Review by Norm Johnson

As most of you readers out there know by now, I'm no youngster. I have had the good fortune of watching many a new show come and go in our little village, and elsewhere! I had the privilege last week of watching a new show that should have a long and healthy run here, and then to see a play that I feel will be a monster when it gets cut down to its final presentation...

Of course I'm speaking about the Japanese show "Matsuri" now performing in the showroom at the Sahara Hotel. I can see why this show is rated Number One in Japan, as it has every element to make anyone excited and exhausted at the same time.

And the play? I mentioned it last week and promised a full report this week. I'm writing of course about "JAM" or "Just Another Man" presented by the Nevada Conservatory Theater and playing in the Judy Bayley Theater. This is a tremendous undertaking by a man, Clint Holmes, who came here a few years back on a short-term contract at the Golden Nugget, when Steve Wynn owned it (who produced a very unique shower scene commercial for Holmes), and which made him a household name. Clint was quickly gobbled up by the Harrah's organization and given his own self-named theater in Harrah's on the Strip, where he stayed for I believe six years. During his time on the Strip he endeared himself to our village, by participating in just about every benefit in town.

There is no choice here who or what to write about first. Hands down it's the play!

It takes a great mix of personalities to make a musical work, and Clint Holmes, Larry Moss and Bill Fayne have accomplished it with "JAM." The star of the show is, of course, Mr. Holmes (as Rei Coles) along with stars: Reva Rice who plays his wife Roz.; Tina Walsh, as Rei and Lorraine's operatic mother, Audrey: Clint's sister, called Lorraine in the play, is portrayed by his real life sister, Gail Steele and Earl Turner as the somewhat troubled, but formidable father, Eddie. Tezz Yancey gets a chance to show his talent as an actor / singer / dancer, as the troubled son of Rei, Taylor Coles.

This play is semi-autobiographical, sorta. One thing is certain, it tells the troubles of a marriage between a white lady and a black man during the '40's and later. Roz was a well known opera singer in Great Britain when she met Eddie Coles near the end of World War II. I need not tell you what they and their two children went through when they moved to a small town outside New York, which consisted of 496 whites and them, do I? From there, Rei tells of his climb up the entertainment ladder and its pitfalls - and the problems he faced in his personal life.

Clint Holmes bares his soul in this play. He bleeds openly along with his sister. But one must remember this is a play and a musical. The music, written by Fayne and Holmes with lyrics by Holmes, is all original and dynamic. One of the most dramatic moments in the musical comes when Rei and his father get into another quarrel. Singing "I'm Easy to Take," Rei and Eddie seem to be at a total parting of the ways, when Rei does a vaudeville routine and blackens his face, confronting his dad. Another is right at the end of the show when Rei and Taylor nearly face off. Both sing a wonderfully written song, "If Not Now, When," (which is also the third song into the musical). This time, however, it is father and son going through exactly what Rei did when he was Taylor's age. Taylor has just gotten out of jail and resents his father, but in the end the two do a fantastic tap routine during this bit of soul searching.

I recommend this musical to everyone. But please remember, that like many Broadway bound musicals / plays, this is a work in progress. Any play worth its salt has preview weeks out of town before going to Broadway. That's where changes are made and a show is tightened up for those tough Broadway reviewers. For many of us, this is history as we saw it, and of course the story of a man who lived it - Clint Holmes. "JAM" runs through June 24th with tickets priced at $20-35. Call (702) 895-2787 for tickets and showtimes.

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