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http://www.aussietheatre.com/news.htm

http://sydney.citysearch.com.au/arts/1137605808341/Las+Vegas+the+Musical

There's an "editorial review" but it reads like a media release. btw the show's on at the State Theatre (Market St Sydney) so you'll definutely miss it, Showgirl, if you go to Star City. It's theatre, darling, it's ABOUT casinos, not IN A CASINO! Anyway, the reader comments suggest maybe this should have opened (and closed) in Casino, a small town on the north coast of NSW.

7.30pm(11/11/08) found me at the State Theatre Sydney. I took my seat and noticed how amazing and beautiful the State theatre is.
Within 10 minutes of the show opening I was feeling rather sad that this much hyped musical was going to be a disaster.
Tiffany Wood was excellent, great voice , sexy as and good stage presence.That was it for me.
The choreography was adequate but what on earth was the relevance to the line dance within 15 mins of the opening.
The dancers were good, all have a proven track record but I feel the choreography fell a little short of the dancers capabilities.
The direction was loose and I feel could have been tighter, I'm sure 1st night nerves had a lot to do with it, but NIDA's end of year direction is a hundred times better than this direction.
The story line may have had personal significance to the Writer (James Karp) and his knowledge of Vegas in the "good old days of mob rule" may be excellent but I feel he did not get his point across, the story line was at best weak and at worst plotless.
The Angel?? why was this character there?, (I guess if the wife says I want to be in your show, then that's it). Oh my goodness she had the face and body that would've made Helen of Troy hop down to Double Bay quick smart for a face lift and tummy tuck, she is beautiful, sexy, but of absolutely no consequence to the story, or I am just such a philistine that I didn't get it. (I suspect the latter).

Hang on a sec and don't get me wrong, this production does have the capacity to do well. In the musical theatre genre forget it, an absolute disaster,. In the Casino showroom style setting, a smash, a hit, a blockbuster.

I doff my cap to James Karp, how many of us have a dream and decide to go for it. Well done Mr Karp, I know you not, but wish you well. Australia needs people like you who are not afraid to follow their dreams. Good luck, with the show I hope Jupiters, Melbourne and Port Douglas Casino's all book your show. That's the market for it.

Peter Howcroft.

I wholehertedly agree with comments above, Tiffani,a very capable voice would be better doing solo show in a casino setting.There were times when I cringed at the acting, was completely lost with the story line and shook my head in disbelief at the weak use of the mexican(?)bartender for comic relief. A quick gay dance revue out of nowhere left me baffled, as did the green fairy, hang on, super hot gay dancing, green fairies, las vegas show girls- next time maybe i'll spend my hard earned on a Kylie tribute show!!

I cannot find the words to describe just how bad this really was. The acting was bad, the singing was worse, but the script - not only was it corny, uninteresting and unfunny, but also made no sense. I can only hope that James Karp has some alternative method of making money, because if he was relying on a career in theatre, he is sorely misguided. I cannot urge people stronlgy enough to stay at home in favour of putting themselves through the stage death that comprises this attrocity.

I believe that this was not a complete diaster as many people seem to believe. Being a drama student myself for 5 years has allowed me to be opened minded.
Yes there is definate room for improvement, and perhaps a better venue, but the idea to Las Vegas the musical was not story line, but perhaps the glitz and glamour of Las Vegas itself.
The idea of the mob, the show girls, and gambling was the point. The dancing and singing i found was very amazing and entertaining, and the costumes were sensational!

I do believe that this is a fun night out, and your supporting and a script writer/director who has never done this before!

James Karp should be congratulated on the fact that he has pursued his dreams and really put on a show of glitz and glamour!

Perhaps not for story line but, for the entertainment factor. If this was such a terrible hit, why would stars such as Tiffany and Katerina Retallick agree to perform in it?

i definately recommend it for a good night out!

We saw the show on Friday after finding some cheap tickets for about $50 each. The show opened and it immediately felt weak. The set was boring, relying on the LED light display at the back of the stage. The plot was appalling, the choreography was absolutely terrible and the singing was only passable. I left at the interval, absolutely disgraced with what I'd seen.

I've seen amateur productions of a far higher standard than this.

Went to the production on friday evening and it was one of the more horrendous experiences i have lived through. While the lead female had a great voice - the stage production/direction was awful. The occasional 'bangs' from behind the scenes of props being dropped and bad stage management did provide some light relief to those who stayed and put up with the entire show.

Add to those 'basic' issues a story that had no plot or meaning to it and you end up with a production that should never have been staged in the first place. Whoelheartedly agree with the poster above that I have been to (and enjoyed) more organised & better produced amateur productions.

Why any of the so-called 'stars' thought that this production was a good idea to be a part of is more demonstrative of the current lack of work/opportunity that must exist - either that or they need to find new managers.

A complete and utter waste of money - you couldn't pay me anything to sit through it again.

dear drama student isaaa - go and see chicago,and compare, this was not an amateur production.We paid good money to see theatre proffesionals in one of the greatest theatre venues in the country. A thorough let down. bring on the HSC productions!! And to the person who called out 'cut the show in half' during the magic trick - sheer comic genius!!

13 November 2008
The Sydney Morning Herald

LAS VEGAS (CONFIDENTIAL) - THE MUSICAL
State Theatre, November 11
Until November 23

THE new century is still young, but here is its funniest show so far. Nothing else has doubled me up like this, a mirth vociferously shared by those around me.

The problem, confidentially, is that Las Vegas - The Musical is not intended as a comedy.

We all have ideas that, on sober reflection, we promptly dismiss. This show was such an idea, minus the dismissal. It was dreamed up by James Karp, who wrote the script - if that's the word for dialogue devoid of wit, plot or characterisation. Mr Karp is usually a magician, and this may be his ultimate trick.

Caught in the illusion is Alexander "The Great" Dean (Tamlyn Henderson), a gambling-addicted magician employed by a mobster (Tony Nikolakopoulos) in a Las Vegas casino. He's advised to clear out by Tyche, the Goddess of Fortune (Simone Karp) - no, seriously - and by the Latino barman (a rollicking Garry Scale). Meanwhile an FBI man (Alistair Toogood), hot on the scent of the Mob, is more or less raped by the predatory Tiffani (Tiffani Wood). Performance quality is an irrelevance.

Alexander falls for chanteuse Francesca, which brings us to the night's only winner. That role was to have been played by Katrina Retallick, but Lady Luck stole her voice, so Diana Holt bravely faced the music.

Ah, yes, the music. This was a jukebox mishmash, containing some of the worst songs ever penned - Las Vegas and, for variety, Dov'e L'Amore - and some others that had no business being so abused.

To distract us from the dialogue and music there were a couple of cute magic tricks, and sparsely clad females cavorted leggily in all scenes, whether they had reason to be there or not. Christopher Hurrell had the job of directing, James Taylor of choreographing and Peter Casey and Michael Bartolomei of looking after the music. Mark Thompson and James Karp designed the set - basically a digital projection screen - which Nigel Levings lit, while James Ionnides and Karp came up with the flocks of feathers, other skimpy costume bits and more feathers.

If you need a laugh . . . no, on second thoughts, read Hunter S. Thompson's Fear And Loathing In Las Vegas. The Vegas he saw with a head full of LSD was, confidentially, infinitely less frightful.

Las Vegas (Confidential) - The Musical
State Theatre
Until November 23
Tickets $59.90-$89.80
Critic's rating 2/10

THE expression "train wreck" is barely adequate when it comes to describing Las Vegas (Confidential). After all, there's always something grimly fascinating or educational to see in a train wreck. No, this is a fiasco, an embarrassment to all involved in its making and an insult to its audience.

Based on "previously untold true events", the plot revolves around Alexander "The Great" Dean (Tamlyn Henderson), a stage illusionist and headline act at a Vegas casino managed by Mob figure Tony "The Tool" Spitori (Tony Nikolakopoulos), to whom Dean owes a million bucks or more.

With encouragement from his personal Goddess of Fortune (a ludicrous role written for producer-writer James Karp's wife, Simone), a love affair blossoms between the feckless Dean and the understandably wary Francesca, a singer. In order for it to survive, however, Dean must work out an exit strategy from the dangerous situation he finds himself in.

Responsibility for this mind-bendingly inept jukebox musical lies with Karp - a stage illusionist himself - and it bears all the hallmarks of a vanity project gone mad.

Without exception, the scenes are sketchy, the dialogue dull-witted and the characters hopelessly cliched. Humour only arises because Karp is unable to distinguish the funny from the laughable. Some episodes exist only as framing devices for magic tricks, all of which look silly in this context.

Design-wise, there's nothing to arrest the eye other than the migraine-inducing glare of the stadium-style jumbotron screen dominating the stage. Karp's choice of songs - ranging from Que Sera, Sera to an excruciating version of Robbie Williams's Me And My Monkey - is as strange as it is unappetising.

Director Christopher Hurrell struggles to make the basics - entrances, exits, scene changes - work and James Taylor's choreography is a mess of showgirl shape-throwing, Eurovision twizz and tawdry bump 'n' grind, much of it inexpertly realised.

Rhythm and sass are what's needed and both are utterly absent. Henderson shows some determination in the lead role yet not for an instant do we care about Dean or anything he does. Leading lady Katrina Retallick was indisposed on opening night and would do well to stay that way.

Our sympathies go to understudy Diana Holt, who gamely played the thankless role of Francesca. Tiffani Wood, of the late and unlamented pop act Bardot, is rather too obviously there as an audience drawcard but her role - a hooker-singer named Tiffany - is restricted to a couple of Shania Twain-style workouts in the second act. Garry Scale certainly earns his fee playing an elderly Mexican barman in what appears to be a tribute to Tattoo from Fantasy Island.

Tosh from top to tail, Las Vegas (Confidential) is rubbish and a rip-off.

13 November 2008
Daily Telegraph
Copyright 2008 News Ltd. All Rights Reserved
Review: Las Vegas (Confidential)
State Theatre, 49 Market St, City; until November 23, Tuesday-Saturday, 8pm, Sunday 5pm, $59.90-$89.90

YOU'D expect a show about Las Vegas to be kitsch and offbeat but this musical borders on the bizarre. Written and created by illusionist James Karp, it is a tale of showgirls, gamblers and henchmen in the 1960s and '70s.

With a flimsy narrative, the love story between the main characters, illusionist Alexander ``The Great'' Dean (Tamlyn Henderson) and beautiful chanteuse Francesca, develops too quickly to be believable.

Former Bardot member Tiffani Wood's role as burlesque starlet Tiffany Hills is much-hyped, but her character doesn't appear until the second half. Some people in the first-night crowd had already left by that time.

The show boasts a few impressive moments, such as a fun scene where Alex breaks into an energetic performance of The Gambler with other male cast members. It's a very different slant on the Kenny Rogers classic, complete with bare-chested cowboys.

As Katrina Retallick was ill with laryngitis, understudy Diana Holt stepped in as Francesca, the lead female role. Her strong voice was a highlight. Underbelly's Tony Nikolakopoulos is a standout as mobster Tony ``The Tool''.

But overall, many in the audience were left wishing what happened in Vegas had stayed there.