Q & A: Stephen Sorrentino

By Jerry Fink

Monday, March 26, 2007 | 7:20 a.m.

What: "Legends in Concert"

When: 7:30 p.m. and 10 p.m., Mondays through Saturdays

Where: Imperial Palace

Tickets: $59.95 - $66.95; 794-3261

Author Thomas Wolfe said, "You can't go home again."

Entertainer Stephen Sorrentino says yes you can.

Ten years after leaving "Legends in Concert" at the Imperial Palace, where he gained a reputation as one of the nation's top Elton John tribute artists, Sorrentino is back.

But a decade ago he was just one of those paying tribute to a legend. Today he plays two roles - he's Elton and he hosts the show as himself: Stephen Sorrentino, actor, comedian, singer, musician, producer and aspiring real estate mogul.

And he's loving it.

Q. Youve been doing your show Voices in My Head in Atlantic City a lot the past two or three years. What brought you back to Vegas?

Atlantic City became a good thing for me. I worked there three different times, like for a month and a half each time. It was fantastic. And at the same time I did a lot of corporate work, which pays an incredible amount of money.

But I needed to get into something here in Las Vegas. I need to be here ; this is where I live. I didn't know what to do. Then one day Jackie Brett (director of advertising and public relations for the Imperial Palace) calls me and says what about coming into the "Legends" show. But I don't want to go backward and do my Elton John tribute. I said I would do Elton John if I could do it with something else. She said who said anything about Elton John ? Just do my comedy.

But now you're hosting and doing Elton. Isn't that what you've tried to avoid?

It was my idea to put the Elton John back in. Ten years ago I did Elton John in "Legends" for nine months and then I moved on - got into stand-up comedy and acting, distancing myself from Elton.

Now it's exciting for me. Ten years later I came back with the Elton John suit, but I came back as an entertainer, more rounded, having done nine movies and some sitcoms. I have a couple of things in the works right now with TV.

So I came back feeling like I had accomplished something, and it was actually comforting to come back to where I had started and seeing some old friends. There's something wonderful about working on the Strip, and coming home. Ain't nothing like your own pillow. I was on the road for three years once. I never went home. I rented out my house. I lived from hotel to hotel to hotel, and that sucks. It really does.

How much of your stand-up act are you able to get into "Legends?"

I do three bits from my show. The pace of "Legends" is very fast. There are five acts. It's like I say "Good evening" and bam go into a bit, and "Good evening" and bam into another bit. It's fun. People seem to be digging it. It's different, a new idea for "Legends."

Why did you cut your ties with the Elton tribute to begin with?

For me it was something I needed to get out of. It was golden handcuffs. It paid very well, but you can only get to a certain level in this business dressed as somebody else. I had to put on my own clothes. Do my own self. Now that I have established myself as an actor and comedian I can come back and say, "I can do all of these things, but I can also do the Elton John suit."

You mentioned you made a lot of money doing corporate gigs. Do you still do them while working in "Legends?"

Yeah. I'm sneaking out at night after this show and doing corporate work. I'll be taking one night off to go to North Carolina.

How long did you sign up for?

Initially three months. I have some things I'm working on in Atlantic City, possibly the Tropicana there. But if they ask me to extend here I probably will. It seems to be working.

When this gig is up, what then?

While I'm at the Imperial Palace my focus is to show some of the forces that be what I can do. It's a fun act and people enjoy it. Then maybe I can move next door somewhere else on the Strip in the future.

One of the reasons I took this engagement is that I needed to be here to show my stuff. Being in Atlantic City doesn't help.

And I'm doing some producing. This past summer I produced two different shows in Mackinaw City, Mich. - my "Voices in My Head" and a show called "The British Invasion." I'm producing three shows in March that I'm not in - one of them is "Rat Pak" , which I've booked in three different casinos. Another is a sort of "Cabaret" meets Cirque du Soleil.

Is producing something new for you?

Sort of. I've always run my own shows, but then a year and a half ago someone asked me to come up with an idea for a show at a casino. I wound up with 11 shows that I'm pushing. I'm actually hiring another assistant and opening an office.

How do you find the time?

I just want to stay busy as an entertainer, but this business has no guarantees so I'm branching out. I just invested in a bunch of property in Kingman, Ariz. We have a development down there called Sundance Canyon, 160 acres. We're going to build 100 homes, each of them $1 million to $2 million. I'm 25 percent owner. They start moving dirt any day now.

What do you see as the future of entertainment in Las Vegas?

I'm hoping that we start employing more than just acrobats. We, the entertainment community, are quite full of makeup, leotards and flying Frenchmen. We'd like to see some other things on the stages.

What we've lost are the lounges, the real lounges. The lounges where guys like Don Rickles got started and where the Mary Kaye Trio performed. It's gone. There's nothing like that. That's where I belong. Jerry Lewis said I was born 25 years too late.