Valli excited about long-term Flamingo gig

Friday, March 4, 2005 | 8:39 a.m.

Who: Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons.

When: 7:30 p.m. Tuesday through March 12; April 5-9; May 3-7; May 24-28; June 28-July 2; July 26-30; Aug. 2-6; Sept. 20-24.

Where: Flamingo Showroom.

Tickets: $60 to $70.

Information: 733-3333.

On Tuesday Frankie Valli begins a new phase of his auspicious career.

The crooner of such hits as "Sherry," "Walk Like a Man," "Candy Girl," "Big Girls Don't Cry" and "Rag Doll" begins a long-term engagement at the Flamingo, filling in for headliner Gladys Knight during the weeks she is off.

Valli and the Four Seasons will perform weeklong dates through September -- and he wouldn't mind having more.

"I'd be thrilled to split the time if Gladys wanted to work less," Valli said during a telephone interview from his home in Los Angeles. "I have no problem with that.

"But at this point it looks like there will be between 12 and 15 weeks a year."

He's looking forward to the upcoming engagement.

"I'm very, very excited about coming into a room that Gladys Knight has been working the last couple of years on the Strip," Valli said. "The room at the Flamingo has always been one of my favorites."

And he says he is one of Knight's biggest fans.

"With all the superstars in town, Celine Dion and Elton John, in my opinion Gladys Knight is right up there," Valli said. "She's one of the few that still sings the melody."

The 67-year-old Valli joins a growing list of performers who are settling into the Vegas entertainment scene, the most recent being Barry Manilow at the Las Vegas Hilton.

Valli, who's performed three or four dates a year at the Orleans for the past several years, says he is tired of traveling and wants to put down some roots.

"I have come to terms with what I want to do from now on," he said, "and I don't want to be on the road. I don't want to travel the country."

"I have always preferred location work. That's what I always did -- in New York City at the Copacabana, in Pittsburgh at the Holiday House or the Twin Coaches. You'd be there a week at a time."

Anymore, it's mostly one night in each city.

"You end up either busing it or flying, and in most cases spending six to 10 hours traveling," Valli said.

He has been reducing his traveling time lately.

"I don't want to work 52 weeks a year anymore," Valli said. "But I do want to work, and I want to enjoy it -- to get finished with my job and go home, like a normal person, without having to pack and get on an airplane every single day."

He said his show at the Flamingo will be basically the same type of show he has been doing for the past several years.

"It's the kind of show people expect," Valli said. "But we keep making changes all the time. I get restless after a while. I like to make changes."

Fans can expect to hear a lot of his hits, plus a few other songs.

"I always put a couple of new things in the show," he said, "but mainly people want to hear those songs they're familiar with.

"If that weren't true oldies radio wouldn't have anyplace to go. And in every market in the U.S., oldies stations are either No. 1 or No. 2."

Valli says it's gratifying that people still remember his songs.

"The music I've been involved with has had longevity," he said. "But there's a segment of music from the '80s that most people don't remember -- and the artists today don't seem to last more than a couple of years."

Having a steady gig that reduces his travel time gives Valli the chance to pursue other interests -- such as his recurring role of Rusty Millio in the HBO hit series "The Sopranos," which he began last season.

"I didn't get whacked out so I may do a couple of those," he said.

But one of his most exciting projects is the musical "The Jersey Boys," which is the story of Valli and the Four Seasons.

It recently completed a run in La Jolla, Calif., and may be headed for Broadway.

"It started out as as a workshop for eight weeks and it was held over for four months," Valli said. "Now they're scouting for a theater on Broadway.

"When it was at the La Jolla theater it broke every record. It was sold out every night."

He said he saw the production four times and there were standing ovations every night.

"It's very exciting having a play about your life," Valli said.

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