New press review of AND

[Ronny83]

The surreal spectacle that is Celine Dion

Despite staging of titanic proportions - sometimes whimsical, sometimes mystifying - the real draw of A new day ... is Celine Dion's powerful chops.

By ROBERT N. JENKINS, Times Staff Writer

Published November 6, 2005

 

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LAS VEGAS - Sitting in one of the 4,148 seats in the theater built for Celine Dion, watching her sing, you might wonder, "Among all those dozens of dancers onstage, why is there a mime dressed as a bellhop, and another in baggy white clothing and whiteface makeup?"

 

Or maybe, "Why are those lampposts floating above the stage, with the bellhop holding on to one?"

 

Or perhaps you can ignore the busy stagecraft and choreography of A new day . . . to ask yourself, "Is she ever going to sing something besides ballads?"

 

I can answer that question: Yes.

 

And Dion's voice is strong, belying her wafer-thin size. So even a non-fan may consider distracting the relentless "business" going on around her - the 40 dancers on stage during one number, Dion's image projected 33 feet high on the LED screen at the back of the stage another time.

 

Does Streisand need this hullabaloo? Did Sinatra?

 

More to the point, none of this sold 184-million of Dion's albums - so why is she playing Dorothy to this tornado?

 

Because she and her entourage wanted it. And the 90-minute extravaganza has proven fabulously popular, reportedly selling more than 1-million tickets in the show's 31-month run.

 

The credit is shared by Dion and the show's creator-director, Franco Dragone. The genius behind nine Cirque du Soleil shows, Dragone was hired about five years ago, after Dion saw his work in O, the Cirque show set in a huge pool inside the Bellagio hotel and casino here. Dion and her husband met with Dragone later and proposed he craft a vehicle for his fellow Canadian. So Dion knew what she was likely to get.

 

But not exactly what she would get. Most any Cirque audience member knows that even after sitting through a performance, you wonder what you've seen.

 

And so it is with A new day . . .. It is a mix of routines by a 48-member dance troupe, props such as the elevated lampposts and a person "pedaling" a bicycle high above the stage, even the enigmatic appearance of the two mimes, who occasionally join the dancers.

 

Dragone has imaginatively moved all this activity into another dimension, if you will, weaving into the production the stage's backdrop, an LED screen measuring 331/2 by 109 feet.

 

Continuously projected on it are live shots of some performers, plus photography and computer-crafted fantasy images. A photo of the moon is so large that we sense what it was like to be an Apollo astronaut.

 

And flitting about in front of all this is the petite star. Though Dion doesn't do much dancing, she does move about energetically and is off the stage only to manage four costume changes.

 

The show consists of 21 songs performed by Dion, seven musicians and three back-up singers. Presumably Dion does not deviate from them because the titles and credits are listed, in order of their performance, in the thick 11/2-pound souvenir program. Thus, if you were to peek at that song list - it's four pages after the samples of Dion's two perfumes but immediately before her two fold-out posters - you'd know her two encore numbers:

 

First is My Heart Will Go On, the love song from Titanic. Surely this is a requisite - her signature ballad - and would have made a satisfying end. Instead, Dion closes with the syrupy What a Wonderful World.

 

One more ballad, but it merely delays the standing ovation.

 

IF YOU GO

Considering Celine Dion repeats her performance about 200 times a year, she seemed fresh and even earnest when she spoke briefly to the audience, alluding to her French-Canadian heritage, her beloved son and her deceased father.

 

If you are a fan, save money you would otherwise spend in the casinos or in any of the suddenly important restaurants and see the show.

 

Tickets are $87.50, $127.50, $175 and $225, plus handling fees. They can be bought at the box office, which is in Caesars Palace, or from Ticketmaster, at the special toll-free line, 1-877-423-5463, or from www.ticketmaster.com using key words "A New Day."

 

FOR MORE INFORMATION: Call the Caesars Palace box office toll-free, 1-888-995-1555; www.celinedion.com

 

[Last modified November 4, 2005, 10:41:03]

Source: St. Petersburg Times, FL

[Bellamy]

not a bad review.

[Mozinha]

Feels like the guy thinks the whole show is "too much" and Celine didn't need it all?

It's a new concept... a whole new way of making a show, it's not your regular concert.

[celinefanonline]

yeah... but i have to agree a little with "too much" cause often u miss things in the song hahahahah

[Krys]

i agree too! maybe this guy is not a Celine fan as well...but the description of Celine's voice and the LED screen is somewhat acceptable

[ashleylovesceline]

Thanks for sharing!

[george]

it was not bad though he could be more leniant with his suggestions!!!!!One way or another the show is very successful!!!!!And Celine has not only a strong voice but a great voice covering all feelings and sentinents.....