Where I Stand — Brian Greenspun: Welcoming a new day

Thursday, March 27, 2003 | 8:15 a.m.

LOOKING FORWARD to a brand-new day.

It took a large part of yesterday, a great big dose of tomorrow and some incredibly talented people of today to make it happen, but Celine Dion's opening night at Caesars Palace brought with it a bold new day of entertainment that may be some very good news for Las Vegas.

There is a new Colosseum at Caesars. For that matter, there is a new Caesars Palace, which coincided its rebirth with the dawning of "A New Day ..." One -- Caesars -- is like an old friend returning to greater glory. The other -- Celine's triumphant stage debut in front of 4,000 people -- is a bold step toward one of those Las Vegas tomorrows that continues to deliver on the promise of this world-class entertainment mecca.

Like almost all brand-new shows that break new ground in dramatic ways only in Las Vegas, this co-mastered spectacle, a collaborative effort between Celine and Franco Dragone, the man who brought us the fanciful fantasies of "Mystere" and "O," there will be a little change here and a small move there, but the show will go on and on because there is talent aplenty and plenty of talent spread across that magnificent stage.

It is a given that Celine Dion's voice is one of the great gifts to the world. That's where a good part of Las Vegas' yesterdays has been retooled for today's audiences. It wasn't that long ago -- back in the 1950s and 1960s -- when individual talent enthralled visitors to Las Vegas and kept them coming back in ever-increasing numbers.

Whether it was the Sophie Tuckers and Myron Cohens of the early days or the stellar members of the Rat Pack -- especially Sammy Davis Jr., Dean Martin and, of course, the chairman of the board, Frank Sinatra -- the ability to perform onstage was the key to the growth of Las Vegas as the one place in this world where fans could mix, mingle and practically touch the icons of the entertainment world. Succeeding onstage in front of a live audience was the epitome of show business and that place from which the talent drew its inspiration.

The stage is much larger. The audience is greater by tenfold. And I don't know how accessible Celine will be to the thousands of fans who will come to Las Vegas just to see her show. But that is a sign of these very different times in which economics plays the largest part in the number of seats required to be filled and security has a major say in the ability of the entertainers to actually reach out and touch those adoring fans. But the basics remain intact.

The voice is on the stage, the people are in the seats and the music sets the mood. But that is just the beginning in this new day of stage show productions. Tomorrow has a very big role in making Celine an enduring hit in this town.

For that it took a master of the imagination, Dragone, to weave his mind's eye visions into the very fabric of an incredible cast of dancers, singers, musicians and actors who told the stories of life, love and desire -- and the closeness to which we might all come to achieving them -- while the Diva sang them from her soul.

And, of course, none of it would have worked quite as well without some of today's greatest technological achievements in set design and production. Especially that incredibly large and stage-enveloping LED component that changed with every mood and changed every mood into a kind of dreamlike quality that only the mind of Dragone could have envisioned.

As good as Celine is -- about that there is no dispute -- one cannot ignore the depth of emotion that added so much to the evening that was provided through the dancers who were as good as any we have seen on this or any other stage. Add to that the wired movements of pianos, violins, lovers yet to meet and, yes, even Celine and the audience is transported for 90 minutes to a place far away from current and future events. The Colosseum is a place for dreams and a place to dream about better days.

I remember some very good days when the stages filled with the kind of talent -- in dance and in song -- that moved people to heights unimaginable. Las Vegas was the one place on Earth where talent reigned supreme and tourism flourished as a result.

Celine Dion is here with a brand-new show that brings back the kind of yesterdays that will ensure our tomorrows. That may sound like a mouthful but it is the least I can say about "A New Day ..."