Friday, Oct. 8, 2004 | 3:28 a.m.
Nicole Durr is bright, creative and persistent.
Her resume includes, among other things, modeling, designing and manufacturing clothing and producing records.
The German native is a fighter who took on the Cuban and United States governments to fulfill a dream -- bringing her production "Havana Night Club -- The Show" and its troupe of 53 Cuban performers to this country.
Originally scheduled for a six-week run at the Stardust in July and August, the show ran into difficulties when the Cuban government refused to allow the performers to leave the country.
Finally, in August, Durr prevailed. But by then, because of the delay, the dates were narrowed to two weeks. Almost every night was sold out.
"Havana," which toured 16 nations before breaking political barriers to enter the United States, returns to the Stardust for a limited engagement Saturday through Oct. 22 and then comes back for a longer run, Nov. 16 through the end of February, says Durr.
Durr recently discussed her production -- presented by Siegfried & Roy -- with the Las Vegas Sun.
Las Vegas Sun: What has happened since the show closed in August?
Nicole Durr: This is a wonderful story. Roy (Horn), one day, said, "My God. We have to create a home for you guys here. We are going to give you our stable for rehearsal."
We call it "Little Havana." It was for their animals -- horses and llamas and things. They moved the animals for us. The animals went on vacation for a while. Now we have this beautiful space for our rehearsals.
Sun: What do the cast members do when they aren't rehearsing?
ND: They have free time. They're able to go out. I have hired an English teacher to teach them English. They have vocal lessons. It's like an academy. I am a mother hen, believe me. I'm the mother of 53 children.
Sun: How did Siegfried & Roy become involved with the production?
ND: We met three years ago through a friend of mine who brought me to their show. He said, "You speak German, you should meet them." We went backstage and right away there was an incredible connection, an immediate friendship formed. When they knew what I was doing they said, "Oh my God. A Latin show. We have wanted to have a Latin show in this town for the longest time. This is incredible. We want to be part of this."
That's when the idea first formed to bring the show to Las Vegas, through our conversations with Siegfried & Roy. You have to trust somebody with experience who can say whether it will work or not. I could never imagine whether it would work, but they believed in it so strongly that we tried it.
Sun: Are they producers of the show?
ND: People always say Siegfried & Roy are the producers. They are not the producers, they are the presenters -- they present it. They have no financial interest. They are my friends. They give me the best advice I could ever get. Who could give me better advice than them?
Sun: At what point did you decide to bring the show to Vegas?
ND: We were almost ready to come a year ago, and then the (tiger attack on Horn) happened. That was a tough time.
Sun: Roy has made remarkable progress.
ND: He has the will of a thousand men. He will go a long way. This is just the beginning.
He has the moral support, and the motivation. He sees these young artists every day, rehearsing at his estate. That's the best healing. He sees their passion and their motivation. And as he watches, he gives input, "Why don't we do this? We should put some fire there. She should move this way." This stimulates him.
Sun: When did you become involved with Cuban performers?
ND: One day a friend of mine who worked with me, a Swiss guy, fell in love with a Cuban dancer and moved to Cuba. He knew that my curiosity always was very big, so he called me and said, "You have to come to Cuba. You have to see the talent, it's incredible." So I went down there and it was really incredible. That was in December 1997.
I started putting together a show. The Cuban artists had to be shown to the world. At first it was just an idea. I traveled back and forth between Cuba and my offices in London and Berlin -- I continued with my other businesses and putting the show together in Cuba.
At first I didn't take the idea too seriously, but as time passed it became more and more serious. I fell in love with the project, and it's always dangerous if you fall in love with something. I got more passionate about it.
Sun: How were you able to work with the Cuban government looking on?
ND: The Latino culture is very machismo. I was blond and didn't speak any Spanish, at first. So they didn't take me seriously. That protected me. I flew in under the radar. They just didn't see me, because they never thought it would come to anything. We started touring in 2000.
Sun: What happened when you announced your production was coming to the U.S.?
ND: We had a rehearsal space in Cuba. After we applied for the artists to leave the country the government closed it and confiscated my equipment. After they realized what we were going to do, they started paying attention to me, but by then we were so independent they couldn't do anything with us. We were too well known.
I was taken into custody and forced to leave the country. They threw me out of Cuba. I can never go back.
Sun: How did your artists get around the government?
ND: They came here as individuals, not as a group of performers.
Sun: Some anti-Castro protesters claim the performers are forced to turn all of their earnings over to the government.
ND: That's not true. My performers always keep their money.
Sun: What do you say to the protesters who claim the performers are puppets of the Castro government?
ND: You just tell them that this has nothing to do with the regime, nothing to do with the government. These are young people trying to show their art. All Cubans should be proud of their roots. They should be proud of being Cuban, and so proud to see Cubans here after 50 years.
Sun: Do you have long-range plans for the show?
ND: You have to have a vision. The vision is to make this the best show in town, to give the audiences the best time. I think we have a chance. It's so different from other shows here -- and then one day we would like to own our own theater.
Sun: What do you think of Vegas?
ND: Every day I wake up here and drive down to the Strip and I'm always amazed by this phenomenon. It is so incredible what was created here. I think it's like Pandora's box. You wonder what is coming out of the box today -- you always experience something new. You have to be honored to be here. It's where everybody wants to be.
Sun: Will your cast members be able to return to Cuba?
ND: This remains to be seen.
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