Bada Bing Dinner Theater in Las VegasWritten by Linda Lane
Bada Bing Dinner Theater in Las VegasRead Jetsetters Magazine at www.jetsettersmagazine.com To read this entire feature FREE with photos cut and paste this link: http://www.jetsettersmagazine.com/archive/jetezine/shows/vegas/badabing/bada.html America's love affair with The Sopranos, The Godfather, Goodfellas, and a host of equally thrilling mobster tales can be satisfied vicariously by spending an evening at "Ba-Da-Bing", interactive dinner musical at Orleans Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada. The show is a clever marriage between Gustav Mauler's Italian eatery, Sazio's, and Ba-Da-Bing repertoire company of wise guys and slick chicks. The occasion is a surprise birthday party for Mr. Big, Godfather of Las Vegas, and as his guests, audience members get to join one of families. Mike Hughes, general manager, stage manager, and Mr. Big's Bookie, explained that they have been performing for three years. They've been at Sazio's one year and have become so popular that instead of five nights, they are now running seven nights a week. Certainly, food plays a major role in gangster comedy's success. There is a three-course dinner beginning with a crisp, freshly tossed Caesar salad and homemade bread. Black and white helium balloons and stars float above tables reserved for: Pizza Family, Antipasto Family, Pepperoni Family, and so on. The dialogue may be tongue in cheek but atmosphere is authentic down to spats, big rocks, and pistol packin' mamas. The show's publicist, Bobbie Katz, explains that Ba-Da-Bing is only interactive musical in Las Vegas. It is more intimate than Tony and Tina's wedding. And thanks to Gustav Mauler's cuisine, food is far better than most catered dinners. Even Lisa, our waitress, was Jersey through and through, her voice, resonating with Sopranos inflections. "Okay, tonight we got Chicken Marsala with garlic mashed potatoes, Meat Lasagna, Grilled Ribeye Steak with Whiskey Peppercorn Sauce, and Salmon with Honey Basil Sauce. There's homemade Tiramisu for dessert so save room. And, everybody gets a glass a champagne to toast Mr. Big, godfather of Las Vegas. Drinks are extra." As we ordered our entrée actors and actresses looking like they came out of a vintage Godfather epic roamed private dining room, dubbing one man at each table Don for night. Others were enlisted to participate in one of sketches. Frankie Marone, or Moron as he's often called, played by Ted Davey is Mr. Big's former right-hand man. Frankie is hosting boss's surprise party "so's he can get back in Don's good graces." His former girlfriend, Chickie Parmesan, played by Carrie SaLoutos, happens to be Mr. Big's favorite entertainer. Her version of "Santa Baby" brings back warm, sultry sounds of Eartha Kitt.
| | Old Soul Violinist – Maxim at the San Francisco SymphonyWritten by Cymber Quinn
Old Soul Violinist – Maxim at San Francisco SymphonyRead Jetsetters Magazine at www.jetsettersmagazine.com To read this entire feature FREE with photos cut and paste this link: http://www.jetsettersmagazine.com/archive/jetezine/classic/sfo/symphony/maxim/maxim.html Twenty-seven-year-old Russian violinist Maxim Vengerov starts his second encore of his solo performance by dragging a chair out from backstage at Davies Symphony Hall, in San Francisco. "I have been performing since I was five years old," he says in lightly accented English. "It is a great privilege to play for audiences like you, and you come to hear me play. Between us there is music. But I never get to communicate in words. So, he sits casually and crosses his legs, "I want to talk to you. Ask me some questions." So starts an extraordinary conversation between a remarkable old soul violinist and 1,500 of his closest friends. One person asks why he held his bow so high during first number, Bach's 'Toccata and Fugue in D minor'. Written originally for organ, this complicated piece requires a specially rounded bow to make playing easier, he replies. "And you may have noticed that I did not play that piece on my Baroque violin. It's ill with all changes in humidity and weather." "Tell us about your violin," another person tosses across nearly sold out auditorium. "My instrument was made in Crimea in 1727 by Antonio Stradivarius. It is an ex-Kreisler instrument, meaning that it once belonged to great violinist, Fritz Kreisler. And I was lucky enough to get it at Christie's auction in 1998." This raises murmurs of appreciation from audience. "Will you compose in future?" Vengerov chuckles, "I'm not very popular in composing world because I like tonal music, music that has a melody that you can take home with you." The audience cheers in agreement. "Tell us about your UNICEF work." Vengerov loses his characteristic smile and light-hearted nature. "I have traveled to Uganda, Thailand, and Kosovo and seen what terrible things have happened to children there. Some have lost limbs; some have lost ability to speak. They have no expressions. Then I see what music can do for them. They start to dance, smile and forget their worries. Here, I will play for you what I played for them." And he plays 'Balalaika', a piece completely plucked, to his third standing ovation. Love of Bach Maxim Vengerov, then, is an unusual mixture of boyish charm and old-world mastery. He opened his concert with Bach's 'Toccata and Fugue in D-Minor', which has been made famous by organ-playing vampires and monsters everywhere. I was wondering how a single violinist, surrounded by an empty stage and an anticipatory audience, would bring fugue to life with just one bow and four strings. Before long, I had completely forgotten that there was only one person performing, as varying melodies danced and intertwined.
|
