EJY summons Flip Wilson, but ‘Shakin’’ is no flippant effort

By John Katsilometes

Thursday, Oct. 23, 2014 | 6 p.m.

Eric Jordan Young has talent that spans all time. His goal today is to both remind and indoctrinate fans of what a multitalented entertainer looks and sounds like onstage.

Young has opened “Shakin’ ” at Sin City Theater in Planet Hollywood’s mezzanine level. He is an absolute force, a Broadway-caliber singer and dancer who has developed a show that invokes humor and makes full use of its supporting cast. The band — behind music director Alec Bart — cranks, and backing dancers Claudia Mitria and Sarah Short are employed to full effect. They act in the show’s quick skits and are actually provided lines in those segments. Once in a while, it’s refreshing to hear a dancer talk.

EJY, as we call him on occasion, says simply: “My ambition and desire is to connect with the audience in a modern way.” He’s throwing the long ball, as they say in football, putting up an ambitious production that will likely outgrow its current venue after its three-month contract. Which is to say, it will bust out of that room if Jordan achieves his goal of showing today’s audiences what a triple-threat entertainer is all about. This is really a classic showroom show stuffed into a club. Jordan, predictably, wants more.

If he doesn’t get it, well, he at least tried.

“I’ll never know if I was able to do this unless I gave it the effort,” he says. Young was one of the stars of “Vegas! The Show” as the janitor Ernie, the narrator who bookended the production at Saxe Theater and who played the roles of Sammy Davis Jr., Louis Prima and even Sonny Bono throughout the show. He first played a Las Vegas production in the 1990s in “Starlight Express” at Las Vegas Hilton. He’s also performed in “Chicago,” “Seussical” and his own one-man tribute to Davis around the country.

The show borrows heavily from the 1970s and ’80s. Some favorite references:

“Baretta": Young dusts off “Keep Your Eye on the Sparrow,” one of the great crime-drama theme songs of yesteryear. “Don’t go to bed, with no price on your head,” he calls out. It’s a Sammy song, which most people don’t readily realize, that introduced every episode of the series starring Robert Blake.

Flip Wilson: Remember "The Flip Wilson Show,” the variety show hosted by the great comic of the early '70s? Jordan mentions that show as an inspiration, for its variety format and also because Wilson was fearless enough to don a dress onstage. Not just once, but as the recurring character Geraldine. Young slipped into a sequined dress as Tina Turner for a booming cover of “Proud Mary.”

Carol Burnett: Young is a particular fan of what might be the best variety show ever given its legendary cast. He often asks, “Where did the variety show go, and how do we get it back?”

The Fifth Dimension: Who among us doesn’t smile at a full-throttle performance of “Up, Up and Away?”

Alka-Seltzer: Often lost in the field of commercials of a bygone era is the fact that superstars often pitched products on TV. Mel Torme sang for Charlie. Frank Sinatra was used in a Michelob ad. And, yes, Sammy sang of the benefits of Alka-Seltzer, using the “plop-plop, fizz-fizz” product to settle the upset tummies of his fans in the crowd and even the audience. Jordan spoofs that period to great artistic and comedic effect.

Bojangles: Enveloping all of Sammy in the “Mr. Bojangles” and “I Gotta Be Me” moments. Young is so clearly enamored of Davis, which is understandable. Davis remains one of the few entertainers ever who mastered singing, dancing, comedy, acting, all of it. Young wants that, too. If he can work his magic well enough to fill Sin City Theater, that venue will be the start of something fantastic.

If not, well, he gave it a shot. His best shot.

Follow John Katsilometes on Twitter at Twitter.com/JohnnyKats. Also, follow “Kats With the Dish” at Twitter.com/KatsWiththeDish.