‘Jay White: A Neil Diamond Tribute’ and ‘Barbra and Frank — The Concert That Never Was’

Jay White was doing his Neil Diamond tribute in a Riviera cabaret when the real Neil played the MGM Grand Garden in 2002. And he still was doing it three weeks ago, when Diamond returned.

Sharon Owens and Sebastian Anzaldo had their 15 minutes of prime-time TV fame in 2007, when they performed their Barbra Streisand and Frank Sinatra tributes on the ABC talent contest "The Next Best Thing."

Anzaldo won second place, but that didn't rocket the duo up and out of the Riviera's Le Bistro, where the crowds for "Barbra and Frank -- The Concert That Never Was" are counted more in multiples of 10 than 100.

But like a lot of people, they're just happy to be working. And as the Riviera struggles around them -- in November postponing a phase of room renovations -- the show that's been there more than three years is hanging on for as long as this bumpy ride lasts.

Longevity may not give the two Le Bistro shows respect; that's a sparse commodity when it comes to costumed impersonators. But time has made both little productions all the sturdier, and audiences should know they will get every recession dollar's worth of effort out of the singers.

None of the three legends is easy to fake. White has the easiest job for "Jay White: A Neil Diamond Tribute," since he focuses on the throaty vocals of the sequined '80s Neil more than the kickin'-it '60s model. A snappy five-piece band does add spark to early hits such as "Cherry, Cherry" before laying on the synthesizer washes for the ballads.

And both offerings have mastered the art of working a room that is, for all practical purposes, a lounge, without dropping their theatrical pretext. All three impersonators stay (mostly) in character and pad costume changes with biographical video about the real stars. But they also chat up the patrons and try to play to the strengths of working 10 feet from the audience.

White has been performing as Diamond since 1983. He was a longtime fixture of "Legends in Concert," and his physical resemblance won him a brief appearance as Diamond (during a party scene) in the new movie "Frost/Nixon."

Hard-core Diamond fans are rewarded with detours from the obvious path. "Beautiful Noise" and "Desiree" make the cut over the schlockier "Heartlight" or "You Don't Bring Me Flowers" (That's in the Barbra-Frank show).

Fear not though, the flag drops for "America," which comes after the crowd is pulled into helping out with "Forever in Blue Jeans." But White never gets as earnest as the real Diamond. He frequently cracks jokes and at one point notes, "Can't we all be ourselves? I don't see why people feel the need to look like someone else."

For "Barbra and Frank," Owens and Anzaldo have done the near impossible of taking an unlikely premise -- the real Streisand and Sinatra had an uneasy alliance and not entirely mutual audiences -- and creating a passably believable "Concert That Never Was" with great vocals on both sides.

The two clearly enjoy working together and don't run from the sketch-comedy possibilities of the premise when the Streisand character chatters nonstop while Sinatra croons "Witchcraft." But they also go for the drama, with her alternately singing "The Way We Were" to his "It Was A Very Good Year" while Sinatra's life goes by on the video screen.

Anzaldo does better when he has Owens as a foil. Together they strike up a Rat Pack vibe, but on his own, he clips too many songs short and jumps around too much for the king of cool.

Owens already has a foil in pianist Rob Hyatt, who often is blended uneasily with taped orchestrations (at least half the tracks, starting with "People," would be better served with just the piano).

The two even let Hyatt chime in with a couple of impressions of his own. Why not? At the Riviera these days, strength in numbers is something you don't take lightly.

Contact reporter Mike Weatherford at mweatherford@ reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0288.