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The Spectacle, the Showgirl and the Wardrobe
By Bobbie Katz
One glance into the dressing rooms of the
spectacular production show Donn Arden’s “Jubilee!”
at Bally’s, and it’s easy to see why there was
a shortage of rhinestones in the world when this show was
created.
Racks and racks of dazzling Bob Macke and Pete Menefee costumes
have ensured that the quintessential glamorous Las Vegas revue
has kept its sparkle and that it has reaped what it has “sewn”
over the last 26 years. But for the 85 cast members, 60 of
whom are female, who get their piece of the rock on a nightly
basis, there are definitely some heavy preparations involved.
“Wearing the headdresses takes some getting used to,”
says Jennifer Mental, the Bluebell Dance Captain, so named
for Madame Bluebell, who brought a line of dancers to Las
Vegas from Europe when creator/producer Donn Arden debuted
“Jubilee!” at the hotel in 1981. “The heaviest
one weighs 13 pounds. Our skirts alone can weigh 8-10 pounds
and an entire costume can weigh up to 35 pounds. Then there
are the feather backpacks that are worn, especially in the
finale. They are metal frames that sit on our shoulders that
are covered with feathers and rhinestones.”
“During the course of the show, each girl has 8-11 costumes
changes, with a minute-and-a-half to 8-9 minutes between each
one.” she continues. “The costumes are fairly
simple once you know where all the hooks are. But there are
6-12 pieces per costume and everything gets changed, including
jewelry, shoes, stockings, tights, wigs, hairpieces and falls.
And, except for the really fast changes, for which there are
a few small dressing areas on the side of the stage, we have
to run up and down two flights of stairs because our dressing
rooms are two stories below. There are 26 wardrobe attendants
who help us throughout the show. They also maintain the costumes,
wash our fishnet stockings and replace any missing sequins
and rhinestones. Even the male dancers’ vests have 666
rhinestones on them.”
The second longest running show in the city and one of the
only two that have survived from the golden age of Vegas,
“Jubilee!” is what is known as a traditional Las
Vegas extravaganza, complete with the last bastion of real
showgirls. (There are two lines of showgirls – the 23
Bluebells, who are covered; and the 22 Nudes, who are topless.)
Bob Macke designed most of the costumes for the finale and
Pete Menefee did the rest of the show. Menefee is currently
designing another set of costumes for the opulent production,
which is constantly being refreshed. In fact, the entire cast
is kept on its toes by virtue of the fact that auditions are
held every six months. Even so, costumes and headdresses are
fitted to each individual cast member.
Where preparation to go on stage is concerned, Dance Captain
Mental, who is responsible for keeping the dancing of the
girls in her the line clean and in sync and also for teaching
the “newbies” the routines, gets to Bally’s
two hours before the 7:30 p.m. show while, the other girls
arrive around 6:30 p.m., some earlier. There is a mandatory
ballet barre, jazz and freestyle warm-up on stage for the
entire cast between 6:35 and 7:00 p.m., Then everyone heads
back to the dressing rooms to apply makeup and get dressed.
For Mental, the process begins at 5:30 p.m. when she gets
to the hotel. She has to be in full makeup by 6:15 p.m. because
that’s when she has to attend a nightly Captain’s
Meeting with the other six dance captains (three of whom are
male) to discuss and take notes on that night’s show.
At 7:05 p.m., she goes and gives the notes to the taller Bluebells,
who are in one dressing room, and, at 7:10 p.m., she gives
the notes to the shorter ones, who are in another. Afterwards,
though Mental is a swing as opposed to a regular cast member,
she knows and has been fitted for every number in the show,
and she puts on the appropriate costume.
As for her makeup, it takes Mental about 20-30 minutes to
apply it, which is why she arrives at 5:30 p.m. She uses MAC
Cosmetics, which since 1995, has been the company of choice
for the “Jubilee!” cast.
“Our company manager, Fluff Le Coque, got together with
the makeup artists at MAC and brought them in to study the
show and the lighting design,” explains Mental. “She
wanted them to get an idea of what she and our assistant company
manager, Diane Palm, wanted to portray. From that, they came
up with a specific style of makeup for the show, which is
classic Las Vegas.”
“The makeup is traditional showgirl makeup,” chimes
in Palm. “It’s been the style of makeup since
1958 when Donn Arden brought his ‘Lido de Paris’
to the Stardust from Paris. Traditionally, it consists of
big black false eyelashes, upper and lower, and bright red
lipstick. It’s very glamorous and part of making sure
that the girl is able to be seen amid the glitz of the costumes.
New girls learn the technique from a girl already in the show
-- one girl passes it down to another. We don’t do body
makeup like they do in Paris, however, because it rots the
costumes and destroys the jewels.”
Each girl is responsible for buying her own makeup and brushes.
A MAC consultant will help her choose the correct foundation
color for her skin and lipstick that fits in with the color
schemes of the show and will also give a one-on-one demonstration
of stage makeup techniques .
“For example, since brown eye shadow looks muddy on
stage, I apply a light color called Rice Paper on my eyelid
and bright orange in the crease as well as black highlighter
in the crease,” Mental reveals. “The bright orange
and black are a nice contrast. I also draw a white line under
my eyelashes, then a black line under that. It a trick to
open up the eye.”
In between numbers, the girls just have to touch up with powder
and lipstick. As for the hair, most of the girls come in,
like Mental, with it pulled straight back so that a headdress,
wig, hairpiece or fall is ready to be applied.
Rhinestones aside, it’s all part and parcel of what
makes a true Las Vegas mega-production keep on shining.
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BOBBIE KATZ
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