Actors/singers Natalie Cordone and Shawn Kilgore team to perform in the cabaret show “Vegas Baby: Hits of the Headliners” on Saturday, August 5 at Aventura Arts & Cultural Center in Aventura.
The duo will be performing songs in tribute to the major performers who dominated Las Vegas venues such as the Caesars Palace, Las Vegas Hilton, MGM, such as Cher, Rosemary Clooney, Celine Dion, Elton John, Tom Jones, Barry Manilow, Wayne Newton, Elvis Presley, Frank Sinatra, Barbra Streisand, among others.
“Natalie and I are both very big fans of the music and singers of the past 60 years that tourists heard and expected when they wanted to be entertained in Las Vegas,” said Kilgore.
“Those songs demanded strong vocals, high energy and unforgettable personalities, that is what we remember when we think of Barbra (Streisand), Cher and Frank (Sinatra) in Las Vegas. That is why so many of their fans went back to see them in Las Vegas for decades,” said Cordone.
Natalie Cordone and Shawn Kilgore star in “Vegas Baby: Hits of the Headliners” on Saturday, August 5 at Aventura Arts & Cultural Center. Photo by Michael Cairns
Cordone and Kilgore bring back the memories of the Las Vegas stars, not by impersonating the famous singers, but by interpreting songs with performances that were inspired by the Las Vegas headliners
The duo will perform 25 plus songs in the two act cabaret that will include memorable songs such as “Luck Be A Lady” (as a duet with Barbra Streisand and Frank Sinatra), “Viva Las Vegas’ (Elvis Presley), “My Heart Will Go On” (Celine Dion0, “It’s Not Unusual” (Tom Jones), “If I Could Turn Back Time” (Cher), and “Danke Schoen” (Wayne Newton), among other songs.
Natalie Cordone’s singing range, sounding like both a mellow range Eydie Gorme or a soprano like Julie Andrew has the musical versatility to sound like Cher, Celine Dion and Barbra Streisand.
Shawn Kilgore baritone range and comic flair enrich his performances with songs by Elton John, Tom Jones, Barry Manilow, Elvis Presley and Frank Sinatra.
Natalie Cordone and Shawn Kilgore share comic banter on stage in “Vegas Baby: Hits of the Headliners” on Saturday, August 5 at Aventura Arts & Cultural Center. Photo by Phil Klem
Cordone and Kilgore sing in solo sections in the show and surprise the audience with innovative duets, wearing many different costumes and dresses.
“We are creating a Las Vegas style show, so Natalie and I are creating larger than life performances that audiences expect when they hear these famous performers.”
Part of the success of the duo comes from the comic banter that they create onstage, much like Cher had with ex-husband Sonny Bono or the funny anecdotes shared by husband-and-wife team Steve Lawrence and Eydie Gorme between songs.
“We blend so well together that many in the audience think we are a married couple, even though we are not,” said Kilgore.
“I have a partner in my private life, but I spend so much time with Shawn, that it is natural for people to think we are married,” said Cordone.
Cordone and Kilgore have performed together for 11 years, starting when they performed as a fictional married couple in the musical “Baby”.
Their onstage chemistry had the duo recreate the magic of the music of Steve Lawrence and Eydie Gorme in a national tour of “This Could Be the Start of Something Big: The Music of Steve Lawrence and Eydie Gorme” that was performed at Aventura Center.
Cordone and Kilgore last performed in Aventura Center in the concert “Hooray for Love”, performing romantic love ballads on Valentine’s Day in 2019.
Both Cordone and Kilgore had success in show business for the past 20 years, even when they did not perform together onstage. Cordone started her career in show business singing and dancing. She performed in many roles in musical theater, but excelled as a featured singer, signing Gershwin and many other musical standards of The Great American Songbook primarily for the Colorado Symphony and Orlando Philharmonic Orchestras.
Natalie Cordone and Shawn Kilgore sing a duet on stage in “Vegas Baby: Hits of the Headliners” on Saturday August 5 at Aventura Arts & Cultural Center. Photo by Phil Klem.
