Las Vegas Weekly

October 28, 2009 · 2:58 PM

Wayne Newton's Once Before I Go premieres tonight at Tropicana

By Robin Leach

Wayne Newton.

Photo: Erik Kabik/Retna/www.erikkabikphoto.com

It may well have been just two months of disciplined rehearsals, but it’s taken Wayne Newton 50 extraordinary years of Las Vegas show business to reach tonight’s premiere of his production Once Before I Go.

The 7 p.m. red carpet call at the Tropicana will be hosted by the casino resort’s chairman and CEO, Alex Yemenidjian, who is the godfather of Wayne’s 7-year-old daughter, as is Wayne to Alex’s children!

Expected there for the first-night celebrations will be many of Mr. Las Vegas’ former Dancing With the Stars professionals, including Cheryl Burke, Kym Johnson, Edyta Sliwinska and Alec Mazo, along with Wheel of Fortune star Vanna White, Cheetah Girls star Sabrina Bryan, actress Jennie Garth, entertainer Louis Prima Jr., actor-comedian Drew Carey and Strip performers including Peepshow’s Holly Madison, Carrot Top, Nathan Burton, Zowie Bowie, Frank Marino and cast members from Jersey Boys, Phantom -- the Las Vegas Spectacular and Peepshow.

Wayne invited me to see the show early on during its preview run, and I can tell you that his storytelling as he takes the stroll down 50 years of Memory Lane is fascinating and fabulous. He reads softly, gently and candidly from a near-suicide note that Elvis Presley wrote him. It will literally bring tears to your eyes. His journey from a 15-year-old teenager frantically dancing six shows daily on Fremont Street to becoming the ambassador of Las Vegas and the head of the USO entertaining troops voluntarily in the world’s worst danger spots is remarkable.

I could have sat for hours more listening to his tales of triumph and tragedy. His five decades of memories of the ever-changing Las Vegas entertainment scene -- and skyline -- are priceless! Wayne is at his finest on the downtown bus stop bench with legs swung over the armrest reminiscing of many incredible yesteryears -- and the scene comes complete with an antique bus from half-a-century ago!

Backstage in his dressing room, Wayne told me: “I wanted it to be more theatrical than any other shows I’d done. Those were approached more as concerts and song performances, but this has all the added production elements to illustrate those 50 years. That really enhances the songs and hits that everybody still wants to hear.”

Photo: Tom Donoghue/www.donoghuephotography.com

Tropicana CEO Alex Yemenidjian and Wayne Newton.

How he even approached the task of picking highlights from the more than 40,000 shows he’s performed in Las Vegas, let alone his TV appearances, record sessions and overseas tours, still baffles me. Another fascinating yarn is how he came to record the monster 1963 hit “Danke Schoen,” which was given to him by Bobby Darin, who didn’t want it as the follow-up to “Mack the Knife.” Yes, he also sings it one more time!

Click HERE for my interview with Wayne when he announced his new Tropicana shows. He said then: “This show is probably it. We might play it in some cities other than Vegas, but its time for me to spend more time with my daughter and not miss out on any of that magic by touring around. It’s certainly at the point where I no longer want to work as hard as I have all my life. I want to spend more time with my family, so I think when this show is over, it could be it for me!”

Photo: Tom Donoghue/www.donoghuephotography.com

Robin Leach and Wayne Newton.

His video vault of memories goes back to his early days as a teenager on the Jackie Gleason and Dean Martin shows. His real-time duet with an old-time video version of Sammy Davis Jr. simply defines Las Vegas entertainment.

We’ll be on scene tonight along with our contributing photographers, and we’ll have that photo gallery tomorrow with Wayne’s first-night observations.

Robin Leach has been a journalist for more than 50 years and has spent the past decade giving readers the inside scoop on Las Vegas, the world’s premier platinum playground.

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