‘Ba-Da-Bing’ easy to swallow at The Orleans

Friday, Feb. 7, 2003 | 9:43 a.m.

What: "Ba-Da-Bing."

When: 7:30 p.m., Thursdays through Mondays.

Where: Sazio's private dining room at The Orleans.

Tickets: $55 general admission, $75 VIP seating, $35 for children.

Information: (702) 257-0297.

Rating out of five stars: ***

There isn't any meat to "Ba-Da-Bing," the interactive dinner theater in Sazio's Italian restaurant at The Orleans -- it's strictly a souffle.

This light-hearted feast of fun and music features organized crime figures frolicking through a disorganized evening as they await the arrival of Mr. Big at a surprise birthday party.

Diners find themselves drafted into various gangs, such as the Lasagna Family, the Antipasto Family and the Spaghetti Family. They become part of the show.

Las Vegas is developing into a dinner-theater buffet -- there are at least four venues in town where patrons may eat and either watch or interact with characters in a production.

At the Excalibur is "Tournament of Kings," where for about $40 you can watch jousting matches, invading armies and dragons while dining on Cornish hen, soup and potato wedges.

"Marriage Can Be Murder" is at the Egg and I restaurant on West Sahara Avenue. The murder mystery costs about $45 and includes your choice of three, three-course meals (fish, chicken or New York steak).

In The Rio's Calypso Room is "Tony n' Tina's Wedding," where diners are part of a wedding party for two New York families. The price is $77 for the show and an Italian buffet.

Foodwise, "Ba-Da-Bing" may be the best selection from the dinner theater menu.

Sazio's is owned by Master Chef Gustav Mauler, who helped plan the meals offered at Mr. Big's birthday bash. Main courses include salmon in honey basil sauce, meat lasagna, chicken marsala with garlic mashed potatoes and grilled ribeye steak in whiskey peppercorn sauce.

Since Mauler left The Mirage four years ago he has opened Sazio's, BullShrimp at Green Valley Ranch Station Casino, Spiedini and OXO at the JW Marriott and Gustav's Cigar Bar (also at the JW Marriott).

"Ba-Da-Bing" is performed in a room inside Sazio's. The quasi-theater seats about 100.

Producer Ben Morgan, who also is a cast member, says the production has been an unqualified success since its debut at The Orleans in October. Shows are 70 percent to 80 percent of capacity, and the numbers continue to rise.

"Ba-Da-Bing" first opened at Alexis Park in June 2001. Within two months the production was breaking even, an indication that the public was hungry for some low-calorie fun to go along with their entree.

But then 9-11 caused a collective loss of appetite for entertainment of all sorts and the average number of attendees of the dinner theater dropped from 70 to 40. Then, according to Morgan, the anthrax scare frightened even more people away -- until only about 10 fans were attending each show (which is about the size of the cast).

In January 2002 the production moved to the Greek Isles, where it starved for several months -- until Sazio's made Morgan an offer he couldn't refuse.

With Mauler's name on the menu and the hotel supporting the production with posters inside the venue, shows have been near capacity almost from the beginning.

"Ba-Da-Bing" is similar to "Tony 'n' Tina's Wedding." Both rely heavily on audience participation for their success. In "Wedding," diners are part of the wedding party for either the bride or the groom. In "Ba-Da-Bing," they are members of one of several crime families.

In both productions, from the moment you enter the dining room, you are part of the show.

Vocalist Ted Davey, as Frankie Morone, is the host and as such carries much of the responsibility for the success or failure of "Ba-Da-Bing." When he auditioned for the role three months ago he was a natural selection -- he was in the cast of "Tony 'n' Tina's Wedding" and had experience improvising with audiences.

Davey is a talented singer and energetic enough to keep the show moving at a fast pace as he and the rest of the gang work the audience -- getting them to sing, dance, pop out of cakes and eat up the fun.

The love interest is Kelly Clinton, another talented performer whose character is Chickie Parmesan -- Morone's former girlfriend and Mr. Big's favorite entertainer. Clinton has opened for such entertainers as Wayne Newton and Engelbert Humperdinck.

The premise of "Ba-Da-Bing" is that Morone has lost his job with Mr. Big and is trying to get back in his good graces by throwing him the surprise party, featuring his favorite singer.

There are plenty of puns and New York mobster slang to go around.

"You're here for this most suspicious occasion -- Mr. Big's surprise birthday party," Morone says as he welcomes the audience. "When youzz come in here, you agree to be participatory -- that means you're going to participitate."

And those who do "participitate" will leave the restaurant with a belly full of laughs, as well as a great meal.