Friday, Sept. 16, 2005 | 8:24 a.m.
Change was inevitable at the venerable topless show "Midnight Fantasy" when MGM Mirage bought the Luxor and other Strip properties in a multibillion- dollar deal earlier this year.
With MGM's emphasis on appealing to younger audiences, veteran producer Anita Mann was given the challenge of revamping a production that, in my estimation, didn't need revamping.
It was one of the best choreographed, sexiest shows of its kind in Vegas classy, sensual, exotic, a hint of eroticism without being vulgar or salacious.
But the new owners wanted a "fun, young, party feel" to the revue, whose main flaw was lip-syncing by dancers while they performed various numbers that focused on male fantasies.
They wanted something different, something that did not try to compete with other topless productions such as "La Femme" at the MGM, perhaps because they felt they would be competing against themselves.
But in the transition, a lot of the glamour that infused "Midnight Fantasy" was lost.
Most of the exotic costumes were history, although Mann valiantly attempts to cling to some of the glamour with the dancers wearing sequined jean jackets and sparkling jewelry (and she says she will be adding a number next month that will provide some of the missing glamour).
The title was changed "Midnight" was dropped and it has become merely "Fantasy." So was the Egyptian-themed opening number.
The hilariously bawdy comedian Carole Montgomery and dancer Lindell Blakewell were gone.
But to the show's credit, the lip-syncing also was axed.
Dancer-turned-choreographer Cris Judd (briefly married to Jennifer Lopez) and Eddie Garcia re-worked the dance numbers.
Although most of the songs and music are the same ("Black Velvet," "Man I Feel Like a Woman" for example), the dancing and some of the costumes are funkier and have the feel of a music video.
When the new version debuted a couple of weeks ago, it was a disaster.
The first time I attended the new version of the revue the lead dancer the very talented and gorgeous Jennifer Ross was ill and unable to perform, which resulted in dropping or altering several numbers to accommodate her stand-in.
Replacing the hilarious Montgomery and the energetic Blakewell was Sal Salangsang, late of "EFX Alive" a long-running production at the MGM Grand that closed in December 2002 to make room for Cirque du Soleil's "Ka."
I'm not sure what you call what Salangsang does.
He comes onstage before the show begins, pretends to be a stagehand, is chased around by someone who is supposed to be his supervisor.
Salangsang re-appears throughout the evening, playing air guitar and performing some other bits that are meant to be funny, but has the effect of dragging the show down.
The new revue was trying to sprout wings and fly while Salangsang's routine was an anchor.
The antics might have been meant to be funny, but they killed the mood and the spirit of the evening created by the troupe of talented dancers who were trying to make the best of a disastrous situation.
In all fairness, I returned to see the production earlier this week when Ross was back with the show and in good health.
It is amazing how one person can impact an entire production -- like the keystone in an arch. With her present, the entire cast seemed to have more zest.
The dancing was more lively, the dancers more sensual. They gave more meaning to Judd and Garcia's choreography.
Lead singer Stephanie Jordan (for my money the most sensual performer in the production, and she keeps her clothes on) was back to her superb self.
And Salangsang was absent, out with a broken rib.
Filling in for Salangsang was Sean Cooper, a singer, dancer, impressionist and comedian who was with the production several years ago.
Cooper joined the cast with barely a moment's notice and was a highlight of the evening, appearing sporadically throughout the show. His takeoff on Tina Turner was hilarious.
It seems "Fantasy" may be achieving its goal of appealing to younger audiences -- the evening I was there fans were predominantly in the mid-20s to late-30s range.
There were bachelor parties and a lot of couples.
No one seemed to mind the absence of the glamorous side of the Vegas show.
Perhaps the change was for the better and the glitz should be left to shows such as "Jubilee!" at Bally's and "Folies Bergere" at the Tropicana -- the last two remnants of the Strip's glamorous history.
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