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PACIFIC DAILY NEWS, Thursday, December 2}, 1995 ?√ß The SandCastle celebrates 5 years Daily News staff In a glittering flourish of music, dance, lights and illusion, SandCastle celebrat- ed its 5th anniversary last night by rais- ing the curtain on a new $2 million en- tertainment extravaganza called tastique!* The hour and a half Las Vegas-style show, which debuted this month at the SandCastle theater showroom, features a cast of 30, including 26 dancers, two lead performers'and two vocalists. With a colorful international theme, the show marks the SandCastle?╟╓s first change in entertainment since the facility opened on Dec. 17,1989 in Turnon. Dancers are a mix of local and main- SandCastle ?√ß Guam residents are offered special holiday prices (with Guam identification cards) to see the SandCastle show ?╟÷ $65 for the dinner show and $40 for the cocktails show. Call 649-SAND for reservations. land talent. New costumes, produced primarily by a local staff of 12 and an off-island con- sultant, cost about $200,000 to create. The effort, resulting in a specialty look for each performance, was designed by Tony Award-winning producer Jerry R. Jack- son of Los Angeles and coordinated by Maura Peterson, company manager, with preliminary planning for the costumes begun over a year ago. Produced, choreographed and designed by Jackson, the show travels to differ- ent eras in Paris, Latin America, New York City and the heartland of the Amer- ican West before settling into the throb- bing ?╟ 90?╟╓s techno-rap beat of a big city nightclub and bringing the curtain down on the grand finale. Each segment is marked by lighted backdrops that drop from ceilings and move on and off stage with the music and dancers. ?╟úWe wanted to create a high-quality show equal to any in Las Vegas or other entertainment center,?╟Ñ said Jackson from backstage after the show. ?╟úWe worked hard to plan every detail. As a result, the costumes are stunning, the sets are fantastic and the special effects are su- perb.?╟Ñ ; ?╟Ñ-"e. The show opens in the 1890s in the scandalous Casino De Paris, where checkered clowns on tum-of-the-centuiy bicycles, corseted maidens with parasols and can-can chorus line girls cavort on stage. Minutes later, the audience travels to Paris in 1990s, where showgirls with feathered headdresses and golden but- terflies flutter down a staircase in the r-st.iiHHpd nip?╟╓llt skv. Norman I aruc/uaiiy News staff The show at the SandCastle has been completely revamped, including a new set, stage, lighting, and sound design. More than two dozen dancersflythrough costume changes and acts to provide a fast- paced, entertaining show. With the beat of the cha-cha, tango, samba and reggae, the show turns to Latino dances and rhythms from Brazil, Argentina, Mexico, Cuba and the Caribbean. Carmen Miranda, wearing a colorful, impossibly tall, fruit-studded headdress, struts across the full length of the stage with a 60-foot ruffled train. In Watermelon Man, a half-dozen glow- ing dancers in a dimly lit scaffolding are bathed in blacklight creating a dreamy cartoon-like special effect. The stage then is transformed into the heart of Broadway in New York city. Here, in the gritty re-created streets of the Big Apple, would-be stars and angiy young men and motorcycles take their turn under the stage lights, including a soloist who croons as it rains on stage. In a brief stopover in the American West, cowboys and cowgirls do-si-do around the campfire and gamblers, gun- fighters and bar girls cavort in a honky- tonk saloon. The entertainment then slips into an energetic sampler of contemporary The new wardrobe ip Fantastique is not for the shy, as demonstrated in this number from the show. dances and dramatic musical solos that weave into each other before the grand finale showcasing the entire cast. ?╟úWe spent hours, days, weeks and months in rehearsal for the new show,?╟Ñ said lead dancer Colleen Cox, as she stopped to catch her breath backstage after the show. ?╟úOur international cast of dancers, singers and entertainers are all professional artists who truly love their work. Each night, moments before the curtain rises, the enthusiasm backstage among the cast is electric.?╟Ñ Intermissions to allow for quick scene changes are punctuated by the illusions of Rick Thomas. The audience, a mix of tourists from Japan, Korea and Taiwan and local res- idents, puzzle over a series of disap- pearing tricks involving a variety of ob- jects, including scarves, birds, beautiful women and even body parts. ?╟úThe breath-taking illusions on the SandCastle takes precise teamwork,?╟Ñ said Thomas. ?╟úWe want to suspend re- ality, capture your attention and sur- prise you.?╟Ñ Included in the illusions are the featured SandCastle tigers, Zeus, Max and Zara, and the newest additions to the family, two rare Bengal white tiger cubs, who draw ohhs and ahhs from the audience as the big cats pace their cages before disappearing behind the curtain. Begun as a concept by Mark S. Baldy- ga, president and owner of SandCas< tie, who was a musician on Guam in the late 1980s, the SandCastle enter- tainment complex has gi^own to be Guam?╟╓s No. 1 night-time tourist at- traction. ?╟úAfter five years of weathering earth- quakes, typhoons and flooding, we are very proud to be an important part of Guam?╟╓s tourism industry,?╟Ñ said Richard Rennie, SandCastle sales and market- ing director, who helped oversee this anniversary effort that included up- grading and renovation of dining booths, chairs and theater accommo- dations. ?╟úAfter seeing our spectacular new show, Fantastique!, everyone will agree that SandCastle is truly the showplace of the Pacific,?╟Ñ said Rennie.