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ftage 4A ?╟≤ Sunday, March 29, 2009 { FROM THE FRONT I Las Vegas Review-Journal ?√? 'FOLIES': was closing in on 50th anniversary when it got its pink slip CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1A more pictures afterward |?║n its storied Moulin Rouge Set. K The curtain eame down in Iftyle on the Parisian topless lievue said to be the longest- running in America, one that was closing in on a Christmas fday 50th anniversary when it got its pink slip two months | ago. IVopicana executives j decided not to reinvest in a new edition of the casino- J owned revue, but they did not let their jewel go without one last chance to sparkle. As the PA system beckoned wolies family, come up?╟Ñ for it pre-show alumni photo, Ifhowgirls of all ages flowed ponto the stage and packed the *?║golden staircase?╟Ñ so densely S|ts lighted steps could no longer 3be seen. ?╟úYounger people up on ; top, please. There?╟╓s a lot of us,?╟Ñ * they were coached. | < ?╟úI felt so short,?╟Ñ said 'comedian Russ Merlin, one of [the many variety performers twho worked as a specialty [act over the years, after j the reftiinder that height requirements for dancers were more stringent back in the old days. And it was ?╟úlike a big I family,?╟Ñ said Daniel Celario, ] half of the comedy team of ] Mario & Daniel (Celario), I brothers who performed off J and on from 1986 through 12000. ?╟úIt was like going to work at the office with a I lot of people you like,?╟Ñ he j said before the show, when jan overhead video screen Iran clips of their slapstick j routine. He married a dancer, 'Folies Bergere' alumnae Dawn Eady, 1963 and 1970, second from left, and Cathy Triffon, 1975, pose Saturday with current showgirls Jayne Zuniga, left, and Svetlana Failla outside the Tiffany Theater at the Tropicana. PHOTOS BY K.M. CANNON LAS VEGAS REVIEW-JOURNAL Elaine, who is now the Trop?╟╓s entertainment director. Comic juggler Michael Holly had the honor of being the last specialty act to complete a legacy that includes Lance Burton and Siegfried & Roy. ?╟úIt?╟╓s starting to hit me. It?╟╓s a very odd feeling,?╟Ñ he said before the show. ?╟úAll the guys I know who were all the acts, they?╟╓re all here.?╟Ñ ?╟úThere?╟╓s something about this show. It?╟╓s the feeling we got backstage, the vibe and adrenalin with all the dancers,?╟Ñ Daniel Celario said, that wasn?╟╓t the same opening for laid-back headliners such as Kenny Rogers. Even though the nightly production became routine, ?╟úA fast change is still a fast change,?╟Ñ brother Mario noted. ?╟úThese kids, that?╟╓s why they work so hard.?╟Ñ ?╟úThey should have put tissues on every table,?╟Ñ said Stephanie Jaynes, an adagio dancer turned company manager who took a maternity leave in June and would have come back ?╟úif there was still a show to come back to.?╟Ñ ?╟úThis is their high school. This is where they grew up, a lot of them,?╟Ñ said Rob Galaway, a reminder that, yes, a lot of men danced in the show over the years as well. ?╟úIt was a great after-school job,?╟Ñ says Vicki Pettersson, a Las Vegas novelist who saw the revue at age 14 and went on to dance in it from 1996 to 2006. ?╟úI was tall and grew up in Las Vegas, so instead of ?╟ You should be a model,?╟╓ it was, ?╟ You should be a showgirl.?╟╓?╟Ñ Bernice McCarthy was one of the original cast members hired by producer Lou Walters and flown in from Europe on a propeller jet. The English dancer was recruited in Milan and only knew Las Vegas was ?╟úa long way away.?╟Ñ McCarthy ended up being the lead cancan dancer, staying with the revue until 1967. ?╟úWe knew everyone everywhere we went,?╟Ñ she recalls. ?╟úThey used to fly our costumes in on transport planes from France,?╟Ñ recalled Joyce Grayson, a 10-year- dancer. Anita King helped dress the dancers and kept those costumes clean from 1972 to 1980. She helped the new 'Folies Bergere' alumna Sacha Phillips, 2001-2005, left, shows that she no longer has bunions to Ann Jung, center, and Nicole Drouin, both 2002-2005, in the Tiffany Theater at the Tropicana. girls adjust to 15- to 25-pound headpieces. ?╟úThey were scary. The girls had to practice forever.?╟Ñ The ?╟úFolies?╟Ñ died of slow starvation over the years, as management and ownership changes stalled major reinvestment in the production that became more and more dated in the Cirque du Soleil era. Original dancer McCarthy said she was more surprised that ?╟úit really lasted this long?╟Ñ than to find out it was closing. ?╟úIt needed a face lift,?╟Ñ she said. ?╟úThey nickel and dimed it to death,?╟Ñ Pettersson agreed. But on Saturday, it didn?╟╓t take much imagination to see the ?╟úFolies?╟Ñ in the sheen of an earlier era. Even Jerry Jackson, the show?╟╓s director and choreographer since 1975, refused to let things get downbeat in his pre-show remarks when he thanked ?╟úall the thousands of performers who have entertained millions of people.?╟Ñ ?╟úAs Tonto said to the Lone Ranger,?╟Ñ the Oklahoma native told the audience, ?╟úGiddiup cowboy, it?╟╓s time to get out of Dodge.?╟Ñ ____________ Contact reporter Mike Weatheford at 702-383-0288 or mweatherford@reviewj oumal.com.