SPECC-tacular Productions Theatre Group will be putting on a Las Vegas variety show at the ACT.
The variety show, called The Magic and Music of Vegas, will feature a variety of circus-like acts that, until now, could only be found along the famous strip.
“We decided on the theme of Vegas beccause it’s so colourful. You’ve got your show girls youve got various types of acts that would appear in Vegas,” said director Ed Marshall.
A cast of 18 will perform songs and dances from Las Vegas shows past and present.
The show is the theatre group’s annual fundraising campaign to raise money for its traditional pantomime each year at Christmas.
Ray Underwood, with Paws 2 Dance, will be performing a canine musical freestyle act with two dogs.
Dancers from Jennifer Bishop’s Rhythm Room, out of Vancouver, entertain the audience with amazing tap dance routines.
Bishop has extensive credits in theatre, film and television as both a choreographer and performer.
She has worked on shows like West Side Story, Singing in the Rain and Cabaret at The Arts Club Theatre.
She has also worked on Guys and Dolls and The Music Man at the Vancouver Playhouse.
Twelve singers will be performing numbers by artists who have formerly performed in Vegas.
The music of Frank Sinatra, Celine Dion, Bette Midler and Elvis Presley will be some of the featured artists.
There will be silk performers, balancing acts, trapeze artists and acrobats.
Circus artists Kimberly Dioszeghy and Danielle Gramm with the Westcoast Flying Trapeze Circus School will be performing.
Dioszeghy took up the circus arts in 2013.
She began with aerial hoop and static trapeze and has since expanded her repertoire to include aerial silks, the flying trapeze, duo trapeze and partner acrobatics.
Gramm started out in dance and found her passion in acrobatics. She has trained for 14 years and specialized in aerial silks.
Members of the Maple Ridge Dance Circle will also be performing tap routines and 11-year-old Emilie Bruce will be performing acrobatics.
“We’ve done many musical reviews. We’ve done a 40’s theme, we’ve done a Broadway theme in the past. But this the first big sort of variety show we’re doing,” said Marshall.
The Elvis Presley performance will be a competition.
There will be four Elvis taking part and the audience will choose who is the best one.
The Bruce James Orchestra will be supplying the music for the show.
The orchestra was founded by Bruce Flello and has been part of the live music scene in Greater Vancouver since 1999.
