Hopes dim for ‘Talent’ acts

There’s no happy ending for the four Las Vegas acts who competed on “America’s Got Talent” this year. Unless they end up in the live version opening Oct. 7 at Planet Hollywood.

Contradictions go with the territory for anything connected to this wacky NBC talent show. It’s kind of embarrassing to watch, but has been the best thing for Las Vegas variety since Ed Sullivan.

Those vested in local entertainment can’t knock the top-rated gift horse, even if it let David Hasselhoff sing. But it looks like any “Rocky” stories will go to the guy who catches chickens or Grandma Lee, the Florida-based comedian who has performed at Bonkerz. We’re sure to see more of her whether it’s win, lose or draw in next week’s finale.

Our working Vegas pros may have been caught in the contradiction. They are too ordinary to be the next Susan Boyle, even if they juggle flaming guitars. The show has refined a formula that needs them, but only for so long.

“We’re kind of back to the grind,” says Corwyn Hodge of Mosaic, a vocal group that works cruise ships and with comedian George Wallace at the Flamingo.

Hodge figured out the key to “Talent” success. “If they do a story on you during the audition process, you’re going to be good with America because they get to know you,” he says. “They want you to fall in love with the Grandma Lees.” By not getting a chance to add drama to their singing, “I think we were at a huge disadvantage.”

A happy ending may still lie in the future of Mario & Jenny (Ferreira). Married for nearly four years, they never found a niche on the Strip before “Talent” found them Cuisinart-ing all kinds of Vegas variety, from stand-up to twirling of giant, flaming cubes.

Mario’s brother Tino has worked more steadily on the Strip as a juggler. But he and Jenny? “We just survive, man. We’ve been struggling our whole lives. It seems like I’m always struggling to get where I want to get, and then when I get there it’s gone.”

When I caught up to them preparing for what turned out to be a disappointing final stand, Jenny Ferreira pointed out, “This is all we do. We don’t have another job to go home to when we come back to town. We don’t go to the bank and work. This is our bread and butter. This is our livelihood.”

But now there’s a shot at the Planet Hollywood show. It’s a functional consolation prize, perhaps the inevitable step in the shotgun marriage of Vegas and “Talent.” It’s not a Terry Fator ending, but it’s a living.

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