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ent000830-046

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ent000830-046
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    University of Nevada, Las Vegas. Libraries

    Covina, Calif. San Gabriel Valley Tribune * (Circ. D. 68,850) tifl Est. 1888 LAS VEGAS LIMELIGHT A Mini, Mod, Mad Revue Set for Las Vegas Opening All that jazz, razz, mdazz buzzin'-'round Las Vegas points to "PZAZZ! '68," which opens tonight ul the Desert Inn. The hotel has overhauled its boilers to present a mini, mod, mad revue that has no psychedelic parallel on the Strip, not even a soul brother in the entire county. Created, staged and directed by Donn Arden and produced by Frank Sennes, the musical goes va-va-voom with costumes that make mink look like rabbit,1 music with an obvious status edge, cosmic sounds that) outkick 80-proof tequila, and individual acts that rhyme with the rest of the dazzling production. "PZAZZ!'68" presents a Fred Astaire-Ginger Roberts tableau without the stars and a thundering waterfall that also salutes the film industry. A| Boom Town episode burns an oil field. The revue's big finale flips back to the days of Beau Geste and the Foreign Legion. The Snyder Brothers ride the] rapid transit to comedy with songs and dances. International] juggler Rudy Cardenas proves| as tricky as a cavalry captain wearing a monocle. Production] numbers frame 70 dancers, singers and showgirls. Adding a timely dimension to the revue, the Dance Educators of America, composed of the country's dance teachers, recently honored Donn Arden with an award for his con-| tributions to the dance, staging and choreography. Bambi McCormick, 23-year- old featured singer in the Desertj| Inn show, is a grandniece of the late renowned operatic tenor] John McCormack (note the] spelling difference.) Frank Sennes signed Bambi after hearing the youngster sing with Don Cornell at the Stardust. Mad, mod "PZAZZ '68" features 350 costumes, ranging from mini-iburlap to MUengtbJ deep-cut evening gowns. Designed by Bill Campbell and! executed by Berman of Hollywood, the costumes add a Tiffany setting with spectacular beads and sparkling stones Like Marco Polo, Campbell imported exotic materials from the four corners of the earth: elasticized cloth from London, woven brocades and chiffons from Paris, satins from Italy, ;s, from the Orient and ostrich plumes from South Africa. 'Pzazz! '68' Est. '888 Spectacular Staging Used At Desert Inn 1- "P7?╜7,7.|, ,'.68'- at the Las Ve-| gas Desert Inn features some 3f the most lavish production lumbers ever staged on the Vegas Strip. For the magnificent mirrored ballroom in the "Tribute ;o Fred Astaire," four tons of mirrors are used. A crew of >ix men must thoroughly clean and polish these mirrors be- :ween each show due to the smudge and smoke from the "Boomtown Today" scene. Water, Water More than 2,500 gallons of water per minute flow over the gigantic waterfall in the "Polynesian Paradise" scene. Lush tropical foliage provides an en chanting background for exotic costumes and ritual dances. Flower-bedecked baskets carried by native girls in this i scene are topped by live birds, ; vividly tinted. The Road Featuring Pa and Ma, the Corn Tappers and the Moun taineers, "Tubaccer Road' is an amusing spoof following the "Road to Morocco" and "Road to Zambesi" scenes Art Johnson protrays Bing Crosby, Fred Bennett plays Bob Hope, and Janice Hague is Dorothy Lamour for this segment. A fortress rises from the I desert and is surrounded by exciting costumed "Pzazz" girls as Foreign Legionnaires j The entire cast participates in in the rousing finale, a salute to the "Beau Geste" film j epics ending in spectacular fireworks.