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VARIETY Wednesday, May 8,1974 v ?╤ #il?Θ╝iraiiil Las Vegas, April 2l Donn Arden's ''Hallelujah llol lywood!" with Siegried & Hoy. Da vid Rosaire & His Perky Pekes, The Voluntes (2), Tanya, the Elephant, Alan Weeks & Winston DeWitt Hemsley, Tricia Tee, Gary Marshall, Eileen Barnett, Steve Harmon, Gary Oakes, Chuck Karel, Diane Findlay, Martin Ross, Lou Garcia, Patrice Chanel, Penny Gaston, Geri Garner, Marlene Vincenti, Reg Reidel, Ross Davies, Gale Baker, Suzanne Hart Catherine Jacoby, Jerry Grasse, Sally Mityling, Piper Alvez, Pamela Soble, Laverne Ligon, Pat Douglas Jamilah Hunter, Dawn Lovett, Ed-wet t a Little; The MGM Girts (63J The Dancing Men (14), The Singing Ladies (7), The Singing Men (7). produced & directed by Donn At-den; choreography, Sor man Maen costume designs, Ray Aghayan, Bob Mackie; musical supervision, Marvin Laird, production design, John De-cuir; art direction, Michael Knight MGM Girls supervisor, Margaret Kelly; special musical material & lyrics, Billy Barnes; lighting, Jules Fisher; production supervisor for MGM, Bill De Angelis; production coordinator for Arden, Larry Mal-donade; orchestrations, Billy Byers; Ziegfeld Room Orch (30), con ducted by Tony Costa; $15 mid imum. With his extensive credits over . the years for directing and choreographing the Lido show at the Star dust Hotel, up to this point the quin tessential Las Vegas spectacular, Donn Arden ascends to even greater heights with his ?╟úHallelujah Hoi lywood.?╟Ñ In all probability it will become the world standard for the most expensive sujershow of its type and should remStp at the pinnacle for some time to clfcjie. j The reason for that is^not too I difficult to ascertain. Starting with I money, few resort hotels or theatres anywhere could afford such a nut, reasonably pagged at nearly $2,000,000 pre-production costs, not counting the enormous j expenditures for the technical, me-I chanical and engineering marvels in the Ziegfeld Theatre environs, j The first adjustment audiences j mpst make in viewing ?╟úHH?╟Ñ is in 1 becofhing almost completely overwhelmed by size and numbers, the I width of the proscenium and depth | of stage, the use of side stages I ceiling drops, bridges or spans overhead tracks, the elevators, f\ traps, awesome scenic changes be-I fore the eyes and scores of people and animals bathed in a scin | tillating pallete of lighting. Tech ] j nical and mechanical problems took I four months to solve and the result ;] is total exhilaration at con-f templating the meld of these forces and the human element, which, after all, is the paramount, or better ' ] still, the MGM issue at hand. The nine acts comprising the pag t eantry of movies and stars of yes H terday in ?╟úA tribute to the magic ?] world of MGM'' are themselves the A principal raison d?╟╓etre for Arden?╟╓s j nostalgem. And all are the actual ?║? ?╟ústars?╟Ñ of the production from \ opening ?╟úStarama ?╟÷ Hollywood j Turns On!?╟Ñ with its toast to Goth-1 am and updating to ?╟úBusby Ber-] keley Now,'' until the tribute to the I theatre of Florenz Ziegfeld in a 1 mammoth finale two hours later that in itself has sufficient 1 mind-boggling components for al A most any ?╟únormal" show. Interim production galvanizers 1 include a living curtain eye-popper | with Leo the Lion on his own stage 1 above the stage surrounded by | The I Cat Pack" of dancers; ?╟úJumbo,?╟╓* j with Bozo the Clown flying through 1 the air suspended from an overhead ji track and the, amusing: tricks oj I Tanyel the Eiephtnt; -the eastern i scene With camel and llama safari 1 in a golden processional followed by 1 * ?╟≤ Kismet;'' the breathtaking ?╟ú ?╟ Meet uf St? LouiSn?╟╓confection with film clip of Judy Garland singing ?╟≤?╟≤ Dear Mr. Gable,?╟Ñ and enactment of ?╟úThe Trolley Song" in the Crystal Palace promenade; the typical Arden cataclysm scene, this one the .bombardment and sinking of a pirate galleon into a grotto where a near nude girl swims with a dolphin, and still another saulte in a ?╟≤melange of film and live action entitled ?╟úHallelujah! Hollywood?╟╓s Great!?╟╓?╟╓ The four acts dividing productions are good to excellent, the latter praise invariably bestowed upon illusionists Siegfried & Roy by audiences. mystified as to dis appearance and appearances in cages, boxes and other para phenalia of both the principals and a! lion, Bengal tiger, leopard, not to forget a covey of doves out of scarves. David Rosaire & His Per-; ky Pekes give a fillip as the Mandarin pooches go through perky paces, humor supplied by a little mutt who gets into the act with no( provocation whatsoever and entire canine menagerie hauled off: at close by red stagecoach pulled by a Great Dane and a baboon riding( shotgun. The Volantes (2) provide many thrills with their fooling around on* tall unicyeles, touches of yockablel banter tossed in Alan Weeks & Win-1 ston DeWitt Hemsley, who alsog whiz around in several production! rounds, have their own song and! dance sesh, hitting well with repeat! of their tapestry performed in the I ?╟╓musical, ?╟úHallelujah Baby.?╟Ñ Although some of the singers are j not overly stimulating, a few give I production a necessary flow. Prin~[ cipals are Eileen Barnett, Garyf Marshal, Diane Findlay, Patricel Chanel, Lou Garcia, Steve Harmon,! Chuck Karel, Geri Garner, Martini Ross, Gary Oakes, Ross Davies,! Marlene Vincenti, Reg Riedel and! Penny Gaston. There are 60 MGM Girls including a brace of very healthy] nudes, mannequins galore and fleet dancers who express the ideas of choreographer Norman Maen with unsparing devotion to the endurance tests each number requires. Tricia Lee is an outstanding contributor with her solos. Thej Dancing Men number 14 and are! handsome, agile and prodigal with; their multifacet talents. Designated! as ?╟úThe Singing Ladies,?╟Ñ are war-! Iblers placed within the many pro-J duction moods to sold occasionaHyl as well as add body to the overallj vocal sound, ditto The Singing Men. Costume designs by Ray Aghayan and Bob Mackie are the most versatile of any production show extant in LaS Vegas. Michael Knight?╟╓s art direction is superb, the settings paralleling all the other munificent trappings and production design by John Decuir receives a similar bow. Lighting by Jules Fishfer is most unusual, the spectrum of color being realized in gorgeous tone splashes, muted effects and none of the multiwatt, garish overplay of candlepower that could otherwise mar such a huge undertaking. ~ Credits go to Bill De Angelis, the ,Grand'S production supervisor for his patience over the months after many engineering breakdowns and revisions, and to Larry Maldonado, production coordinator for Arden. Special musical material and lyrics are by Billy Barnes, orchestrations by Billy Byers, with his charts eloquently displayed by a truly out of sight orch placed beneath the stage and led by the indomitable Tony Costa as he watch es all stage action overhead shotj from dozens of monitor tv cameras ),?╟╓> Jrom ghX ?╟÷iny/t Dave JMack^Jh^s joined GRT| Recorftf^jraiionaL'promotion director .* He previously; w^s director o&cduntry product fo^Elektra-Asylukr % Tuesday, Mageh 19,1974?╟÷Las VegasReview-Jou rna 1?╟÷21 ________ MGM?╟╓S LEO IN GRANb PRODUCTTON?╟÷Donn Arden?╟╓s ?╟úHallelujah Holly-jyood,?╟Ñ the production sj|w being readied for an April opening in the gfegfeld Room of the MGM' Grand Hotel, snared its biggest star this week. The 600-pbund Leo met with producer Arden, left, and MGM Grand president Alvin Benedict for the contract signing^emsiv^re not disclosed, but it is rumored NY Post, Tuesv, Apr. 30, 1974 , Donn Arden?╟╓^spectacular extravaganza ?╟úHalleluja Hol-j lywood'?╟╓43 ?√ßplaying to standing-room only at the MGM Grand, reports Bernie Roth-kopf, vice president.. It?╟╓s held twice nightly in the beautiful 900-seat Ziegfeld Room which has the most modern equipment and sophisticated stage in the world. 4/3-0/74 LASy^OAS REVIEW Hallelujah MGM Grand Ziegfeld Room. . Donn Arden's "Ha ftelll ah I Hollywood" is the colossus of Las Vega J I spectaculars! The grandest,!most lavish, I ornate and flamboyantly?·P|taged j production show in the history of. Las : Vegas' style extravaganzas,, "Hallelujah | Ljpllywood"?╟úis a history-making, I ravishing reVue. Produtigr-director : Arden has dwarfed ail of his previous j pffortv^"| T ^ I ' "Hallelujah Hollywood"?╟╓with a full j two hour running time is is both a tribute and a recreation of the golden ye.arf of Hollywood and Broadway. Appropriately premiered in thp. Grand j Hotel's new Ziegfeld Room, "HH" is [ presented in 12 major acts, each contaiping several scenes, SDe|:ialty acts, and one incredible effect on top of another. There are lions) tigers, llamas, camels, dolphins, cheetal^dovgs, and dogs; film cli^flying ballooffp a Jerris^j wheel, a ttojly, a pm ship that sinks, Ijld'flPving Curtain of girls and Leo, the Lion, among the many special touches. Using fangs' and singers^ 5 rq:pv^g and hundreds!^! costumes, j Arden pays homage'to the great sslfQ#men and stars including Busby Ber-feqjgf, Mae Wesf^Smmy Durante;, Fanny Brice, Helen Morgan, Groucho Marx, Marlene Dietrich, W.C. Fields, Ruth Etting, Ginger Rogers and Fred , Astaire, Jeanette MacDonald and Nelson Eddy, and in two special Hollywood Indefinite Engagement sequences, Judy Garland, plus many, many others. One entire sequence^Wa gorgeously mounted "Meet Me in St. Louis" with a gill scale midway, side show, Crystal Palace, etc, StM another, titled The Theatre of Ziegfeld, isJ^glittering mon- ^ tage of musicals, Ziegfejd Follies, and the most breathtaking fina1|; ever ' concocted. The finale is as magnificent aj it is monumental aqd literally has to be seep, to be believed. Out of a cast of well over 100, there a^e more than a dozen principals, and s?╟ peci%^J|ts. Heading the long-list of featured stars ,i<g the,"sensational duo Siegfried and RovjBmlIus,ip-nlst<; extraordinaire ir^n amazing reperfo^^fe?1? illusions) and stellar showmanship.. Also featured are The Volantes and n their "Fun on Wheels" comedy David Roasaire and' tjis Perky Pekes with a bow ofrthat^is a Great Dane pulling a stagecoach' driven by a cowboy*outfitted baboon and a coach full :of Pekingese passengers; and the dancing dolphi||wi.th his nude partners Judy Barrington and Barbara Bradshaw. Among the featured cast members are song and dance duo Alan Weeks and Winston DeWitt Hemsley, lead dancers Tricra Lee, Patrice Chanel and Marlene. Vincent, fingers Diane r Findlay, Penny Gaston, Eileen* Barnett, Gary Marshall, Steve Harmon, Martin < (Continued on Page 11)