Fresh ‘Legends’

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Latest edition of ‘Legends in Concert’ at Bally’s features newcomer Adele, Marilyn Monroe, Whitney and of course, Elvis

By Lori Hoffman

Add Comment | Comments: 0 | Posted Jun. 15, 2012

Legends in Concert has been a mainstay in Las Vegas and Atlantic City for decades. One of the prominent reasons for its continued success is the show’s constant search for talented new performers. Over at Bally’s Legend in Concert Theater, the show just refreshed itself with a new cast May 25 and it represents a diverse spectrum of the music industry.

As it proved last year with a Lady Gaga tribute artist, Legends is always in search of performers who can provide up and coming legends as well as the all time greats. Just such a performer is C.J. Brando, whose striking resemblance to Adele, in combination with a singing voice to match, has brought an injection of youthfulness and talent to the Legends stage.

Brando brought the recent six-time Grammy winner to vivid life (including a well rehearsed British accent) with the fabulous Adele hits “Rolling in the Deep,” “Set Fire to the Rain,” “Rumor Has It” and “Someone Like You.” The good news is that JC will be performing locally throughout the summer.

Another standout performer was Stacey Whitton-Summers, whose Marilyn Monroe tribute included a few songs like “Diamonds Are A Girls Best Friend,” and “I Wanna Be Loved By You,” but was actually more of a comic tour-de-force. She goes into the audience and had the crowd roaring as she chatted with several gentlemen in the audience and their ladies, and then brought a lucky (unlucky?) man on stage to have some fun with an on-the-lap rendition of “My Heart Belongs to Daddy.”

With the recent death of Whitney Houston, there was an edge of sadness with the performance of Jazmine, whose vocals were especially strong for “I Wanna Dance With Somebody," "I’m Your Baby Tonight" and the finale, “I Will Always Love You.”

Atlantic City fans have been fortunate to have Kevin Mills bring his Elvis tribute to Legends several times over the years. He is one of the best, with powerhouse vocals and a dynamic stage presence featuring all the right moves. Having had the opportunity to be a judge June 9 at the “Ultimate Elvis Contest” on this stage, I can tell you, those Elvis wannabes have a long way to go to come close to Mr. Mills.

His set featured a bodacious “Burning Love,” “Suspicious Minds,” “Can’t Help Falling in Love” and the finale with the entire cast for “Viva Las Vegas.”

The other current legends are Art Vargas as Bobby Darin, who did a terrific job, especially with “Mack the Knife” and Scott Jordan as Justin Timberlake whose set include “Bye Bye Bye” and “SexyBack.”

This cast, which also features an excellent backing band and six dancers, will continue through July 11. Beginning on July 12, the cast will feature Jimmy Buffett, Cher, Barry White, Whitney Houston, Adele, and Elvis Presley and continue through September 2.

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