Ventriloquist Lucas making it real at Rio

Joe Delaney

Friday, Oct. 5, 2001 | 7:45 a.m.

Ronn Lucas, appearing daily (except Monday) through Thursday in the Rio Copacabana Showroom, is billed as "the man who can make anything talk." He is a first-rate comedian, a master of audience involvement, and the most successful practitioner today of the art of ventriloquism. Coupons notwithstanding, he filled the capacious room on the afternoon we caught him earlier this week.

The performance started 10 minutes late. During this period, a male voice from behind the curtain announced that Lucas was missing and the speaker would start without him. Lucas' voice then took over, and the rapid exchange was contentious and very funny. The curtain opened and revealed Lucas with the first of his characters, "Scorch," a teenage dragon.

Scorch was finally dispensed with, and Lucas introduced a film that appeared on six large screens surrounding the showroom. It showed Lucas and his puppets performing for Britain's royal family and for Presidents Reagan and Clinton. He has also performed for President George W. Bush. The film also showed Lucas receiving several prestigious entertainment awards.

Buffalo Billy was next. The back and forth was rapid, just as contentious, just as funny. Lucas' duet with Billy on "Row, Row, Row Your Boat" was a show-stopper. Equally effective was Lucas' asides to the audience and brief references to his exposure to ventriloquism at an early age, and the tricks he played on his mother and other family members.

The closer involved a member of the audience who agreed to serve as Lucas' dummy. Outfitted with a mask, miming to Lucas' dialogue, it made for a hilarious 15 minutes that was greeted with extended applause, especially for the audience member's rendition of the song standard "When You're Smiling."

The encore was warm, very real, as Lucas explained how his grandfather, one Christmas Eve when Lucas was 7, fashioned a hand puppet out of a stocking. While doing it, Lucas taught the audience how it could be done. There was a paper turtle's body added, the same one his grandfather had made back then.

Lucas has raised afternoon shows in Las Vegas to their highest level yet.