Feature: Puttin' On The Glitz Benefit Concert Kicks Off Liberace Legacy Week

Emmy and Golden Globe-winning choreographer and producer Jeff Kutash (Splash!) join forces with composer Keith Thompson (Jersey Boys) to honor Mr. Showmanship. Puttin' On The Glitz musical benefit concert will kick off Liberace Legacy Week at Coop's Cabaret and Hot Spot on May 15.

The concert will include Liberace's birthday celebration, a parade in his honor, and the commemoration of Liberace Avenue (former Karen Avenue). The newly named city street honors the man that was once Las Vegas' highest-paid and most revered entertainer and piano man. The street runs east and west with the new name from Joe W. Brown Drive to Maryland Parkway. The street connects Westgate Las Vegas Resort (formerly Las Vegas Hilton), where Liberace performed his residency, to Commercial Center, the iconic vintage Vegas shopping and dining complex where Coop's Cabaret is located. Another aspect is the revival of Carluccio's Tivoli Gardens by the former home of the Liberace Museum at Tropicana and Spencer avenues.

"This is how glitz comes into the picture. We are putting on the glitz as our way of helping to launch Liberace Legacy Week to honor all of his showmanship," explains Keith.

The event will also showcase a special sneak preview of GLITZ!, a brand-new Las Vegas entertainment production spectacular created by Jeff. The new original theme song written by Keith, Glitz's musical director and Composers Showcase founder and host, will be premiered. For more info, visit Glitz.Show.

The show will benefit The Composer's Showcase, a Nevada nonprofit 501(c)(3) providing a platform for original music, scholarships, and financial assistance to the Las Vegas entertainment community. Another connection is that The Composer's Showcase was performed in the intimate showroom at the Liberace Museum for three years.

The showcase also serves as a forum for local and visiting composers, lyricists, and songwriters to present original musical material to a supportive audience in an informal cabaret-style setting. The organization also encourages and nurtures young, developing creative talent offering a scholarship to the Music Composition and Jazz Composition departments at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas. Keith is one of the co-founders who produces and hosts the concerts that currently perform monthly at Myron's at The Smith Center. Visit thecomposersshowcase.com for more info.

Cocktails and hors d'oeuvres, and happy hour will start the event at 6 p.m., and then at 7 p.m., a one-hour musical concert will feature internationally renowned pianist Philip Fortenberry. Philip is known as the Hands of Liberace because of his role as hand and body double for Michael Douglas in the HBO biopic, Behind the Candelabra and also serves on the board. Powerhouse Broadway vocalists Brent Barrett ("The Phantom," "Chicago") and Niki Scalera ("Hairspray," "Tarzan," "Cocktail Cabaret") will add their talents to honor Liberace. Contemporary music will be performed in the style of Liberace, who loved to play the hits of the day in his style.

The Liberace Foundation for the Creative and Performing Arts is a Las Vegas-based nonprofit organization founded in 1976. Liberace endowed the Foundation with his collection of automobiles, costumes, antiques, art, and jewelry, in addition to approximately $4 million in cash. Scholarships and grants exceeded $6 million. The Liberace Museum Collection, led by Foundation Chair Jonathan Warren, now travels to many museums and public venues in Las Vegas and the United States. The mission of the Foundation is to manage the Liberace Museum Collection, support the collection through fundraising and provide students with artistic exposure and scholarships in the creative and performing arts. For more info, visit Liberace.org.

Puttin' On The Glitz will be performed at Coops Cabaret & Hot Spot, 953 E. Sahara Ave. Tickets are $125 per person, including cocktails and hors d'oeuvres, with a buffet available for an additional cost. Proceeds will benefit nonprofits The Composers Showcase of Las Vegas and the Liberace Foundation for the Performing and Creative Arts.

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