Whew. That was a show.
The 20th anniversary of The Composers Showcase of Las Vegas played out Wednesday night at The Smith Center. It might still be playing out, actually. There was room in this room for multitudes of encores.
The show represented an embarrassment of riches in Las Vegas entertainment. The 3 1/2-hour experience, replete with a full intermission, was a heartfelt tribute to original music.
All of it was led by TCS co-founder Keith Thompson, who has produced, helmed and performed in the Showcase since its inception in April 2006. TCS, in shorthand, premiered at then-Cabaret Jazz, now Myron’s in March 2012.
“The Smith Center was meant to be the home of the Showcase, ever since we opened,” Smith Center President Myron Martin — the “Myron” of it all — said Thursday. The show opens the doors for promising compositions and great performers from across the city.
Thompson has never missed a week. I have long said that he should be the emcee of everything in Las Vegas, given his dedication to this venture.
The former “Jersey Boys” music director hit the mark with is own compositions: “Eat Drink and Be Mary” from the Showcase’s earliest day, to open; “The Man At The Piano,” featuring Philip Fortenberry, once the star of “Liberace and Me” at the Liberace Museum; and a full-cast “Needing Each Other,” the anthem of the pandemic shutdown.
Thompson noted the three other original composers other than himself who launched the event, Richard Oberacker, and the late Wayne Green and Michael Brennan. Oberacker sampled the songs he premiered at TCS from the Broadway show “Bandstand.”
Debbie Gibson honored Brennan, a longtime friend, and played her hit “Foolish Beat.” Christine Hudman Pardy sang Green’s “Nothing on Earth.”
Niki Scalera performed “The Boys are Never Put Out” from Thompson’s own “Idaho The Comedy Original,” which premiered at Reynolds Hall in 2016. “Menopause the Musical” cast member Vita Corimbi, a TCS original, performed “Fabulous,” from her first Showcase, at the top, returning with “Holiday Made With Love.”
The wicked-talented Chris Lash, also from the Showcase’s infancy, performed “Love is Love.” You can catch him lording over the dueling pianos at Encore’s Eastside Lounge.
Elsewhere, we heard from such terrific, established artists as Clint Holmes (“Rendezvous” and “If Not Now, When?”) Frankie Moreno (“Good Ol’ Days”), Michael Peterson (“From Here to Eternity,” “From the Grave to the Cradle”), Elisa Fiorillo (“It’s Time to Be”), Dennis Blair (a dark-funny, “I Hate Everybody”) and Chadwick Johnson (“Sounds Like Thunder”).
That is a mere sampling. As noted, the show was slammed with talent.
The show was punctuated by a choir and full orchestra, revealed when the curtain rose to show the musicians and the giant TCS logo. Fancy stuff, far beyond the days of the Liberace Museum cabaret. We’re at it again, May 27, back at Myron’s, the city’s Cuisinart of original music.
Cool Hang Alert
Kelly Vohnn takes on Dolly Parton (tribute-wise) in “Dolly — The Living Legend” on at 6 p.m. Sunday at Notoriety Live. Vohnn and who appeared in the TCS anny with Bucky Heard on Len Eckhaus’s “Rhythms Never End.”
Paul Shortino (bringing the Big Love) and Chase Brown (bringing the leather vest) are guest-stars Sunday. Go to NotorietyLive.com for intel.
John Katsilometes’ column runs daily in the A section. Contact him at [email protected]. Follow @johnnykats on X, @JohnnyKats1 on Instagram.