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review by joanne gutreimen paris amour at the americana hotel The upbeat holiday season now has a continental beat to swing to: The Americana is currently offering, as exciting nighttime entertainment, a superb blend of celebration, song and choreography loosely titled ?╟úParis Amour.?╟Ñ A Tonetti production, directed and choreographed by top-flight artist Jerry Jackson, this'Tcolorful revue is an amalgamation of many diverse musical styles and moods, each of the eighteen musical numbers hearkening to a different era of musical entertainment. The show, therefore, is not only a ?╟úFrench?╟Ñ style revue, but a celebration of every conceivable musical genre and dancing style. The revue is performed in the elegant Bal Masque room of the Americana Hotel, and the semicircular stage is virtually tailor-made for this spectacle, providing ample viewing facility from every corner of the grand showroom. After a leisurely, elegant dinner, the chandeliers dim, the drum rolls, and the excitement begins with the opening rendition of the ?╟úParis Amour?╟Ñ theme song by Edie Walker, a non-stop talent with a rich, throaty voice. She is quickly joined onstage by the ice blue-clad dancers, decorated with shocking-pink ostrich feathers, who seem to levitate above the stage en masse. Their dance steps reveal their decolletage, augmented by rhinestoned G-strings, and each dancer is truly a vision in her own right. The music then segues into a disco arrangement of ?╟úTake Me Home,?╟Ñ and the girls are a swirl of silver as they move to the insistent beat. The following number is more jazz-oriented, the color red, as showgirls bedecked by crimson hearts are joined by male dancers in one of the most dynamic sequences in the show. A break in the dancing brings the first diversionary act of the show, an incredible couple by the name of Agostino. The Agostinos present a striking act which demonstrates the strength and skill of Mr. Agostino, who lifts and spins his lovely wife Denise with incredible ease and flair. Their Roman Chair act is not to be missed, and is really too incredible to even disclose the details of in this article?╟÷it simply must be seen. After the Agostinos do their spellbinding act, the dancers return with a five-part Latin sequence, beginning with girls in wine-colored robes and roses in one of the most strikingly designed arrangements of the revue. Next, a slightly bizarre number involving witches who loom to a ten-foot height as the music builds to a crescendo. As they leave the stage, a delicate dance of love between a male and female dancer takes place in the wake, accompanied by an exquisitely romantic theme song The following piece is a complete change of tempo, as the band takes up a cha-cha-cha beat, and Edie Walker and the male dancers perform an animated version of Peter Allen?╟╓s ?╟úI Go to Rio.?╟Ñ This number is reminiscent of the ?╟úrumba?╟Ñ musicals of the forties. The second act spot is devoted to the impressive talents of Edie Walker, a songstress whose vocal range encompasses well-known classics as well as the latest musical hits. The twilight of her set blends perfectly into the next dancing sequence, which is aptly titled ?╟úA Salute to American Music,?╟Ñ and is actually the entire history of this country?╟╓s enchantment with song and dance over seven decades. The first ?╟úAmerican?╟Ñ number is a jaunty, blue-grass motif, featuring jean-clad, knee-slapping farmers and a definitive country beat. As this numbef ends, an amazing juxtaposition of mood occurs as the band suddenly switches to a sophisticated, twenties style melody, danced to by a formally clad couple in tails and ostrich feathers. Glamourous dancers in magnificent costumes and special effects Then?╟÷slam! The forties seem to arrive visibly with a crash/boom and the music swings into a boogie-woogie number, replete with sailors and bobby-soxed ?╟úsisters?╟Ñ reminiscent of the World War II era. After this frenzied burst of jitterbugging, the lights go dim, and a fifties-style striptease number is performed by a line of incredible-looking showgirls. To give away the novelty of this act on paper would be an unforgivable anti-climax. The finale of this segment, naturally, brings the sequence up to date with a pulsating disco number, featuring the partnered dancing which has become de rigeur in discos across the country. This sement is followed by the hilarious Senor Wences, a well-known juggler/ ventriloquist whose protagonist is a talking head. His act manages to combine plenty of humor with his incredible skill in throwing his voice. The finale of the revue is like a luscious French pastry topping off a superb meal, as the dancers present a full range of ?╟úFollies?╟Ñ-style choreography, with a nineteenth-century ?╟úCan Can?╟Ñ number and some unbelievable acrobatics. This spectacular at the Americana is sure to be remembered as one of the highlights of the winter months. The astonishing creativity of the artists and designers involved, as well as the musicians, will certainly make ?╟úParis Amour?╟Ñ a South Florida tradition! 44 SHOWCASE/JANUARY 1980