There Are No Small Stages, Only Small Performers
Being professional gamblers, we tend to visit Las Vegas more often than most. So allow us to veer a bit east of greater Southern California to fabulous Las Vegas, Nevada, to share the good news about a Los Angeles-adjacent attraction you can’t allow yourself to miss.
Through December, Charo is playing live at the Riviera!
We were actually surprised to hear that the Riviera Hotel is still standing—much less Charo—all nine stories of it; one of Vegas’ last of the old school hold-outs, with no upgrades and no apologies. And none needed! Personally, we’d like to move into the Rivera and live there forever. But until that day comes, we’re forced to enjoy the Riviera Hotel in small doses (unless they read this top-rated endorsement on our popular website and decide to offer us an extended stay for free since we’ve given them such great PR).
By all means “Charo: A Musical Experience” was a good long ride, as well as a fine literal demonstration of the Riviera’s small dose: By Vegas standards the Riviera is Lilliputian, and Charo appeared at one of the Riviera’s more modest showrooms, to say the least. And Charo herself is eensy, as in Santa’s-Workshop tiny. Even with her 5” heels and her well-filled brassiere, she’s still shorter than a lot of eight-year-olds we know. It’s seriously crazy how little she is.
Although she may not stand very high and the stage Charo takes is slim on square footage, there is absolutely nothing minimized with respect to her performance. Charo is magic. A one-woman spectacular. Yes, it’s amazing she’s still performing live, much less six nights a week, but furthermore, she rocks. Totally rocks. Hard. Her show is almost punk, and just as loud. And if you’re thinking this is a so-bad-it’s-good kind of show, think again. Charo’s been performing longer than you’ve been alive; she’s always many steps ahead of her audience, is never short on surprises, and genuinely appears to be having the time of her life as she delights her audience, which, in the case of the night we were there, didn’t fill the house. Inconceivable, really.
Her jokes might be tried and true, but they work. She earns her laughs. She’s effervescent, and her energy is contagious, and even though she might be playing in a small room with meager attendance, she delivers as though she’s got an SRO crowd at Carnegie Hall (which she’s in fact had).
Within Charo’s realm of ability, lies her talent for expertly tempering her show. Before the fluff and the Spanish disco wear thin, her team of flamenco performers hammers the floor, allowing her time for a quick break. She returns dressed in a sparkly little tuxedo, and, like a flamenco guitar-playing tiny doll, silences her audience with an ability, skill, and God-given relationship to music that absolutely requires you to take her seriously. And after proving herself with a rousing set of traditional flamenco material, she’ll shake the walls with her techno version of “Disco Bolero.”
Hand-held remote mic in tow, she worked the room like a G-rated lap dancer, in some cases actually sitting on laps, although it seems that you have to be a jolly-looking white-haired man over the age of 75 before Charo will sit on you. Charo high-fived us though (being high rollers, we were seated front row center), but because she was wearing a red beaded sleeve which covered part of her palm, our high-five didn’t make that satisfying slapping sound, which was more disappointing than you think it would be.
Never a slow moment, no down time, Charo keeps things cooking. One of the best things about “Charo: A Musical Experience,” however, is the pre-show video; a quickly edited television appearance montage projected onto two small screens in which we’re treated to a fine sampling of Charo though the ages, and which begins with the text: Ladies and Gentlemen, Charo has entered the Building...”
And we don’t ever want her to leave. You can’t miss this opportunity. Seriously, you can’t. Book your tickets today and just get on with it.
