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ent000826-055
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Los Angeles, Calif. Herald-Examiner (Cir. D. 721,397 - S. 703,047) JUL 12 1969 ven 6 P. C. b. Est. 1888 r Showgirls dance In front 41 of multi-colored light bulbs during opening number of "Pzazz 70 And AH That Jazz, Baby" at the Desert Inn. LAS VEGAS REVIEW "Pzazz 70" A Dazzling Show In Berkeley-Ziegfeld Style By DALE MUNROE Herald-Examiner Staff Writer LAS VEGAS?╟÷Nostalgia, garbed in glamour and spectacle, moved into the Crystal Room of the Desert Inn last week for an indefinite stay. Nostalgia's stage name is "Pzazz 70 (And All That I Jazz, Baby)" and she was welcomed with open arms Wednesday night by the D. 1,'s general manager, Walter Fitzpatrick, who spoke in behalf of the hotel's owner, Howard Hughes. Also on hand to greet Nostalgia were representatives of the press bedecked in black-ties for the greeting. It was a grand night with Nostalgia paying fond tribute to the greats of syncopated harmony.-?╟÷ Glenn Miller, Tommy Dorsey, Benny Goodman, Nat King Cole, Ella Fitzgerald, The Ink Spots, Cab Calloway, Louis Armstrong, Duke Ellington, Count Basie and others. Nostalgia, alias "Pzazz 70", is a visual delight. She is gowned in more than' 300 dazzling costumes (reported to have cost in excess of $400,000). Bill Campbel created the gowns, utilizing thousands of yards of fabric?╟÷silks, satins, velvets; with vinyl, metal cloths and Cellophane synthetics. Director Donn Arden and producer Frank Sennes have much to be proud of. The "Chicago" number, for instance, (staged, as are all the numbers, by Harry Warren), features two-sided sets in three segments which revolve with split-second timing. The number is divided into five separate se- I quences, including a replica of Chicago's speakeasy ' districts during the Roaring Twenties, a full-scale floor I show within the main set followed by a police raid [with guns bazing, fires burning, girls screaming, etc. It's a gigantic conception utilizing every inch of the Crystal Room's giant stage?╟÷and everything moves all the time. Throughout, every conceivabe gimmick is used to tremendous effect; fog machines, bubble machines, birds that fly around the huge theater-restaurant, waterfalls, black lights, dozens of drops, elevators, skrims, rear projections, thousands of multi-colored electric lights ?╟÷ the list is endless. The Heavenly Hoax production (which bedazzles the eye with splendorous fountains and waterfalls) is, next to the Chicago number, the evening's major achievement. These numbers would have .made a Ziegfeld weep. A "Hollywood and All That Jazz" sequence pays loving tribute to the glorious Hollywood musicals of the thirties?╟÷the Busby Berkeley-type productions ?╟÷ to the Eleanor Powells and Ruby Keelers. Comic Will Jordan's familiar Ed Sullivan impersonation and his impressions of stars who sound like other stars won enthusiastic appause despite a slow start with some tired material on preview night. Best of the Jordan impressions were imitations of Peter Lorre and a Lorre sound-alike, Sabu. There followed a conversation with Bing Crosby and (in Jordan's opinion) Crosby sound-alikes, Perry Como and Dean Martin. The mimic wound up his stint with a Clark Gable impersonation and other celebrities who sound ike Gable?╟÷Dale Robertson and the late former President Eisenhower. Other highlights include The Little Steps (the young cousins of the dancing Step Brothers, ranging in age from 13 to 17), singers Monroe and Whiting, Magician Marvin Roy and juggler Montego. i