Greco, Anders give ‘Fever!’ a legendary feel

Friday, Aug. 27, 2004 | 8:49 a.m.

Many fans consider Peggy Lee, who died at age 91 in 2002, to be one of the most important women in American music.

Lezlie Anders says she is the most important.

Anders' admiration of Lee fills the Judy Bayley Theatre, where she and her husband, Buddy Greco, are wrapping up a two-week engagement of their production "Fever! The Music of Miss Peggy Lee."

"Peggy Lee is known as a performance artist," Anders tells the audience at the opening of the 90-minute show. "But she was also a composer of hundreds of songs.

"She was also a horticulturist, a painter, a poet, an acclaimed sculptor, a spiritualist and she was a scientist -- she wrote a theory on the healing power of sound that was acclaimed by Albert Einstein."

This two-person production, featuring Anders and Greco backed by a marvelous 12-piece band, is a fitting tribute to the legendary Lee. Not only is the entertaining evening filled with Lee's music, performed by Anders and Greco (a legend in his own right), but it also includes lots of biographical material.

Some of the information is generally known, such as Lee's hand in writing all of the songs for the Disney film "The Lady and the Tramp." But some of it is obscure, such as her decades-long friendship with Cary Grant, to whom she often sang the song "Mr. Wonderful."

The tribute includes 27 songs. Following each are items about Lee's storied life, which began humbly in Jamestown, N.D., and ended in the exclusive residential suburb Bel Air, Calif.

Between songs Anders and Greco alternate the telling of Lee's story, with Greco able to give some first-hand anecdotes about the sultry vocalist -- both got their career breaks working with the Benny Goodman orchestra, though not at the same time.

While the information is fun and interesting, it is the music that makes the show.

When the lovely Anders slinks across the stage in a shimmering evening gown, it's hard not to imagine the image of Peggy Lee.

Anders' short blond hair, the way she carries herself, her presentation of Lee's songs, even her facial features, are reminiscent of one of the music world's legendary figures.

Although the singer and prolific songwriter passed away a few months before the production made its debut at UNLV in August 2002, Lee surely would have appreciated the creation of Greco and Anders.

After a brief run at the university, Greco and Anders took the show on the road, performing around the country off-and-on for the past two years.

Last week "Fever!" returned to its UNLV roots for another brief run, which will end Sunday.

It is a class act, from the seductive Anders, to the elegant, tuxedo-clad Greco and his tuxedo-clad band.

Although Anders bears a great resemblance to Lee, she doesn't sound like the singer of such classics as "Manana" and "Is That All There Is?" In that respect, Anders maintains her own identity in the show. She doesn't do a Peggy Lee impression.

Anders and Greco chose some of Lee's most well-known songs to include in the tribute concert, opening with "Why Don't You Do Right?" and "It's a Good Day."

"Why Don't You Do Right?" was the song that launched Lee's career in 1941, as Anders explains to the audience. At the time, Lee was with the Goodman orchestra.

She fell in love with a guitar player in the band and, after two years, left to become a housewife in California.

But, Anders notes, while cleaning house she also wrote hundreds of songs.

This fine production needs no house cleaning. It is a generally well-scripted show, performed by two of Vegas' most talented entertainers who have created a wonderful tribute to a legend.