ent001673-021

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. Jfameo 'ffitii/iez/bzd # toj 61y &u/e %/zeeo Q/t?╟? intimate poztiaU of & tyegrn ntml enduting- and endearing?╟÷icon HE VELVET CURTAIN OF BALLY'S JUBILEE THEATER ascends at 9:55 p.m. to reveal a stage that is dimly lit and bare JgiVe for an enormous triple staircase paved with silver Sparkles?╟÷the kind of staircase Ruby Keeler would have glided down for Busby Berkeley. A few slender young women in tights walk out onto the stage and begin practicing a dance step. They?╟╓re joined shortly by a muscular young man dressed in a T-shirt and wearing a top hat. Up in the rows of seats, the cocktail waitresses are cleaning up after the Tuesday night show, plucking empty booze glasses from the holders0 between the armrests and dropping them into bus trays. More young men and women appear from backstage, sauntering out in groups of three and four, and soon the stage is crowded and the floorboards are thumping beneath their dance shoes and sneakers. They?╟╓re quick-stepping, high-kicking, polishing their plies. Several of the women climb and re-climb the silver staircase, extending their arms lithely as they descend, testing their poise while executing the showgirl?╟╓s trademark lilting sidestep: spine erect, hips forward, palms down, legs bent softly at the knee, feet slightly en pointe. Things begin in earnest when Fluff appears at the back of the theater at 10:15. She?╟╓s a diminutive woman whose stature belies a commanding presence and the stem voice of a mother superior. Fluff LeCoque is 74 years old and looks 60 in Capri slacks, a wraparound jacket, a loose-fitting turtleneck blouse and stylish wire-rimmed glasses. By now the line captains have gathered at the foot of the stage. They?╟╓re shouting commands to the dancers and holding a running dialogue with Fluff as she takes a microphone and a seat in the middle of the empty theater next to the sound booth, a dozen rows back from the banquette tables. ?╟úReady??╟Ñ she barks into the mike. ?╟úWhat we?╟╓re going to do, we?╟╓ll start with Gershwin. Please take your places on stage! We?╟╓ll go through all the way to the finale. OK, let?╟╓s go!?╟Ñ She turns quietly to the soundman: ?╟úLet?╟╓s go, Eddie.?╟Ñ A fully orchestrated Gershwin medley bursts through the PA and fills the theater. The dancers jump into the routine with the zest of a performance. The rest of the cast watches. When it?╟╓s over, they all clap in a show of support. This Tuesday evening marks the third week of full rehearsals for Bally?╟╓s lavish revue, Jubilee!. The purpose has been to acclimate 14 newcomers to the sets and choreography in time for their debut on Saturday night. Most of the cast is required to attend?╟÷with the exception of some of the principal singers and dancers?╟÷the ?╟údivas,?╟Ñ as they?╟╓re sometimes called, and not always by way of a compliment. It?╟╓s an operation requiring almost military planning and precision. The 58 APRIL 1998