Celine’s exit has bald guy looking to future

Where will the bald white dude wander next?

And who was that guy, anyway?

These questions emerge as Celine Dion's "A New Day" was scheduled to return for its final stretch at Caesars Palace, with 11 shows between today and Dec. 15.

The closing isn't all a matter of sentiment in the entertainment community. About 50 dancers are losing year-round contracts that many call the best in town; only two will accompany the singer on her world tour and none has been hired for the Bette Midler show at the Colosseum next year.

The subprime mortgage crisis and local housing glut also turns many dancers into landlords, as they move out for jobs in other countries.

Elijah Brown doesn't speak for the entire cast, but he is one of its most prominent faces. He is that unnamed white bald guy who spent the past five years following Dion around onstage for the entire show, along with a sidekick (Jean-Christophe Dasse) dressed as a bellhop.

Though they've grown on me over the years, I first wondered if the odd duo stumbled in from "O" -- which also was helmed by director Franco Dragone -- and got lost trying to get back across Flamingo Road.

Brown says the show's ushers are often asked who the character is supposed to be.

Dragone once told him "that he is the moon. That he is an innocent, a baby that is new to this world. He gets enchanted and excited; the emotions come out for whatever happens onstage."

A bit of him is "lost and looking for love," Brown adds. "It's almost like what everyone goes through in their life. We bear witness to things. We're all lost at certain points. We're all searching."

Brown is now searching for a job next year, but isn't too concerned. "If we worry about security, then somehow we forget to appreciate all the wonderful things we have," says the Canadian who spent his childhood touring the world in a Volkswagon van with his hippie parents.

"I think as artists, you need to renew yourself every couple of years. I think you need to change. And I think that's why most of us ended up in this profession," he says. "If you have a voice as an artist you want to express it in many different ways."

He has auditioned for Cirque du Soleil and also took part in a recent workshop for a potential Broadway show based on the catalog of composer Harold Arlen, another project involving Dragone.

Those familiar with Dragone's ever-evolving creative process won't be surprised to know the bald guy wasn't cast as such, or planned from the earliest stages. "In some ways I feel like I won the lottery," Brown says.

Now he's ready to take his chances again, and only one thing is clear. "I don't think I want to ever wear white again."

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