Tuesday, Sept. 28, 2004 | 8:23 a.m.
So many producers are trying to take their stage productions to television these days, most with a "reality"-themed premise, it's an oddity when someone goes in the opposite direction.
But Allen Fawcett's "Lippin' to the Hits," which premieres Wednesday at Palace Station's Laugh Trax Comedy Club, swims against the current.
The 75-minute production is an afternoon game show that features lip-syncing by contestants taken from the audience. It is inspired by the Dick Clark-produced syndicated television series "Puttin' on the Hits" (1985-88). "'Puttin' on the Hits' was the first reality show," Fawcett, who hosted the program, said. "It was as popular as 'American Idol' is today."
Fawcett said the '80s was a very interesting decade.
"One of the interesting parts was about ordinary people becoming stars, which we are inundated with today," he said.
Fawcett's show aired nationally and in 24 countries every week for almost four years.
"It was a prototype of future reality shows," he said. "The tag line was, 'Welcome to 'Puttin' on the Hits,' the show that makes you the star you want to be.'"
But, Fawcett said, the program was more user-friendly than today's "American Idol" and other shows that often humiliate contestants.
"It was much warmer and kinder and forgiving, as opposed to 'The Gong Show,'" Fawcett said.
The program was written and coproduced with Clark's company.
"He was familiar with the marketplace," Fawcett said. "We didn't want to ridicule anyone or be cynical which has now kind of become rampant with reality shows."
He described his television show as "genuinely ingenious, creative and entertaining."
Contestants of the show won prizes for impersonating stars, but he said it wasn't an impersonator tribute artist show.
"Of the overall score, 30 percent was for originality," Fawcett said. "Actually if you looked too much like Elvis, or whoever you were impersonating, points were deducted. Winners were chosen for originality, appearance and lip-syncing."
Fawcett said that over the years, shows such as "Legends in Concert" (the long-running production at Imperial Palace) focused on the tribute-artist format.
"The one thing people have forgotten is lip-syncing, which is where it all began," Fawcett said. "People have forgotten how much fun lip-syncing is."
Fawcett decided to jog their memories.
He has been performing "Lippin' to the Hits" at corporate functions for years and knew how popular it was with audiences. So when he moved to Las Vegas a year ago, he began looking for a showroom venue.
At first he wondered if people would buy tickets to see an '80s-style, former TV game show onstage -- '80s style, although with contemporary material.
"Then I look over at what Jeff Beacher is doing ('Jeff Beacher's Comedy Madhouse' at the Hard Rock Hotel)," Fawcett said.
And he's noticed that unorthodox shows are selling out.
"Karaoke bars are jammed," Fawcett said. "The time is right for a kind, gentle, forgiving show. That's what I'm capturing and bringing to the stage."
Fawcett said professional tribute artists will perform on the program, and also give tips to contestants from the audience about how to perform.
"There will be lots of prizes in the show," he said.
Fawcett, an actor who appeared on "General Hospital" and "The Edge of Night," said the program will include makeovers of contestants.
"We take them backstage, set them down in a dressing room with a live camera and watch the makeover on big-screen TVs," he said.
There are many elements to the fast-paced show.
"Basically, it's going to be a multimedia event using a tribute show format with a few twists and a whole lot of audience participation things thrown in," Fawcett said. "It's going to be a comedy show, a party show where you want to bring a group of people celebrating a birthday or some other event.
"We're going to cater to everybody who wants to have a good time."
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