Wednesday, October 12, 2011

Vegas, baby!



I'm fortunate to meet the greatest performers in my travels and occasionally we become fast friends. One of the nicest and most talented is my friend Jeff Tracta who has done everything from being a popular TV soap star to headlining on Broadway. On Oct 7, 2011 he opened for Liza Minnelli at the famous Las Vegas Hilton.

I flew out for the opening evening and it was classic "show" like Vegas is supposed to be. Jeff rocked the capacity theater with his amazing voice and hysterical impressions of all our favorite TV characters. You're all going to be hearing very big things from my uber-talented friend. I scored fantastic seats second row from the stage and dead center so I was only feet from the performers.


Liza was every inch the megastar you'd hope she would be. Very petite, but I think in very good shape (for the shape she's in!.. with a hip and knee replacement) she held the audience spellbound for about 90 minutes. While her voice may not have the range, etc. as when she was 25, her showmanship and command of the stage was really breathtaking. You really had to pinch yourself to believe you were seeing her as she presented so many of her signature songs including "New York, New York", "Liza with a Z", and of course her Oscar winning, "Cabaret". What an evening!

Jeff and his producer, John McEntee, really spoiled me by inviting to an amazing after-party with the gliteratzi which was held in the same penthouse suite, now redecorated, where Elvis lived during his record breaking stay at the Hilton.

The fireplace in the Hilton's penthouse suite

Over-the-top hospitality

Guests such as Robin Leech, television producers and other VIP's enjoyed fine hospitality with one of the best views Vegas has to offer. Talk about a magical evening!

With my friend and world-class magician, Murray Sawchuck

Super-star Jeff Tracta with his friend Marc Cherry, creator and writer of Desperate Housewives

Tuesday, September 20, 2011

Magic at the London Palladium

The Famous London Palladium Theatre

This year is the 100th anniversary of the famous London Palladium Theater and producer Paul Stone has organized a one night event called "100 Years of Magic at the Palladium" to benefit his magic charity. My friends Jack and Mary Kodell have been invited to participate at "Living Legends" as they both played the Palladium during their performing careers. I'm tagging along to help them out and generally make myself useful. I get to experience the whole adventure and meet some great performers in the greatest variety theater in the world.

Jack & Mary Kodell

Met my friends Jack and Mary Kodell for the first step in our Big London Adventure. Got them all installed at the gate and left them knowing we'd be seeing each other in a couple of days in Old Londontown.

Day 1

Arrived at Heathrow a few minutes early after a very nice and uneventful flight.
Good thing we were early because I've never in my life seen such a queue for immigration. Must've been literally in the thousands of passengers, the queue went way out of the immigration area, into the airport itself, down long hallways and around corners. 

A nice train ride from the airport to downtown London, my luggage and I got off at Paddington Station only a few blocks from the hotel. I did grab my first London Taxi to take me to the very nice Hilton London Metropole hotel.


As I'm walking through the lobby, who do I run smack into but my friends the Kodell's! The room is great and I got myself all installed.

Spent a quiet day around the hotel mostly, but we were very keen to check out the area so we took a little walk down Edgware Road which is now a mostly Muslim neighborhood but filled with wonderful family restaurants, shops, etc. as well as more traditional grocery stores and pharmacies. 

For weeks Mary has been going on about the wonderful little "pork pies" that are supposedly popular here. To hear the story, all British children eat nothing but pork pies and pork pies won the war and on and on how delicious they are. She explained that it's made from a lump of cooked pork, wrapped in brown pork gelatin, and the whole thing baked in a very heavy pastry made mostly from lard. The real clincher is that the entire lump is eaten cold and ONLY cold.
How could anyone resist it?

We found some of these "delicacies" on our little walk down Edgware in a very nice market. The kind manager assured me that the one's we bought were best, so I'd have a good first impression. Well, it wasn't as horrific as I had feared, but probably not something I'd rush out to buy. Mary ate the remaining pie and wasn't very impressed either. Now I'm supposed to try some other brand!

mmmmmm.... cold pork and lard wrapped in heavy pastry!

Ran some errands with Paul (the producer) and we stopped at famous Davenport's Magic Shop. It's been a London fixture for about 200 years and I met the lovely owner, Betty Davenport.

with Betty Davenport
With "Living Legends" Jack Kodell & John Calvert


MOVING ALONG…….

Ok folks; it's now Tuesday and the Big Events are over and have been deemed a huge success.

Finally found some free internet that's not too far away so apologies for not being able to keep in better touch while away.

Sunday afternoon was the "Meet the Legends" event organized so that the VIP's and sponsors, etc. could meet some of the performers and Legends and get a special feel for the event. 

It was held at a hotel right behind the Palladium (where the show was to be held) in what used to be the courthouse. They had a little reception and also a small movie theater where we held the event.

It was really great; Mary had a ton of her friends and family from the good old days and I enjoyed visiting with some greats of magic that I've always admired. One of the main Legends is a great guy named John Calvert who toured the world with a huge show, was an aviator, movie star, etc. He's now 100 years old and still getting around a bit.



With some performers from the show posing with Jack & Mary Kodell, Tammy & John Calvert,
Ruth & David Berglas




The magicians reading this will also recognize the wonderful Wayne Dobson and his lovely family as well as the great British Dean of Magic, David Berglas. A few of the performers for the show were also in attendance like Mac King and Paul Zenon among others.



With Legendary John Calvert and one of my heros, Wayne Dobson
Paul Stone, the producer of all this,  arranged a little film clip of each of the 3 legends who then spoke for a few minutes. Some of the performers also spoke of the importance of the Palladium to variety performance in the world and it was great.


Jack and Mary Kodell; telling it like it is!


The Kodell's and I then grabbed a taxi to visit the Water Rats, a prestigious club of variety performers to which both Jack and Mary have been members for over 50 years. 

The Water Rats have their own building that's under rehab at the moment, but the street level is an old closed pub where we met the Rats and the Kodell's got to visit with some very friendly but undeniable characters.

The Grand Order of Water Rats
Monday… The Big Night!

Paul arranged for us to visit the Palladium mid-day while the show was in rehearsal and we had a chance to wander the old theater and really enjoy ourselves. It's an amazing theater, huge and ornate, but designed especially for variety shows (unlike most Broadway or West End theaters).
Little Mary Naylor, home again at the Palladium!


The Legendary London Palladium Theater

We had to go back to the hotel to get all pretty in our best duds, then back to the theater late afternoon in preparation for the evening show.

It's all pretty much a whirlwind; Jack and Mary had a phalanx of friends and performers around them most of the evening.The theater was really packed which was great and the energy was terrific. What a wonderful audience.

Paul emcee'd the show which started with a big musical dance number by a terrific dance troupe who supported the show show.

Gotta say, I wasn't sure how well all the acts would go over, but there wasn't a bad act in the whole bill and everyone was fantastic. Proud to say that our American magicians did us very proud and rocked the house; of course, I'm most partial to the comedy acts and they had everyone in tears (not the way I do; in the good way). 

I won't go into a review of each act but here's the bill:

First Half
- Erix Logan (illusion show)
- Yelena Larkina (dancer w/ hula hoops)
- Michael Finney (comedy magic)
- Silvan (Italian magic star did some card manipulation) 
- Mikael Szanyiel (very unusual, European comedy silent act)
- Mac King (our own Vegas comedy guy)
- Nathalie Enterline (fantastic movement I can't explain, but amazing)
- Marko Karvo (best bird act I've seen in decades… awesome!)

During the interval (intermission) we all kibitzed and visited. All the lay people were so impressed with the first have they wondered how they could ever top it. I couldn't get to my seat w/ Jack and Mary, so I watched most of the 2nd half seated in the Royal Box, sitting next to Jeff Hobson and a gorgeous (really!) drag queen from Germany. It was all very surreal to be sure!


Jeff Hobson working the room
View of the Royal Box taken earlier in the day

Second Half
- Opened with the "Magic Dancers" and introduction of the Legends
- Paul Zenon (very popular British TV comedy magician)
- Kris Kremo (probably the best juggler in the world today)
- Ben Stone (Paul's son sang a theme song for the charity- no magic)
- Jeff Hobson (need I say more???)
- Hans Klok (huge illusion show to close)


Las Vegas Star, Jeff Hobson rocked the house!

Everyone was really blown away and enjoyed the entire show. It was obviously a really long evening but we also had a nice little reception "after party" where everyone could rub elbows, get autographs, etc.

Got back to the hotel around 1 AM…. yikes!
Mary's off on a train to visit her family in Nottingham, Jack's going to be in bed resting from all the fun and I'm at McDonald's in Paddington writing a travel blog. You're now all caught up!



Wednesday, August 3, 2011

A Middle East Newbie

Where does the time go? I see it's been AGES since I've added to my little blog and lots has happened this year.

It's a challenge to find fast internet while traveling, so altho I intend on updating things when I get home, I seem to get waylaid somehow (or maybe I'm just lazy?!).

I had a terrific cruise I worked with Holland America that started near the end of March and ran into April. It was my first visit ever to the Middle East and also coincided with the height of the Arab Spring that was changing the dynamics of this ancient part of the world almost daily.

Needless to say, I had some trepidations but I'm so happy I went as it was an unforgettable experience!

St. Augustine is quoted as saying,
"The world is a book, and those who do not travel read only one page."

There's nothing like actually visiting a part of the world to help you understand how all the countries and cultures fit together; really changes my perspective. If you, like I used to do, think of the Middle East as one sort of mass, here's a map to show you my journey this trip. I took a LONG flight to Dubai, United Arab Emerites where I met the ship.  From there we sailed to Muscat and Salalah, Oman; then around Yemen (yeesh!) up into the Red Sea where we stopped at Safaga, Egypt (outside of Luxor) and I disembarked in Aqaba in the magical Kingdom of Jordan.


I was fairly done in by the time I reached Dubai, arriving at the ship about 1:00 in the morning. Dubai has the look and feel of a very modern, western city. Unfortunately, altho I had the time the following day to visit downtown, we were docked a good distance and about a $25 cab ride each direction away from town. I'm sure I would've found many great sights to visit, but with my ignorance of the town and without a "must see" draw, I took the time to collect myself and adapt to the time change.

Some friends were kind enough to share their photos with me; you might enjoy this view of the Burj Khalifa, the tallest building in the world.




My first port of call was Muscat in the Kingdom of Oman. With a rather desolate countryside; it exactly fit my idea of a middle eastern desert town. We did visit a cool Suq, or market, which reminded me of a smaller version of the huge market in Istanbul. Loads of brass goods, spices, textiles, etc.




There was a wall of beautiful murals decorating the entrance of the Suq. In spite of the heat, we were advised to wear long trousers in lieu of shorts in deference to local Arab customs. 

In ancient times, Muscat was a walled city. I believe the walls have been destroyed (at least we saw no sign of them) but about a dozen of the watch towers still dot the hillsides around the city.



David Gordon, another guest entertainer who was part of a terrific group called The Unexpected Boys, and I shared an interest in photographing locals who epitomized their cultures. He was kind enough to share many of his photos with me including this one of men lounging outside of their stall at the suq.






One of the Sultan's two yachts was docked in the harbor; right across from where we enjoyed an outdoor lunch.

Walking around Muscat, we came upon this beautiful mosque. I've seen dozens of mosques but never one painted so colorfully.



One of the best parts of my work is that I usually get to travel and work with great people. From the guests to the other acts, I've made wonderful and lifelong friends. I was lucky this trip to be sailing with an amazing quartet: Kasey, Eric, David and JD. Their fantastic show, The Unexpected Boys, is a tribute to the music of Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons.

We all stepped off the ship in Salalah, Oman into an absolute moonscape of a desert. We really had very low expectations but just a short walk from the ship was a small beach that bordered on what looked like a total oasis behind a fence with some serious security. You can see part of it behind JD's shoulder in the photo above and in the greenery in the photo below. Turns out this is where the King flies in to pick up one of his two yachts. The beach and cliffs that surround it were open to the public and we spent a great afternoon chilling in the water, climbing the rocks and enjoying the sunshine. It was gorgeous.

Salalah, Oman

I had been apprehensive about sailing in the waters around Yemen as the news had been featuring headlines of all sorts of Yemini pirate attacks all year. There's a flotilla of international navies that maintain a safe channel for ships sailing thru this area and we made it without incident.

Everyone onboard had been discouraged because due to the political upheaval in Egypt, that part of the cruise had been cancelled. We were enjoying a sea day (no ports) after Yemin when the Captain came on the speaker and told us that we'd been cleared to stop just outside of Luxor the following day, and that Egypt was back on the itinerary!

We were all thrilled and along with my new friends we lucked out and were able to take part in a crew tour into ancient Egypt. Of course the pyramids up nearer to Cairo are the quintessential Egyptian attraction, but I think we did even better on our trip.


A motorcoach whisked us from the port of Safaga on the Red Sea several hours inland. There were periodic security checkpoints which we sailed thru and at each slow down the local people waved, smiled and cheered us. We could not have enjoyed a more heartfelt welcome. I think they also recognize the importance of tourism to their economy and we were one of the few groups to make it through that season. The benefit to us is that we enjoyed the ultra-popular venues with minimal crowds.



I was amazed as the valley through which we drove was a green oasis with thousands of acres of serious agriculture. From soy to sugar cane the belt cut a green swath between the mountains and through the desert. Even more incredible is that the majority of it seemed to be executed without the aid of any modern farm equipment such as tractors. We saw only animal and human labor at work at what must be something like Egypt's bread basket.

Our first stop was at the Valley of the Kings, where dozens of tombs of the Pharaohs have been excavated. Unfortunately, we were not allowed to take any photographs at all but it was a thrill to be able to descend into the tombs with the walls completely covered in hieroglyphs and art. I'm sorry to offer so little a description, but the memories are wonderful and I highly encourage you to visit if you make it to that part of the world.


On our way to Luxor, we passed a site where they've placed the "Colessi of Memnon". These two immense statues originally guarded a temple on the banks of the Nile. After many floods the statues were in danger of being destroyed which is indeed what happened to the temple they protected. The statues were moved here to insure their safety.



To my mind, the temple at Luxor is the epitome of an Egyptian ruin. It has everything except for pyramids: enormous rows of columns, statues of sphinx(s!), a gargantuan obelisk and loads of hieroglyphs everywhere. To walk thru Luxor is truly to step back into time.



We took dozens of photographs and I wish I could share them all with you here. This was a real highlight for me; what a privilege to be able to see such spectacular sights first hand!






















As I approached the end of my journey, we sailed across the Red Sea and north to the Kingdom of Jordan. Situated right between Israel and Saudi Arabia, I was to fly home from the capital city of Amman (not to be confused with the country of Oman) after spending an evening in the Jordanian port of Aqaba. Just writing the names of these exotic places fills my head with images of the Arabian Nights; I know it's cliché but it's also the way it so often still is.

I had enjoyed some amazing sights this trip but nothing prepared me for what lay ahead. I had hoped to take a tour with the guests to the site of Petra but we were warned that Jordanian immigration can often take hours and as I was disembarking the ship was pretty devastated that I had to bow out of the tour.

Port of Aqaba, Jordan

I had the good luck that another fantastic performer and all around great guy named Davie Howes was disembarking with me on the same trip home. A totally mad english musician, Davie was terrific and optimistic and assured me that we'd sort it all out once we got to the hotel.

Sure enough, we breezed thru Jordanian immigration and the port agent had us delivered to our hotel by 11:00 AM. Davie asked him about a private tour to Petra and the port agent made arrangements for a driver to pick us up from the hotel, drive us the 2+ hours to Petra, wait for us to see the sights, and then drive us back. A private tour and it cost almost the same as the group tour with the guests, so I was thrilled beyond words. I think our driver was the port agent's nephew or something, but why question good fortune?!



It was quite a long drive on modern highway through the Jordanian desert. I don't mean piles of sand, but dry mountains and rock.

You may think you don't know what Petra is but you probably do: There's an area near Petra proper called Wadi Rumm which is where many scenes from the film Lawrence of Arabia were shot. Most people know Petra itself because it's where the final exciting scenes for Harrison Ford's Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade were filmed. 

The site remained unknown to the Western world until 1812, when it was introduced by Swiss explorer Johann Ludwig Burckhardt. It was described as "a rose-red city half as old as time" in a Newdigate Prize-winning poem by John William Burgon. UNESCO has described it as "one of the most precious cultural properties of man's cultural heritage." Petra was chosen by the BBC as one of "the 40 places you have to see before you die".

If you'd like to know more about Petra, I found a really cool website that 's a quick read and explains many of the myths and legends of the ancient "Rose-Red City" which truly dates back thousands of years:
or, check out the official website:


As we drove, we climbed higher into the mountains to see huge valleys which ancient Bedouin tribes still call home. They're mostly shepherds and we passed goat herders and saw the huge tents where the communities live on sort of an open range.


We finally arrived at the entrance to the city of Petra. It's a huge affair and set up not unlike a National Park in the United States. The entrance is protected and I think I remember it costing about $US 70.00 for the entrance fee. Worth every penny and more!


There's amazing history at every turn with dozens of tombs both simple and fantastic carved out of and into the rock.



The site covers a huge area; as you walk you gradually enter an incredible sort of canyon, a crevice cut into the stone called a siq (seek). 


There are vendors who provide transportation for parts of the visit; some segments featured horse drawn carts or horseback delivery, even camel rides are offered. The ground becomes almost like cobblestone at times and is most often very uneven. I think the people we saw taking the rides paid a higher price in comfort than those of us who walked.


The siq is quite deep, in some places almost several hundred feet deep, altho in places it may only be 10-13 feet across the chasm. Notice the people at the bottom of the photo to give you an idea of the scale which was mind blowing to say the least. The light played against the colored striations in the stone and was really breath taking. 


Much more than a guarded entrance to their city, the ancients created a sort of aqueduct carved into the sides of the siq to both collect and move water to support their community.

The main, traditional trail for the whole affair including the siq, theater and buildings is about 4 kilometers long. If you're a fan of Indiana Jones, this is the chasm where the villains chased Harrison Ford and his friends on a horseback chase which ended at the "Temple" where the Holy Grail was said to be hidden.

My buddy Davie Howes looking for his mummy!

The siq winds along with amazing views at each turn, little temples or tombs carved into the sides from time to time. Everything is open and available to touch or climb; there wasn't much to see (but sometimes lots to smell!) inside the little chambers.

Finally, you know what's coming and suddenly there's a long, vertical gap in the rock ahead of you and peeking through it is the rose colored Al Khazneh, more popularly known as The Treasury and even though you've been expecting it, you almost can't believe your eyes...



Without a doubt, it's one of the most magical, incredible places on the entire earth. I do hope you can experience it for yourself one day as I promise it's unforgettable.



The chasm opens to a large clearing and carved into the rock is the famous Treasury. It was actually built as a tomb but is renowned world wide for its beauty and incredible architecture. The entire façade including the free standing columns was carved into the walls of the canyon. It's quite large and I'm afraid all the superlatives in the world can't come close to accurately describing it.

I make friends everywhere I go!


Beyond the Treasury, the siq gives way to a huge open canyon featuring all sorts of carved buildings, an amphitheater, tombs, temples and churches and all sorts of wonderful sights.





Forever grateful to Davie for helping make my visit to Petra a reality



After a quick dinner of soup and lamb in the town at Petra, we were driven back to our hotel in Aqaba and to pack, relax and appreciate a truly unforgettable experience.

Now the flight from Aqaba up to Amman to make our connection home was another whole story. Airport security took hours to be processed and there were only a handful of passengers at the little terminal. No matter, Jordan was fantastic and my visit will always mark one of the most memorable trips of my life. I know I'm very lucky to have opportunities, but really, you should go!






I'm not kidding..... GO!