Felice Garcia as Dyanne and Justin Shandor as Elvis Presley perform during “Million Dollar Quartet” at Harrah’s Wednesday, Dec. 4, 2013.
Monday, March 9, 2015 | 1:30 p.m.
Audience members at Sunday night’s performance of “Million Dollar Quartet” at Harrah’s may have been wondering why Dyanne was all weepy at the end of the show. That’s because the performer playing the role was ending her run in the show.
Felice Garcia, an original member of the Las Vegas cast dating to the show’s premiere in February 2013, is headed to Southern California to pursue her solo recording career. A few months ago, Garcia signed with Pacific Records, an independent label and studio based in San Diego, and plans a full-length album this year.
I first saw Garcia sing in another sendoff experience, the final performance of “Folies Bergere” at Tropicana in March 2009 (and here is a fun account of that night). She also has performed in a vast and disparate collection of shows in town, including iCandy Burlesque at Saxe Theater, “Fantasy” at Luxor and “American Superstars” at Stratosphere (where she played the Christina Aguilera role).
More recently, she played Betty Boop in “Limelight” at Plaza and last fall headlined a show titled “Country Diva” at Don Laughlin’s fabulous Riverside hotel-casino.
In her finale, Garcia again gave a full-force performance with castmates Martin Kaye as Jerry Lee Lewis, Ben Hale as Johnny Cash, Justin Shandor as Elvis and the forever groovy Rob Lyons as Carl Perkins.
She surpassed 700 performances in January, when she was originally set to leave the show, but stayed on a few extra weeks as the singer stepping into the role of Dyanne, Kristen Hertzenberg, needed vocal rest before taking over this week.
After the show, Garcia and members of the cast hit Don’t Tell Mama on Fremont East (where dreams come true) and sang the Britney Spears anthem “Oops…I Did It Again” and “Gunpowder and Lead” by Miranda Lambert.
As always, Dyanne rocked it.
Just as distinctive as it's famous neighbors Caesar's Palace and The Venetian, Harrah's Las Vegas has been entertaining guests since 1973. The 87,700-square foot casino is filled with 1,520 slot machines and 107 gaming tables. Outside the casino, guests are able to experience fun in a street-fair atmosphere at the Carnival Court, an outdoor lounge with live entertainment (including the bartenders), food stands and outdoor shops.
At Harrah's comedy is King, and that has never been more apparent then the comedy acts of Rita Rudner, the Mac King Comedy Magic Show and the Improv Comedy Club. After the show, guests are more than welcome to laugh at their friends at The Piano Bar, famous for its dueling pianos and karaoke. Most recently, Harrah's added tribute show "Legends in Concert" to its list of entertainment.
Restaurants like Ming's offers Asian cuisine, while Ruth's Chris Steak House offers guests fine steaks and fresh seafood. Toby Keith's I Love This Bar is a country-themed bar with a restaurant, live music and the occasional appearance from Keith himself.
Follow John Katsilometes on Twitter at Twitter.com/JohnnyKats. Also, follow “Kats With the Dish” at Twitter.com/KatsWiththeDish.
Join the Discussion:
Check this out for a full explanation of our conversion to the LiveFyre commenting system and instructions on how to sign up for an account.
Full comments policy