‘At the Copa’ shows marked improvement at the Rio

Joe Delaney

Friday, Feb. 4, 2000 | 8:36 a.m.

"David Cassidy at the Copa, Co-starring Sheena Easton," revisited at the Rio. We attended the "soft opening" on Jan. 18 and called it a work in progress, "an amalgam of good ingredients." The show caught this week flows better and was well-received by a goodly crowd. There is a storyline, a familiar story usually found in films intended for the second half of a double feature. There is also a narrator, a broken down old man who recalls the glory days of the Copa, filling in parts of the nightclub's history.

Cassidy portrays a bus boy who is called upon to perform when the regular singer, Frankie Reno, is dispatched by Cookie, a girl in the chorus, for fooling around with her sister. Cassidy as Johnny Flamingo steps in and is an immediate hit. He is enamored of Lulu Bombay (Sheena Easton) and she is taken with him, which displeases Lefty, owner of the Copa and a hood.

Rick Pessagno portrays Lefty and also serves as director and choreographer, sharing these duties with his wife, Tammy. The Pessagnos are Bob Fosse disciples and the choreography plus costumes worn by Candice Davis-Martin (Cookie), Jeff Hill, Stephanie Jordan, Jennifer Mrozik, Courtney Walsh and Deamar Young, an attractive and talented sextet of dancers, are similar to those in Mandalay Bay's "Chicago," Pessagno's former home here.

Bombay rejects Lefty's advances and takes up with Flamingo. Lefty covered for Cookie when she killed Frankie. Cookie owes Lefty, and he has her set up Flamingo just as he is about to propose to Bombay. Bombay walks in, believes what she sees. Flamingo is banished from the club and hits the skids. Lefty makes Bombay a star. Flamingo hits bottom, picks himself up, and goes back to see Bombay. Lefty walks in on them.

Lefty decides to kill Flamingo, but shoots Bombay instead, and the narrator concludes his reminiscence.

No one is left, not unlike the finale of "Notre Dame de Paris" at the Paris Las Vegas.

The musical selections save the show, thanks to the superlative live backing of the Lon Bronson Orchestra, a vital contributor throughout.

Cassidy does Sammy Davis Jr.'s version of "Old Black Magic," Bobby Darin's "Lazy River" and "Mack the Knife," Otis Redding's "Try a Little Tenderness" and Johnny Ray's "Cry," actually duplicating those records without doing impersonations. He doesn't really score heavily until he does two of his own hits from the "Partridge Family" days and in the duets with Easton.

Easton is a winner with "Steam Heat," "Fever," a big winner with "Can't Help Loving That Man," "Morning Train," "For Your Eyes Only" and the duets.

On the night caught, the biggest song response went to Stewart Daylida as Beaumont, an emcee and would-be comedian, singing "If They Could See Me Now," backed by the dancers and the orchestra.

It was much better the second time around with its surprise twist at the end. This may be a minority report, but I found Cassidy the least believable principal, acting or singing, both times.