Las Vegas Weekly

February 19, 2009 · 6 AM

Danny Gans showcases his genius in amazing show at new Encore home

By Robin Leach

Danny Gans.

Photo: Courtesy

It is absolutely amazing to listen to Danny Gans with your eyes closed: What he does is pure genius. When the extraordinary entertainer performs the Al Pacino monologue from Scent of a Woman, you’ll swear it’s the Oscar-winning actor himself in finest form. The same is true for all 65-plus-celebrity voices that Danny duplicated the night I saw his new show in Steve Wynn’s the Encore.

His performance is perfection from start to finish. It doesn’t matter if he’s singing Nat King Cole and daughter Natalie in side-by-side impersonations or channeling Tony Bennett or ribbing Michael Jackson: The skill set is nothing short of brilliant. The state-of-the-art sound system is so incredible, you literally could listen to the entire 95-minute show with your eyes shut tight! It’s that kind of an experience when you feel the goose bumps surfacing up and down your spine.

You couldn’t find a shoehorn to wedge anything or anybody else in between the routines. I don’t think I’ve ever heard a tighter technical achievement with everything accurately matched so close together. How Danny manages to segue from one star voice into another and then venture back and forth without a breath is a wonder of marvelous proportions. It’s nonstop for more than 90 minutes, and he’s dead on with every impression.

Photo: Patrick Creative

Danny Gans.

The show’s also funny, hip and modern, and the jokes are so topical, some are tied to that morning’s headlines! Danny runs the gamut of current pop singers including John Mayer, Jason Mraz and Michael Buble, and then shifts with ease back to the veteran greats of Ray Charles and Louis Armstrong. He certainly scores big with the singers, but it’s those moments with Pacino or Sylvester Stallone that heighten the emotions. Even his Forest Gump and George Burns impressions are so uncannily realistic, your heart latches onto their real-life messages.

Danny’s new set and stage with brilliant lighting and video effects add to the rat-a-tat-tat, high-speed delivery of his many voices. His backup band bellows along brilliantly with him, never overpowering and always punctuating. No wonder he’s releasing his own album next month!

Click HERE for our pre-opening interview with Danny. Having seen the first of his regular run shows, I know exactly why hotel mogul Steve Wynn told him he can be there in an open-ended deal for as long as he wishes. It’s simple: Danny Gans has a Midas touch as he makes his impression on the Strip yet again as Entertainer of the Year.

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