By Bob Lindsey

As an annual visitor to Branson and an occasional visitor to Las Vegas over the years, you start to realize more and more similarities in these two leading entertainment meccas.

Obviously gaming and the more risqué shows are only found in Vegas and you won’t find many Christian-theme or All-American shows as there as in Branson.

On a trip this summer to the Nevada city, we did experience some shows that saluted the veterans in the audience and the cast meeting the audience after the show—gestures that are a fixture at most Branson shows.

For the biggest names in entertainment and more Broadway shows Las Vegas remains the king. In a four-day span, we were able to see the winner of America’s Got Talent second season, a family-friendly magician/. comedy show,  two of the biggest shows from Broadway that we missed when they played St. Louis , plus spend a day on a Pink Jeep tour of the Valley of Fire ( see story on this page)

Disney’s The Lion King has camped out for an extended stay at the large Mandalay Bay Theater with its visually stunning sets, musical score and puppet animals of the African savannah.   The music and lyrics by Elton John and Tim Rice are enough to carry this show, but the masks and puppetry of the animals make the show even more special.

The giraffes, elephant, Simba, Nila, Scar, Rafiki, Mufasa and other lions, lioness, birds and animals follow the movie script with most of the same lines and music, but opening new avenues of imagination. At first it seems a little odd watching the actors pull the life-size puppets’ strings, but after a short time, the puppets rule the stage and you hardly pay attention to the actors as the story of Simba’s adventures getting lost in the Elephant graveyards, making new friends, but eventually yearning to return home after several years.

Songs that stay with you include “Can You Feel the Love?” “ I Can’t Wait to be King”, “The Circle of Life” and the spunky “Hakuma Matata.”

This special two and a-half hours of family entertainment at Mandalay Bay appeals to kids, parents and grandparents as it follows the Disney animated film closely.  For more information: www.LionKinglasvegas.com.

Jersey Boy s at the Palazzo Resort Hotel Casino opens with a 2000 version of “Oh, What A Night” by a French rapper and you wonder why?  It becomes quickly apparent as the show makes you aware of the long tradition of music and hits the Four Seasons with Frankie Valli have provided for 40 years.

This is the beginning for telling the story of how the group emerged, struggled, dealt with the personal problems of each member, while still maintaining those great vocal harmonies.  The blue-collar New Jersey guys started as a threesome of Nick Massi and brothers Tommy and Nick DeVito singing at small bars, but when leader Nick Massi heard Frankie Castelluccio (who later changed his name to Frankie Valli) sing “Earth Angel, he knew they needed “the kid” in the group.

The show them moves quickly through the years, bringing all the memorable songs to tell the story of The Jersey Boys.  Close your eye while listening to Travis Cloer who played Frankie Valli the night we attended, and you’d swear you were hearing the real leader singer of the Four Seasons.

On other nights Rick Faugno plays Frankie Valli and he was voted “The Best Singer in Las Vegas” by thedaily  Las Vegas Review-Journal

The boys from

Newark continued

singing together

under various group

names, but needed

more original material and that came when Bob Guadio, a  one-hit wonder songwriter (“Short, Shorts”), joined the group.

Guadio could write songs and Frankie could belt them out and the quick results included the group’s early hits “Sherry,” “Big Girls Don’t Cry” and “Walk Like a Man.”

The hits continued, but so did the gambling problems of Nick Massi, the breakdown of Valli’s marriage and the death of his daughter from an overdose.  Tired of dealing with Massi’s gambling debts, Frankie and Bob Guadio go on their own to form Frankie Valli and New Seasons, but the biggest record sellers came under the Four Seasons name.

Jersey Boys, after only a little over a year at the Palazzo, was voted the best show by the Las Vegas Review-Journal. The show, strictly adult, is performed in its own custom-build theater at the new resort-casino.  www.PalazzoLasVegas.com.

Rushing around to shows in the maddening Las Vegas traffic we didn’t have much time for real dining experiences with two notable exceptions. and they were both  off the Las Vegas strip.

Twincreeks and Ricardo’s

A short ride took us to the newly remodeled Silverton Casino, just south of the Las Vegas Airport. The first thing you notice when you enter the casino is the large and colorful aquarium, similar to Cabella’s at St. Louis Mills, but much larger. At various times throughout the day, live mermaids glide through the waters with the tropical fish.  Okay so they’re not real mermaids, just pretty women with great underwater swimming skills and artificial flippers.

Inside the casino is twincreeks an upscale restaurant with innovative menus, but without the high price tags of many places on the strip.  Noted for their seafood dishes and steaks, the pan-seared scallops were a wonderful appetizer.

On  the menus is Twin Creeks Classics that features seafood including lobster, a pasta with salmon and beef and chicken specialties that comes with a house salad, basket of artisan bread and two sides priced from $19 to $29— an amazing offer for Las Vegas. You can also order from the menu of several steaks and seafood entries, add a salad or soup. The sides for sharing area good bet ranging from $6-$8

Twincreeks is also noted for the flavored bourbon bar drinks and a good wine selection. For more information: www.silvertoncasino.com.

Our other fine dining experience took us to Ricardo’s about two miles from the strip on Flamingo Avenue and voted 23 times as the Best Mexican restaurant in Las Vegas in the local daily newspaper.  For several years Ricardo’s  had a location in the MGM Grand and thus was known by both local and tourists. The cuisine is promoted as authentic and creative Mexican foods rich in the flavors of Northern Mexico and the American Southwest. .

The family-owned Ricardo’s has perhaps the most extensive menus of Mexican food we’ve ever seen, prices reasonable and with many specials such as a extensive   $9.99 luncheon buffet from 11-2:30. When that ends, the Early Bird Dinner specials holds forth from 2:30- 5:30.

We especially liked the chips and salsa, the Mexican pizza appetizer which could have been a meal, and that you can actually have healthy veggies like broccoli, carrots and cauliflower with many of their entrees.  The salads  and the choice of Mexican entrees were endless with good quality and quantity.

Ricardo’s caters for many weddings, parties and groups and has banquts. Even the big casinos use them as Ricardo’s catered a party for Harrah’s recently for over 7,000 people.  For more information:  www.ricardosflasvegas.com

Share on Facebook

Tweet

Follow us