Danny Gans Is At The Mirage

Showbiz Magazine
By Hilary L. Green

Calling Danny Gans a comedy-impressionist doesn’t begin to describe the award-winning entertainer’s performance in the theater that bears his name at the Mirage. Blessed with a powerful, Broadway-quality singing voice, a natural flair for comedy, an innate penchant for acting, the ability to play a variety of musical instruments and a talent for dance, Gans is the consummate performer.

Gans works hard at his craft. He spent more than 15 years on the road singing with bands, doing stand-up and perfecting his extraordinary arsenal of dead-on impressions, which now numbers more than 300. He rehearses daily, adding new characterizations, changing others and incorporating current events and people in the news into his remarkable repertoire. He reads his audience and patterns each show to fit them, ensuring that no two shows are alike, which keeps the show fresh for the large numbers of people who keep coming back for more, and which keeps his band on its toes!

“We change the show all the time,” Gans grins. “The audience will yell things out and I’ll do them,” Gans says, adding that this means thinking on his feet and sometimes coming up with something new on the spot.

Gans show can include a diverse cast of characters including a hip-swiveling Ricky Martin, a “counting down” Casey Kasem, the group Creed, both Natalie and Nat “King” Cole, what Gans calls “the articulators”; singers such as Michael McDonald and Al Jarreau, and other favorites such as Bruce Springsteen or Frank Sinatra. He’ll include between 60 and 100 on-the-money portrayals of stars such as Bob Dylan, Jeff Foxworthy, Randy Travis, the group Savage Garden, Willie Nelson and Julio Iglesias in his action-packed, star-studded presentation, which is one of the hottest tickets in town.

On top of terrific music and nonstop comedy, Gans blends a hint of drama, with a touching George Burns segment, in which he talks about his beloved Gracie and recreates his brief foray into the music world, or moving moments from On Golden Pond, in which Gans portrays both Katherine Hepburn and Henry Fonda in a show stopping scene.

Be sure to take the entire family to see Gans’ hit show at the Mirage. It will be an unforgettable evening.