Musical comedy troupe delights senior citizens at Temple Beth Sholom

By Jeff O'Brien

Monday, Sept. 15, 2008 | 5:18 p.m.

Howard Shapiro of Sun City Summerlin strutted on stage with a huge wig and a tacky Hawaiian shirt, and with a high-pitched voice he began singing "Tiptoe Through the Tulips" while strumming a guitar.

Shapiro, a member of the musical comedy troupe "Backstage Revue," was paying homage to Tiny Tim and it was one of the highlights of the troupe's performance last Tuesday at Temple Beth Sholom.

The show was part of the synagogue's L'Dor V'Dor, or Generation to Generation program, which performs six entertainment programs each year for homebound seniors throughout the Las Vegas Valley.

The program began in 2001 and more than 250 guests from 25 assisted living facilities attend each event, said Shel Kolner, L'Dor V'Dor coordinator.

Many of the visitors are bussed in either by their retirement communities or in busses rented by Temple Beth Sholom. A group lunch is also included at the end of each show.

"It gives the old timers a chance to get out and socialize with kids and other people they don't normally see," Kolner said. "It gives them a day out. Although it's only six times per year, we try to let them enjoy something different."

Backstage Revue, a Las Vegas-based musical comedy troupe founded in 2001, consists of approximately 10 cast members who are all retirees, said Ann Vizzaccero, Backstage Revue coordinator.

The group performs at nursing homes, conventions and other locations throughout Southern Nevada. Members meet each Wednesday at the Lieburn Senior Center for rehearsals.

"It's very rewarding," Vizzaccero said. "If you can make somebody smile and take away their problems for just an hour, that's really what it's all about."

Fifth graders from Temple Beth Sholom's Solomon Schechter Day School kicked off the show on Tuesday with a vocal performance that included the classic American folk song "This Land Is Your Land."

Backstage Revue then took over with a variety of comedy sketches, colorful costumes and dance routines set in a romantic restaurant where a disgruntled couple was trying to enjoy dinner.

The group's emcee, Erik McMillan, also entertained the crowd with his rendition of the classic song "Volare."

Clapping along to the music was Adele Kadans, a 51-year resident of Las Vegas who celebrated her 89th birthday on Aug. 29.

Now a resident of Promenade at the Meadows, a retirement community near the Meadows Mall, Kadans said she has been a regular at Temple Beth Sholom's L'Dor V'Dor events.

"I always really enjoy this program," she said. "They put on a good show."

Kolner said that major donors within the synagogue, as well as the Jewish Federation of Las Vegas, provide support for the outreach program.

"The busses cost over $2,000 for each event, and when you add lunches for more than 300 people it costs us a sizable sum of money," Kolner said. "But, amazingly, we are not short of funds."

Kadans was a longtime member of Temple Beth Sholom back when the synagogue was at its original location at 1600 E. Oakley Blvd. near the intersection of Sahara Avenue and Maryland Parkway. The congregation spent 35 years at that site before opening its new facility in Summerlin in 2000.

Nowadays, a volunteer from Temple Beth Sholom picks Kadans up for each of the L'Dor V'Dor shows, along with her neighbors Miriam Schoentag and Bertha Schacter. Schacter is turning 90 on Sept. 30.

Jeff O’Brien can be reached at 990-8957 or [email protected].