Las Vegas performers hit Park MGM for Air Force event
Live entertainment lit up Park Theater for the first time since March on Wednesday afternoon. These were “closed” performances, recorded for U.S. Air Force online event scheduled for next week.
Nonetheless, the stage was alive with several familiar Las Vegas performers contributing to AFWERX, the Air Force’s program set up to instill a culture of innovation in the service. The organization is producing its first AFWERX Fusion 2020 showcase from July 28-30. The recorded performances from Las Vegas link a series of speeches by innovators from the military and private sector, and also features appearances by Jay Leno, Wayne Newton and Billy Gibbons of ZZ Top.
Entertainers who played to the cameras sang original songs. The lineup included Anne Martinez and Red Penny Arcade; Lisa Marie Smith of Mayfair Social Club; Noybel Gorgoy of Paul Shaffer’s show at Caesars Palace; Sarah Hester Ross of Bar at Times Square at New York-New York; Chadwick Johnson, a performer at several Vegas venues including Myron’s Cabaret Jazz; Scott Foster Harris and Lisa Marie Schalk of Orchids Bloom; Vegas singer/songwriter Kaylie Foster; multi-lingual vocalist and songwriter Angelina Alexon; stage performer Frank Lawson, late of “Marilyn — A New Musical”; “America’s Got Talent” finalist Daniel Emmet; percussionist Steve Weiss and his stomp drum act; LaShonda Reese of Mayfair; Lannie Counts of Santa Fe & The Fat City Horns; Vegas R&B headliner Bobby Brooks Wilson; and longtime Vegas vocalist and former “Fantasy” singer Stephanie Sanchez.
Mark Shunock of The Space and Mondays Dark contracted the artists through his Marshun Entertainment production company. Emmet sang the national anthem.
“It’s what all of us have dreamt about since the shutdown started, and to be back onstage,” Emmet said. “This was kind of a bucket-list moment for me. The last time I was in that theater was to see Cher, and before that, I was in the standing section for Lady Gaga.”
Hester Ross, who mixes comedy and music in her piano act, said, “It was different but a lovely experience, performing in that huge, beautiful room with no audience. It’s hard to do comedy with no feed back, but the crew guys were great. They laughed at all my jokes.
“I was pretending to be Lady Gaga. I felt like a freakin’ star, until I had to carry out my own piano. Then back to real life.”
The last pre-COVID shows at Park Theater were 311 Day on March 11-13. Bruno Mars played the theater March 6-7, and Cher played six shows from Feb. 19-29. It was a rare chance for Las Vegas performers to grace that stage.
“I loved that it was showcasing Vegas talent,” Emmet said. “I love that it showed how strong that talent is, and how strong we’re going to come back.”
John Katsilometes’ column runs daily in the A section. His PodKats! podcast can be found at reviewjournal.com/podcasts. Contact him at jkatsilometes@reviewjournal.com. Follow @johnnykats on Twitter, @JohnnyKats1 on Instagram
