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LAS VEGAS TODAY Hitz Hot S ometimes producers are like Congress^ when something goes wrong they throw money at the problem, somehow ex< peering that ostentatious costuming and grandiose sets will somehow save a lackluster show. How refreshing that Jerry Jackson, creator of the new production ?╟úHitz?╟Ñ at the Hacienda, understands that the real secrets of entertainment success are energy, enthusiasm, creativity and attention to detail. That is not to say that ?╟úHitz?╟Ñ is not without its riches. The flamboyant costuming and vivid sets, together with a cast of nearly 30, give the show a full, rich look. But Jackson gets so much out of the production that you?╟╓d swear this was one of the $30 shows, not the $9.50 bargain ?╟úHitz?╟Ñ really is. For instance, rather than fill the stage with inert, wooden showgirls, vacuous under their rhinestone finery, Jackson choreographs a number in which everyone on stage?╟÷dancers, nudes, and stars?╟÷work together in graceful symmetry. Rather than spend thousands on some mechanical marvel of a set, Jackson strings a few colored lights across a stark silhouette suggesting urban Latin America. The enthusiastic calypso singing and dancing of the cast down in front is what carries the day. Jackson?╟÷already well-known to Las Vegas audiences at the director of the ?╟úFolies Bergere?╟Ñ at the Tropicana?╟÷says the real secret of show business success is tireless attention to detail. ?╟úYou can never say ?╟ It?╟╓s good enough,?╟╓?╟Ñ he says. ?╟úIt?╟╓s either right or its wrong. ?╟ Good enough?╟╓ is wrong.?╟Ñ It is also important that a show have an underlying theme to give it substance and identity, Jackson says. ?╟úI don?╟╓t like to do disjunctive shows, such as opening number, act, Aztec number, act, French number, act, finale. I like to have themes,?╟Ñ he explains. ?╟úThe underneath ideas have to be very, very strong so that its just not all tinsel and glitter on top of nothing.?╟Ñ It would seem the theme of ?╟úHitz?╟Ñ?╟÷a celebration of top 40 music in the 1980s, is an idea who?╟╓s time has come. Coupled with the tradition glitter and feathers of the Las Vegas review, ?╟úHitz?╟Ñ features the upbeat rhythms and rapid-fire pacing of a music video. Indeed, Jackson feels music videos are the modem equivalent of the variety show. ?╟úMTV has replaced variety, and MTV is so faced paced, with so many symbolic images and subliminal things going on that audiences have become accustomed to that,?╟Ñ he says. ?╟úHitz,?╟Ñ too, sets a frenetic pace, with more than 50 songs in less than an hour and a half, including two specialty acts. If, in Jackson?╟╓s words, ?╟úHitz?╟Ñ is ?╟úcurrent, it?╟╓s today, its not like the other shows,?╟Ñ it should nonetheless appeal to audiences too mature to be familiar with Sting or Steve Winwood. ?╟úIt?╟╓s not heavy metal,?╟Ñ Jackson says. ?╟úI know this room attracts an older crowd. I hope it will attract more people, but in my shows, I try to make them accessi- ble to all age groups and to different kinds of audiences.?╟Ñ The show also relies on a lot of comedy to bridge any age gap between music and audience. Popular music and mores are spoofed in a variety of surprising ways. But Jackson need not worry about a generation gap. Anyone can groove to the funny, enthusiastic rendition of ?╟úPink Cadillac?╟Ñ or feel the plaintive emotion behind the softly-sung question: ?╟úWho?╟╓s kissing her now??╟Ñ ?╟úHitz?╟Ñ is a show that preserves the best of the past with an eye toward the future. It?╟╓s what all shows will look like in years to come?╟÷or at least they?╟╓ll try to. By Marc Chanisse 6 DECEMBER 1. 1 9 B B