Gold Coast review - Club Vegas - The Spectacle: a show like no other

By David Wilson

Club Vegas - The Spectacle

Presented by: Dion & Randall International

Producer and Creative Director: Adam Dion

Producer and Costume Design: Nina Randall

Choreographer/Director: Robert Sturrock

Lighting Design and Production: Craig Boyes

Digital Content Creator: Daniel Bahoudian

When: 2 shows, 2pm and 8pm Saturday 14 October 2023

Where: The Star, Broadbeach

Club Vegas - The Spectacle promised “a lavish and breathtaking, modern nod to the glamour and over-the-top glitz of the famous Las Vegas strip”, and I am very pleased to say that the outstanding production team and amazingly talented cast assembled by Dion and Randall exceeded all expectations. This truly is a show like no other.

The very appreciative audience was treated to two and a half hours of non-stop, high-energy, top-quality entertainment from a large cast of 22 singers, dancers, illusionists, aerialists and multi-talented performers, with costuming and effects that must be seen to be believed. The immersive spectacle was almost 4 dimensional, with the incredible sound of such high quality that it could be felt!

One of the things that works so well is that this is in no way a tribute show, it is more in the nature of a very fresh, modern, innovate and incredibly entertaining salute to a diverse array of icons ranging from Frank Sinatra and Dean Martin, through Tina Turner and Ricky Martin, to Bruno Mars, Dua Lipa and Lady Gaga. Part of the magic comes from the journey through, and blending of, the different musical eras and genres including swing, funk, soul, disco, pop and more.

The entire cast was outstanding throughout. In particular, the dancing was of the absolute highest quality. Led brilliantly by Dance Captain Benito Venetziano, all of the dancers were exceptional in their own right, and were collectively spellbinding. Against a backdrop of outstanding sound and digital effects, and wearing the most elaborate costuming imaginable, the calibre of dancing was first rate, and the dancers ability to navigate and blend the different dance styles through the musical eras and genres provided the perfect platform for the solo performers to shine. And shine they did!

Jonathan Guthrie-Jones was equal parts style, charm and abundant talent, proving himself to be much more than a crooner. In addition to his strong vocals, his audience engagement was excellent, bringing a welcome dose of his individual personality to the performance.

James Liotta as Gino Starr was brilliantly funny and entertaining. Not only was his regular ‘schtick’ delivered perfectly, but his off-the-cuff audience banter was a highlight. Very, very funny, and pleasingly not over-played.

J’aime Holland shone across a number of genres, with her performances from the discotheque era particularly captivating, showcasing both her stage presence and vocal versatility.

Tony-Lee Scott brought a heavy dose of sultry Latin moves, charisma and energy, mixed in with excellent vocals for some Latino-style numbers that were genuine crowd pleasers.

Fabio Cattafi was an audience favourite, channeling an amazingly high energy and dynamic Tina Turner, while Duo Aussiebela, Danii and Sasha, were simply outstanding. Their aerial, acrobatic, gymnastic and adagio skills were enthralling, and were perfectly showcased in a variety show such as this.

Master Illusionist Sam Powers was a portrait of showmanship. His performance perfectly balanced highly skilled illusion, a great sense of humour and unique audience participation. The illusions themselves were simply astounding.

Club Vegas - The Spectacle succeeds in seamlessly blending these individually excellent featured talents with each other and across eras and genres, through music, sound, digital content, comedy, brilliant dancing and amazing costuming. A triumph.