Columnist Jerry Fink: White is Riviera’s Diamond in the rough

Friday, May 17, 2002 | 9:35 a.m.

Jerry Fink's lounge column appears on Fridays. Reach him at jerry@lasvegassun.com at (702) 259-4058.

Le Bistro Theatre, Part II -- Attack of the Clones.

Last week I visited former lounge entertainer Marlene Ricci at Le Bistro Theatre (a former lounge), which she leases from Riviera.

Ricci is enormously talented and puts on a great show. She also is developing a producer's eye as she fills the theater with productions that precede and follow her own 8:30 p.m. appearance.

Jay White leads the evening with a 7 p.m. performance as Neil Diamond.

The 45-year-old White started out as a Diamond-in-the-rough almost 25 years ago in Detroit. Today he's a polished gem of an entertainer who has captured the essence of the pop star's voice and mannerisms.

The only problem is, Diamonds can be hard to find.

Small theaters -- Le Bistro has a seating capacity of about 200 -- often get overlooked in a city where so many venues seat thousands.

White probably has the talent to warrant a much larger room, but for now he's happy where he is -- a theater with his own show, which he doesn't have to share with six other impersonators, as he did when he was with "Legends in Concert."

The faux Diamond spent nine years as the resident Neil at Imperial Palace, working for Las Vegas producer John Stuart in "Legends."

White liked the gig, but eventually he grew bored doing his 12-minute bit twice nightly and went on the corporate circuit. After establishing himself as an entertainer at corporate functions, White decided the next step was a showroom.

"This is my first opportunity to do a full-length Neil Diamond show," White said.

Ricci invited him to join her lineup of productions in February, when she converted Le Bistro Lounge into a theater. For the 10 p.m. slot, she brought in "Rockin' USA," a tribute to early rock 'n' roll singers Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens and young Elvis, Tuesday at 11:30 p.m. "Voices in My Head," starring impressionist Stephen Sorrentino, is scheduled to become a member of the Ricci family.

"Mine is a simplistic show, as far as Vegas shows go," White said. "What I want to do is take the show to a larger scale, move it up a step, with more production values, dancers, singers. I want to make it more theatrical."

White has come a long way from the days when he aspired to be a professional hockey player as a youth in Detroit.

"From the time I was 7 'til I was about 21, I thought I would be a goaltender in the National Hockey League," he said.

But White's life took a different direction. A singing hobby turned into a profession.

"I had been involved in local theater, mostly musicals -- 'Music Man,' 'Sweet Charity,' " White said.

When he was about 20 he began to front a top-40 band. People immediately noticed a similarity between his voice and Diamond's.

"I was just doing me," he said. "But I had become a Neil Diamond fan years earlier."

Eventually White decided he might do something with the Diamond similarity. In '82 he went to work for a Kenny Rogers impersonator who owned a nightclub in Detroit.

"Five nights a week I worked at the club," he said. "By day I sold life insurance, managed a Big Boy restaurant and did other jobs."

The singing gig was supposed to last three months, but it turned into five years. After a year, White quit his day job.

Performing as Diamond at Mr. F's for five years allowed White time to perfect his act.

"About 80 percent of my voice naturally sounds like Neil Diamond," White said. "I have the same vocal range. The other 20 percent, I listened to his records and tried to sound even more like him."

Eventually the club where White worked was sold, and he began doing corporate dates with other impersonators who had been employed at the venue.

"That kept the ball rolling for a couple of years," he said.

In 1988 Stuart discovered White and hired him to perform at a "Legends" show in Reno. In '89 White joined the Las Vegas "Legends" at Imperial Palace.

White once met Diamond, backstage at MGM Grand in 1996.

"He had heard about me through his mother, Rose," White said. "She once made a special trip to Las Vegas to hear me at 'Legends.' She was very complimentary."

His encounter with Diamond was brief, about five minutes.

"I was a little nervous," he said. "I hoped I would have had an opportunity to speak at more length."

White said he had a picture of Diamond and he asked the superstar to autograph it for him.

"He says, 'So, is this me or is it you?' " White said. "He autographed it, 'Only Memorex can tell.' "

White says he doesn't mind being in Diamond's shadow.

He said if he was 25 years old he might think of developing his own persona onstage, but he's happy doing what he's doing.

"I enjoyed Neil's music so much, and I got so much positive feedback, I never decided to move off in that direction," White said. "It became so enjoyable, and so comfortable."

I guess his love of his idol will never be on the rocks.

Lounging around

Harry Seybold died last week. Friends of the veteran Vegas producer and director will gather at 3 p.m. Saturday in the Gold Coast showroom to eulogize the man who had a knack for making people feel important. He could be a taskmaster when it got down to the business of putting on a show, but he was harder on no one than himself.

Sunday Showcase: The Crazy Armadillo Lounge at Stratosphere showcases new acts Sunday nights. Michael Enoch, the casino's new entertainment director, premiered the show last week. Aspiring entertainers who want to launch a Las Vegas career now have a springboard. San Fernando Band, a dynamic group that arrived from Guam a month ago, was the first in the spotlight. Before their show ended at midnight, they had offers of at least two gigs.

Bahama Breeze, at Paradise and Flamingo roads, will feature singer/songwriter Bertie Higgins in free concerts nightly at 9 p.m., tonight through Sunday. Among Higgins' hits are "Key Largo" and "Just Another Day in Paradise."

The Tommy Thompson Project is alternating with guitarist Ronnie Rathers at Paris Las Vegas' Napoleon Lounge, 9 p.m. to 11 p.m., Wednesdays and Thursdays.

Saxophonist Rocky Gordon and the Killer Groove Band can be heard noon to 3 p.m. Sundays during the Jazz Brunch at Gordon Biersch Brewery, 3987 Paradise Road.

Jazz vocalist Michael Franks will be at Sunset Station's Club Madrid at 2 p.m. Saturday.