of the 19th century to the, well, ball gowns and tuxedos of the 21st. Ball gowns and tuxedos never go out of style -- they just get less puffy. The company features a male and female lead-singing team that acts as your time-machine tour guides, a male and female pair of lead dancers, a team of male and female dancers, some of whom appear topless, a team of acrobat-gymnasts who double as dancers, and a stellar variety act in comic juggler Wally Eastwood. The lead singers are a little too earnest for my taste, but they and the rest of the company are undeniably talented. The show starts slowly -- the opening of "Hot," to the tune of NSync's "Pop," with a cadre of topless women appearing as if in their dressing room getting ready for the show, couldn't have been less sexy if they tried. My primary reaction was that more than one of the women needed to eat something, quickly. A cracker ... anything. Next, we zip off to the 1850s, and a ballroom-dancing number that is not terribly interesting but it's elegant in a stuffy kind of way. It's the next scene where things kick into gear. A white-flocked forest is the setting for the lead dance team to do a stunning, evocative, emotional adagio while "snow" dusts the stage. It was as lovely as it was intended to be, although I have to state that the breasts become superfluous with something like this -- almost a distraction. Then we zip ahead a few years to the Parisian cafe, where a can-can number boosts the energy up a couple thousand notches. Great dancing mixes with amazing gymnastics to give the first real clues of where this very talented cast's strengths lie. We zip past the 1920s with the flappers and vamps and the Hollywood glamour of the 1930s with the iconic kaleidoscope number -- girls on the floor, big mirror overhead. Then we arrive in the swing era, with a fun "Juke Box Jump" number. Let's just admit it -- "Sing, Sing, Sing," the big-band era staple with its pounding drums and raspy trumpet opening has to be one of the most evocative and fun pieces of music anywhere. I dare you not to tap your toes. The rock and roll of the 1950s, complete with poodle skirts and a classic Chevy, segue into the peace-and-love grooviness of the 1960s, and then the disco 1970s. Apparently, the producers couldn't find enough skinny ties and shoulder pads to do the '80s, because here's where we take a break for some comedy. Eastwood -- self-described as half Mexican and half southern ("drunk and angry, but too lazy to do anything about it") -- is a delight, whether he's juggling cones, hats, rubber balls, or ping-pong balls with his hands or mouth (you have to see it). In between all of this is some laugh-out-loud humor, mostly self-deprecating, although he gets off a couple of good zingers at Celine Dion's expense. I could've spent another hour with this guy, but after about 15 minutes he's off and we're into the finale with the modern-day woman. It's too long by about half, with 10 separate numbers, all ending with the grand, traditional finale of the parade of headdress-wearing topless dancers down a flight of stairs. I was disappointed with this, primarily because the headdresses didn't look as big as they used to be. I remember those things being roughly the size of a '58 Buick -- what happened? If you're coming for titillation, you probably won't find it here. Less than one-third of the show actually features real-live breasts, with the rest of it broken up by the fully-clothed dancing, acrobatics, comedy, and singing. There are other topless shows that offer more in this category, but that shouldn't be why you come to "Folies." Instead, it should be for the classic Vegas variety-show flavor, with a really talented cast busting their headdresses for your entertainment. Add to all of this the fact that the Tropicana may not be around for much longer -- rumors have consistently pegged its closing for sometime next spring. If the hotel closes, the show will be gone as well, and it would be a shame if you didn't see this kind of classic Vegas entertainment at least once in your life.
Folies Bergere Vegas4Visitors Grade: B+
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