Paris entertainment: Motown to ‘Notre Dame’

Thursday, Sept. 2, 1999 | 1:03 a.m.

In the wide world of entertainment, what do Stevie Wonder and Marcel Marceau have in common?

Before answering "Rien" (French for "nothing"), take a look at the list of entertainers christening the Paris Las Vegas hotel casino over the next couple of weeks. There's Mr. Motown and your main mime, each exhibiting their distinctive, diverse forms of entertainment to help launch a new Strip resort.

"We wanted to use the opening to showcase a big-name star as well as some headliners to sample some fabulous French entertainment," Suzanne Chabre, vice president of property marketing at Paris, said. "What we're showcasing early is not what you'll see down the line."

In particular, the Wonder show is a one-shot deal at the 7,000-seat Paris Ballroom. Don't expect Paris to leap into competition with the Joint, the MGM Grand Garden Arena, House of Blues, the Thomas & Mack Center, Sam Boyd Stadium or any other Las Vegas concert venue vying for big-name pop acts.

"We intend to use the ballroom primarily for convention space," Chabre, who oversees all entertainment attractions at Paris, said. "I don't want people thinking we're going to have Stevie Wonder-type acts here on a regular basis."

Wonder's show Saturday night is mostly for VIP guests, although tickets for the general public are on sale for $75 through the Bally's box office. Marceau, the famed French mime, performs Sept. 9-12 at the 1,200-seat Le Theatre de Arts at $50 a ticket.

But the signature entertainment attraction at the $800-million, 2,914-room hotel, which opened Wednesday night, won't be ready to open for several months. The American debut of the French musical "Notre Dame de Paris" will take over Le Theatre de Arts in late January for what officials are describing as an indefinite run.

"Notre Dame" is a 21st-century adaptation of Victor Hugo's classic "The Hunchback of Notre Dame" with a more contemporary, pop-oriented score. The production debuted at the Palais de Congres in Paris in September 1998 and was written by French-Canadian lyricist Luc Plamondon and French-Italian composer Ricardo Cocciante (who wrote the music to "L' Amour Existe Encour" for Celine Dion).

Already being termed by European critics as one of the most successful musicals in French history, "Notre Dame" is drawing sell-out audiences in Europe and Canada and its soundtrack has sold more than seven million albums and singles worldwide. The show returns to Paris later this month and has already sold out all of the million tickets available for its scheduled 10-month run.

Academy Award- and Grammy-winner Will Jennings (who wrote "My Heart Will Go On" for the movie "Titanic") has helped draft the English lyrics for the U.S. adaptation of the production.

However, the "Hunchback" saga has not exactly moved American audiences of late, with the animated Disney film of the same name a disappointment at the box office. But Paris officials don't sound concerned.

"We expect 'Notre Dame' to be very well received," Chabre said. "There's nothing else like it in Las Vegas."

Until the musical opens, entertainment at Le Theatre de Arts will be a taste of French and French-Canadian performers. Marceau, now in his 80s, is the most famous example.

"You ask, 'What kind of show would he put on?' but it's fabulous," Chabre said. "It's like vignettes, short performances, almost like a Renaissance fair. He has banners that introduce what's going to happen next and uses a lot of comedy.

"He just finished a three-week engagement in San Francisco and he sells out wherever he goes. He does a fabulous job."

French-Canadian illusionist Alain Choquette takes over the showroom Sept. 20, followed by musician/conductor Michel Legrand and Liane Foly from Oct. 7-Oct. 9. Legrand, who participated in Wednesday's grand opening, won Oscars for his work on the original "The Thomas Crown Affair" and "Yentl."

Performing at Le Theatre up until "Notre Dame" debuts is the European hip-hop group Les Nubians: Canadian star Isabelle Boulay, Patricia Kaas (called the "French Madonna" by promoters) and Rich Voisine, whose 1989 debut album "Helene" sold three million copies.

The Paris Ballroom will remain relatively quiet after Wonder's concert. The Oscar De La Hoya-Felix Trinidad championship bout will be shown on closed-circuit TV on Sept. 18. The year-end CineVegas Film Festival runs Dec. 6-12 in the ballroom.

Lounge entertainment is featured at the 187-seat Le Cabaret, with live music from 2 p.m.-2 a.m. Tres Jazz, a Parisian-style supper club, features live jazz nightly.

The plan is for all entertainment to neatly fit into the hotel's Paris theme.

"Everything we do will have a French or European feel to it," Chabre said. "We don't want to stray from that."