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This item has not been digitized in its entirety. The original item is available for research and handling at the UNLV University Libraries. Additional digitization is available upon request. Please contact Special Collections to request additional digitization or with any questions regarding access at special.collections@unlv.edu. VOLUME 25/NUMBER 03_ _ AUGUST 10 to AUGUST 23, 2001 _ THREE DOLLARS IT?╟╓S JUBILEE TIME FOR- ?╟úDONN ARDEN?╟╓S JUBILEE!?╟Ñ By Bill Sewers When American composer Irving Berlin penned the song ?╟úA Pretty Girl Is Like A Melody?╟Ñ in 1919, little did he know that, 82 years later, it would be the crowning centerpiece of the most beautiful show in the world. And if, indeed, a pretty girl is like a melody, then Donn Arden?╟╓s ?╟úJubilee!?╟Ñ now celebrating its 20th Anniversary at Bally?╟╓s Las Vegas, is a wondrous, magnificent symphony. Since its poignant and auspicious opening on July 30, 1981, at the MGM Grand, which is now Bally?╟╓s, ?╟úJubilee! ?╟╓ has been seen by more than eight million people. One of the few remaining classic Las Vegas shows, ?╟úJubilee!?╟Ñ is the last production of The late Donn Arefen and continues to be the epitome of class, elr egance and beauty - qualities that were an Arden hallmark and which are still eagerly embraced by the audiences that regularly fill the 1,040-seat theater on a nightly basis. Donn Arden began his professional career as a dancer in St. Louis and later began staging a string of small nightclub and stage revues around the U.S,; he was eventually brought to Las Vegas in the 50?╟╓s to produce shows for the new Desert Inn. Combining the elements of the Paris dance hall and the American nightclub, Donn set the stage for his work at the ?╟úLido?╟Ñ in Paris and his subsequent importation of that show to the Stardust in 1958. It was Las Vegas?╟╓ first full-scale topless production show and the vanguard of the French style of entertainment that became a Las Vegas staple during the following decades. Donn is known as a master showman with a particular genius for spectacle and moving large numbers of people effortlessly around a stage - and the stages don?╟╓t get much larger than that of the Bally?╟╓s facility, which is 15 stories from the bottom of the orchestra pit to the upper reaches of the fly loft and half the size of afootball field in area. Donn is also known as the ?╟ master of disaster,?╟╓ owing to his penchant for onstage recreations of epic disasters, such as the fiery demise of the Hindenburg, the great San Francisco earthquake, the destruction of the temple by Samson and the sinking of the Titanic, the latter two of which still astound ?╟úJubilee!?╟Ñ patrons nightly. Apart from the size of the stage, other ?╟úJubilee!?╟Ñ facts and figures equally impress: the stage includes three main double-decker elevators with 100,000-lb. capacity each, six small elevators and two revolving elevators, 100 different sets and backdrops, 100,000 light bulbs, more than 125 miles of wiring, two tons of dry ice per week, 50 different pyrotechnical effects using ten pounds of What Y Inside AUDITIONS............... Pages 3,6,7,9,11 Breck-A?╟╓-Brac............. Page 2 Aloha..........,.......;...... Page 4 Did You Know?.......... Page 5 HEADIines................. Page 5 To The Pointe............Page 9 Dancing fora Living... Page 10 "explosives per night and 5,000 gallons of recycled water per performance. Not to mention several million dollars worth of rhinestones, feathers and fabrics that make up the most stunning costumes on earth' specially designed by Pete Menefee and Bob Mackie. ?╟≤ It is the cast of ?╟úJubilee!?╟Ñ however, the ?╟úgrand and Glorious Beauties?╟Ñ and ?╟úthose Handsome Men,?╟Ñ proudly proclaimed in the show?╟╓s program, and the almost 75-strong backstage crew, who continue to bring ?╟úJubilee! ?╟Ñ?╟╓s glorious vision to glittering, ravishing life. Of the cast of almost 100 singers and dancers and illusionist Dirk Arthur, only principal dancer Linda Green has been with the show since Its opening night - and she loves it, saying that every night is still as exciting to her as that original opening night. Several crew-members also celebrate the 20-year mark. Fluff LeCoque, the show?╟╓s esteemed company manager and associate producer, has also been with ?╟úJubilee!?╟Ñ in that capacity since it opened "and is a long-time friend and affiliate of Donn Arden. From her office deep beneath Bally?╟╓s stage, Fluff, along with assistant company manager Diane Palm (who also assisted dirdcfdf and choreographer Tom Hansen), keeps a firm hand and watchful eye on all of the details that ensure the smooth running and consistent high quality of the show. . , Minutes before the curtain went up on the two special anniversary performances on July 30, Fluff, stunning and elegant and welcomed by a well-deserved standing ovation, took Bally?╟╓s center stage and spoke briefly on what it was that made ?╟úJubilee!?╟Ñ timeles?· Citing the music of Gershwin, Berlin and Porter, the costumes, lighting and the quality of the cast, she said it all really came down to Donn?╟╓s consistent desire to present beauty and quality in all their forms to the most important element of the show -the audience. Fluff also acknowledged that, even though Donn wasn?╟╓t there physically on this landmark evening, he was there in spirit. ?╟úAnd, as always,?╟Ñ she said, ?╟úDonn has the best seat in the house.?╟Ñ 2375 E. TROPICANA AVE., SUITE 6 LAS VEGAS, NEVADA 89119 *4 4 3