Fans ride sea of hype on opening night

Kirk Baird

Wednesday, March 26, 2003 | 8:23 a.m.

Alexander the Great conquered much of the known world before the age of 30. Pop diva Celine Dion, who turns 35 on Sunday, began a more modest campaign Tuesday night: conquer Las Vegas.

After months of hype and international media attention, the French-Canadian chanteuse premiered her $30 million production, "A New Day ..." at The Colosseum at Caesars Palace.

There was a red carpet. There were celebrities. There was paparazzi. And there were fans ... lots of fans.

In fact, before the Celine Dion gift shop opened its doors at 9 a.m., the singer's faithful were already waiting outside.

Among the goods for sale: caps, T-shirts, candles, keychains, throw pillows, jewelry, perfume (yes, the singer has a fragrance, "Celine Dion"), mugs, shot glasses and an autobiography, "Celion Dion: My Story, My Dream."

And of course, plenty of the performer's CDs and DVDs.

Watching the singer's fans quickly snatch up her merchandise, it's easy to see how Dion has become the world's best-selling female artist, with more than 150 million records sold worldwide.

Still, not everyone in the gift shop professed love for the singer.

"I think she's very talented and a sincere person," said Deborah Dunn, 52, from South Pasadena, Calif. "But I marvel at all the hype: one store dedicated to one person."

Marsha Wiest, 54, of Sacramento offered similar views.

"I'm not really a fan," Wiest said. "I've come (to the gift shop) to get a picture for a friend who is a fan."

Not surprisingly, Wiest also questioned the ticket prices -- from $85 to $200.

"Nobody is worth that," she said. "It's too extravagant as far as I'm concerned."

There are plenty of Dion fans, however, who disagree.

"If this cost me $500, I would have paid $500," Cindy Parker said.

Parker is a 66-year-old real estate agent from Boston. She's also a "huge" Dion fan and a member of the singer's fan club, TeamCeline.

It was through the club that Parker was able to get three tickets to Wednesday night's show.

Parker, her daughter and her sister (also big fans) arrived in town Monday. More than 24 hours later, the trio worked their way to the front of the audience barrier near the red carpet area and watched anxiously as the celebrities walked by, posed for pictures, and then disappeared into The Colosseum.

All the hoopla for "A New Day ...," Parker said, only made her more eager to see the show for herself.

"I think she is one of the best singers," Parker said. "I'm a Barbra (Streisand) fan, but Celine is the one.

"This (show) will be sold out for months."

Especially if Parker and her TeamCeline friends have anything to do with it.

Even before seeing the production, she is already making plans to watch "A New Day ..." again when she returns in February to Las Vegas for a convention.

"I'm not done yet," she said.

Caroline Dupruis, 24, also has tickets to tonight's show. She and her mother flew in from Ottawa to see their fellow Canadian.

"Everywhere in Canada, wherever you go ... everyone is talking about it," Dupruis said. "They're really, really proud of her. That's why I feel really proud to be here.

"Celine is really my favorite. I don't think I would have come here for anyone else."

With expectations so high, though, the nagging question was whether "A New Day ... " could live up to its hype.

For many, it did.

"It was worth the price," said Jim Whitney, a 43-year-old non-Dion fan from Colorado. "Towards the end I started getting a little tired, but I would recommend the show."

And New Yorker Steven Stulberger, 49, who "lucked" into buying two tickets 90 minutes before the show, was even more generous with his praise.

"I thought the show was fantastic," he said. "Her voice is just as good as ever. It doesn't look like she's lost anything."

If anything, the pop superstar would appear to be gaining, in her momentum and fan base.

Not to mention the lion's share of attention in Las Vegas.

Veni, vidi, vici indeed.