Gagnon is still making an impression with audiences

Friday, April 11, 2003 | 8:39 a.m.

Who: Andre-Philippe Gagnon.

When: 9 p.m. Wednesday through April 19 and selected midweek dates thereafter.

Where: The Paris Las Vegas' Le Theatre des Arts.

Tickets: $49 and $60

Information: (702) 946-4567.

Rating (out of five stars): ****

Andre-Philippe Gagnon is doing an excellent impression of a happy man these days at Paris Las Vegas' Le Theatre des Arts.

He can add the impression to his list of 300 or so others he keeps in the bag of characterizations he has developed since he began doing impressions at age 5.

The 42-year-old Gagnon wasn't so happy in 2001. A two-year run at The Venetian Showroom ended abruptly in a conflict with a management team that apparently didn't appreciate the Canadian native's ability to reproduce with remarkable accuracy the voices of hundreds of singers and other celebrities.

Pretty shabby treatment for one of the world's best singing impressionists. But today, Gagnon has a lot to be happy about. In March he began his current stay at the Paris, which continues through December.

The showroom at Paris is far more conducive to Gagnon's theatrical performance than was the room at The Venetian, which is cold and cavernous -- a room that tries to be all things to all people, from a late-night disco to a convention hall.

At The Venetian, shows were stacked and there was an urgency for one production to get off the stage as quickly as possible to make room for the next act. There is no such pressure at Paris, and it is evident in Gagnon's performance. He is more relaxed and less rushed in his presentation.

Gagnon even seems happy with his midweek time slot. When he struck a deal with the Paris, most weekends already were booked, and so he agreed to the somewhat odd schedule for a popular headliner.

Comedian David Brenner tried the weeknight gigs at the Suncoast last month, but quickly abandoned the idea. Whether it will work for Gagnon remains to be seen. He is happy to be able to spend time with his family on weekends, but the ticket sales might be greater if he were working those days. His attendance averages around 600 per performance.

Another thing Gagnon is happy about is that his friend, and fellow Quebec native, Celine Dion, is performing a block away at Caesars Palace.

Las Vegas probably is experiencing a spike in Canadian tourism these days.

One bit in Gagnon's show is a duet with Dion. She's on tape and appears on a large screen at the back of the stage. He's live and does the voice of Frank Sinatra as they sing "When Somebody Loves You." The tape is dated -- she is sporting long hair, which she trimmed for her new show.

For almost two years, prior to his debut at The Venetian, Gagnon was the opening act for Dion during her last international tour. Dion's husband, Rene Angelil, managed Gagnon during that period and got him the gig at The Venetian.

While Dion's show debuted with incredible international media attention on March 25, Gagnon opened quietly two weeks earlier.

There are other major differences: Dion has an elaborate, $95 million showroom with the world's largest LED screen for technical support and a stage large enough to land an airplane.

Gagnon's stage is much smaller and his props are simple -- a few steel girderlike objects, a table and four or five microphones.

While Dion has an orchestra and 50 dancers behind her, Gagnon's music is taped and he is onstage alone -- unless you count the 100 or so celebrity voices he brings with him.

Gagnon's show has not changed dramatically from his production at The Venetian.

He still opens with the piece that launched his career -- a rendition of the song, "We Are the World." Eighteen of the world's top recording artists made the recording. Gagnon replicates all of their voices as their images appear on a screen behind him -- everyone from Kenny Rogers to Tina Turner to Ray Charles.

Jay Leno saw the bit at the "Just For Laughs" festival in Montreal, invited Gagnon on "The Tonight Show," and the rest is history.

"We Are the World" is an excellent showcase for Gagnon's talent, giving fans a peek of what to expect during the 70-minute show, during which Gagnon will pay tribute to dozens of the world's most popular singers.

Most of what they will see is familiar.

He does the routine in which singers do jingles (Joe Cocker singing for Prozac, for example), and one that pairs an odd assortment of artists on a single CD (Robert Goulet and Alice Cooper) and the worst singles of all time (Roger Whitaker doing a Led Zeppelin song).

And he still goes into the audience, randomly selects someone and imitates their voice, and he lampoons Bill Clinton (Otis Redding singing "Me and Mrs. Jones."

The show is basically the same one he has done for years in Vegas. What has changed is the man behind the voices, and that's saying a lot.com