MUSIC:

Vegas headliners will show Gloved One love in tribute show

Wednesday, Aug. 26, 2009 | 2 a.m.

Long Live The King

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Las Vegas will take center stage in the world of entertainment this Saturday. The city's biggest performers are coming together inside Palms for the Las Vegas Celebrates The Music of Michael Jackson Concert. Emily Gimmel heads to rehearsals for the monumental event.

las vegas sun file

Erich Bergen.

‘Jersey’ boys are steppin’ out (8-26-2009)

What: “Las Vegas Celebrates the Music of Michael Jackson”
When: 3 p.m. Saturday
Where: The Pearl at the Palms
Tickets: $29 to $129; (800) 745-3000, ticketmaster.com
More info: vegaslovesmj.com

“Jersey Boys” co-star Erich Bergen wanted to stage a tribute to his childhood hero Michael Jackson after the superstar died suddenly on June 25.

He thought maybe a little production in the 100-seat showroom at the Liberace Museum would do the trick.

“I put out the word on Twitter and in a few days it became a lot bigger than just a small show,” says Bergen, who plays the role of Bob Gaudio in “Jersey Boys” at the Palazzo.

The tribute quickly grew into a major event to be held at The Pearl at the Palms on Saturday, which would have been Jackson’s 51st birthday.

Dozens of Vegas entertainers will perform for the show, including cast members of “Jersey Boys,” “Lion King,” “Peepshow,” “Phantom: The Las Vegas Spectacular,” “Zumanity” and “Ultimate Manilow: The Hits.” The lineup also includes Terry Fator, the “A Peter van Agtmael merica’s Got Talent” winner who became a Strip headliner, and Jackson-inspired dance act Signature of “Britain’s Got Talent” fame.

The Las Vegas Mass Choir, which recently performed for President Barack Obama, also will perform. Music will be provided by a 14-piece band.

“This is not just a karaoke to Michael Jackson songs,” Bergen says. “We will perform the hits of the Jackson songbook. You will hear Michael’s songs in new ways with new arrangements. It will be a clean, polished show. Some of the acts will perform by themselves, some will come together with others.”

Bergen began thinking about a Jackson tribute almost immediately.

“He was my biggest inspiration as a performer,” he says. “When he died I wasn’t expecting it. It was one of those bizarre days. His death was on everyone’s mind that day, especially people like myself. You always have this attitude of, ‘What can we do. Let’s do something.’

“I was so in shock I almost couldn’t be sad. It wasn’t even real. My mind immediately went to ‘Well, what do we do?’ ”

When he contacted George Maloof about using The Pearl for the show, Maloof agreed without hesitation.

“It has been quite an idea,” Bergen says. “There have been mostly good moments, not that many bad moments. We have a wonderful community of artists here. It’s a very small community in its connective tissue, but a lot of people involved.

“I think Michael affected so many people in his performing aspect. He touched so many generations of performers and his death reminded us all of how much we loved him.”

The proceeds will go to the Clark County Public Education Foundation and will be earmarked for music education.

“It may help find the next Michael Jackson,” Bergen says.

Discussion: 3 comments so far…

By PeterGun

8/26/09 at 5:22 a.m.

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Bashir: "But is it really appropriate for a 44-year-old man to share a bedroom with a child that is not related to him at all?"

Jackson: "That's a beautiful thing."

Bashir: "That's not a worrying thing?"

Jackson: "Why should that be worrying, what's the criminal...who's Jack the Ripper in the room? There's some guy trying to heal a healing child ... I'm in a sleeping bag on the floor. "I gave him the bed because he has a brother named Star, so him and Star took the bed and I went along on the sleeping bag."

Bashir: "Did you ever sleep in the bed with them?"

Jackson: "No. But I have slept in a bed with many children. "I slept in a bed with all of them when Macauley Culkin was little: Kieran Culkin would sleep on this side, Macauley Culkin was on this side, his sisters in there...we all would just jam in the bed, you know. "We would wake up like dawn and go in the hot air balloon, you know, we had the footage. I have all that footage."

Bashir: "But is that right Michael?"

Jackson: "It's very right. It's very loving, that's what the world needs now, more love more heart."

Bashir: "The world needs a man who's 44 who's sleeping in a bed with children?"

On allegations of molesting 13-year-old Jordy Chandler, which Jackson has always denied, He paid the boy's parents 18 million to drop a civil case against him:

Bashir: "I suppose the problem for many people is what happened in 1993, or what didn't happen?"

Jackson: "What 'didn't happen'?"

Bashir: "Just cast your mind back, what was that like when you first heard the allegations that were being made against you?"

Jackson: "It was shocking and I'm not allowed to talk about this by way of law, so ..."

Bashir: "But how did you feel about what was being said? I'm not asking you to talk about what was said."

Jackson: "I was shocked because, um, God knows, in my heart how much I adore children."

Bashir: "Isn't that precisely the problem, that when you actually invite children into your bed you never know what is going to happen?"

Jackson: "When you say bed, you're thinking sexual, they make that sexual, it's not sexual." "We're going to sleep, I tuck them in and I put a little like, er, music on and when it's story time I read a book." "We go to sleep with the fireplace on. I give them hot milk, you know, we have cookies, it's very charming, it's very sweet, it's what the whole world should do."

Bashir: "The reason that has been given for why you didn't go to jail is because, because you reached a financial settlement with the family?"

Jackson: "Yeah, I didn't want to do a long drawn-out thing on TV like OJ, and all that stupid stuff, you know, it wouldn't look right. I said, look, get this over with. I want to go on with my life. This is ridiculous, I've had enough, go."
By PeterGun

8/26/09 at 5:26 a.m.

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Jackson: "Because what's wrong with sharing a love? You don't sleep with your kids? Or some other kid who needs love who didn't have a good childhood?"

Bashir: "No, no I don't. I would never dream ..."

Jackson: "That's because you've never been where I've been mentally ..."

Bashir: "What do you think people would say if I said well - 'I've invited some of my daughter's friends round or my son's friends round and they are going to sleep in a bed with me tonight'?

Jackson: "That's fine!"

Bashir: "What do you think their parents would say?"

Jackson: "If they're wacky they would say 'You can't', but if you're close family, like your family, and you know them well and ..."

Bashir: "But Michael, I wouldn't like my children to sleep in anybody else's bed."

Jackson: "Well, I wouldn't mind if I knew the person well. I am very close to Barry Gibb - Paris and Prince can stay with him anytime; my children sleep with other people all the time.

Bashir: "And you're happy with that?"

Jackson: "Fine with it. They're honest, they are sweet people. They are not Jack the Ripper."
By Noindex

8/26/09 at 11:57 a.m.

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Thank you PeterGun for posting this. I can't imagine why people are honoring this pedophile!