BWW Previews: The Heartland Men’s Chorus Brings VEGAS BABY to the Folly Theater
Steve Wilson | Broadwayworld.com
The Heartland Men’s Chorus brings Vegas Baby to the Folly Theater in Kansas City, to mark their summer concert. Expecting large crowds for the event, a third night’s performance has been added to the star-studded affair. Vegas Baby appears at the Folly Theater Friday June 13 through Sunday June 15.
Anthony Edwards conducts the chorus in musical numbers celebrating the “Rat Pack” era and modern headliners such as Cher and Celine Dion. “Anthony has worked as musical director for virtually every professional theatre in Kansas City,” says Rick Fisher, executive director of HMC. “When we were searching for a guest conductor, his was the only name we considered. With a show of this size and scope, we needed a conductor who could bring out the best of our singers as musicians and integrate all the various production elements to make the concert as spectacular as a Las Vegas extravaganza.”
Joining the Heartland Men’s Chorus and Anthony Edwards on stage is special quest Quixotic, a Kansas City based aerial acrobatics troupe. Quixotic amazes audiences with dance, aerial acrobatics, high fashion, original live music, and projection mapping. The athleticism of the dancers as they soar across the stage excites and entrances the audience.
Vegas Baby is the first collaboration of Quixotic and the Heartland, which Edwards initiated after joining the production. “The concert will represent all things Las Vegas, and having Quixotic on the program will allow us to stun the audience with the aerial work that has become so dominant in Las Vegas in the last fifteen years.”
Martin Preston is the only performer granted permission by the Liberace estate to appear and perform as the late entertainer. Preston joins the chorus playing a rhinestone-covered grand piano (complete with Liberace’s trademark candelabra). His series of costumes are based on the original designs worn by Liberace. “My opening costume has a quarter of a million hand-sewn sequins, beads, and crystals, not to mention over ten pounds of Swarovski rhinestones,” says Preston.
The show will be magical as David Sandy and Lance Rich perform trickery and illusions to the accompaniment of the chorus’s rendition of “That Old Black Magic.” Continuing the persona of Las Vegas members of the chorus dance and appear as showgirls throughout the performance.
The concert closes out the 28th season of the Heartland Men’s Chorus, Kansas City’s gay men’s chorus. The chorus performs regularly with 120 members and brings in the largest audience for choral music in the region.
Vegas Baby at the Folly Theater begins at 8 p.m. on Friday and Saturday with a 4 p.m. performance on Sunday. Purchase tickets by calling 816-931-3338 or visit the Heartland Men’s Chorus website.