Acosta’s own voice most impressive among impressions

Tuesday, June 22, 2004 | 9:17 a.m.

Who: Bill Acosta.

Where: Suncoast Showroom.

When: Friday.

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

He reminded his fans of the breadth of his talents at the Suncoast over the weekend, opening his shows with "It Don't Mean a Thing (If It Ain't Got That Swing)."

The Texas native grew up in New Orleans, where he acquired a love of jazz, which was clearly evident in Acosta's peppy rendition of Duke Ellington's 1932 classic -- which Acosta sang in his own voice.

Near the end of his performance he also sang a moving medley of songs arranged by Vincent Falcone (Acosta's musical director) and orchestrated by Fill Fayne (Clint Holmes' musical director).

Included in the medley were "Somewhere Out There" (from the 1987 movie "An American Tail"), "Somewhere" (from 1961's "West Side Story") and "Somewhere Over the Rainbow ("Wizard of Oz," 1939).

Supported by a seven-piece orchestra led by Falcone, who played piano and keyboard, Acosta provided an entertaining evening of solid music, superior impressions and comedy.

He was given a breather midway through his performance by the tap-dancing brother and sister team of Jay and Connie Fagan.

Jay made his debut as a featured performer in Acosta's show "Lasting Impressions" at Luxor in 1998. Fagan does his own set of impressions, using his feet and physical movements to demonstrate the styles of Fred Astaire, Donald O'Connor, Gene Kelly and Gregory Hines.

Connie provided the dancing when Acosta sang "Mr. Bojangles," a signature song of Sammy Davis Jr. It was one of several highlights of the evening.

Acosta has been doing impressions almost his entire life, and professionally for about 30 years. He has an excellent ear, and most of his voices are eerily accurate, although a few miss their mark.

One of his best impressions is of Neil Diamond, whose voice he uses in singing Diamond's "America" during a patriotic moment in the production.

Acosta followed up Diamond with a duet featuring Nat King Cole and Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger singing Cole's "Unforgettable."

Acosta dared fans to guess the voices in a medley of five songs by artists popular in the '70s. Taking no chances, he identified the first as Neil Sedaka (not one of his better impressions) singing "Breaking Up is Hard to Do." His Kenny Rogers impression ("Lady") also was a little weak. He did much better with Engelbert Humperdinck ("After the Loving"), Lou Rawls ("You'll Never Find Another Love Like Mine") and Barry Manilow ("I Write the Songs").

Acosta's jokes are funny, but not side-splitters. (In Dean Martin's voice he tell's the blonde joke "What happens when a blonde throws a pin at you? Run like hell because she's got a grenade in her mouth.")

Still as Martin, Acosta sings "Everybody Loves Somebody," then segues into Willie Nelson, Julio Iglesias and Jerry Lewis, all singing the same song.

His Ray Charles impression was superb as he sang "Georgia" and "What'd I Say" as a tribute to the legendary singer, who died June 10.

Acosta's Tony Bennett and Johnny Mathis also were well done as they sang a duet, "How Do You Keep the Music Playing?"

The most brilliant segment of Acosta's impressions was his "Twelve Days of Christmas" routine, which is becoming a classic. Acosta calls the technique "vocal chasing" -- rapidly changing from one voice to another. "Twelve Days" is a perfect use of the technique.

Doing a George W. Bush impression, he introduces a series of characters that include Andy Williams, Ozzy Osbourne and Christopher Lloyd (as Reverend Jim in the TV series "Taxi").

Also, Acosta took on Bill Clinton ("Viagra is available in liquid form -- now you can pour yourself a stiff drink"), Mike Myers (as Austin Powers), Garth Brooks, Forrest Gump, Sylvester Stallone, Ross Perot, Clint Eastwood, Bill Cosby and Jack Nicholson.

Acosta is scheduled to return to the Suncoast Dec. 10-12, but it's too bad that this talented performer, who has been associated with Vegas for more than 35 years, can't be seen here more often.

Maybe someday the right person will hear one of his 1,001 voices and find a permanent venue for him.