On Saturday, September 21st, at 8pm, Bay Street Theater will present “A TOUCH OF VEGAS.” This entertaining cabaret show is the creation of both TV writer Genna Ryan (YOUNG SHELDON, KENAN) and Broadway’s Kyle Lopez Barisich (Raoul in the 25th Anniversary Broadway cast of PHANTOM, DEAR EVAN HANSEN.) They both gave a wonderful, insightful interview with Hamptons.com about the show.
Kyle Lopez Barisich said he and Genna Ryan have been “Longtime friends and creative partners” since their college days at USC. Kyle noted that back in the days of auditions and waiting tables, he and Genna often went to midtown to catch a cabaret show. The sparsely attended shows prompted the pair’s interest in putting something better that would fill the room. They created the show A TOUCH OF VEGAS, the fictional world of Trent & Trudy Lee, featuring the eccentric Christian crooner staples of the Las Vegas strip. (Kyle shared he first started singing at Sacred Heart Grammar School in California.)
Trent and Trudy Lee are happily and innocently unaware of anything beyond the Christian showbiz norm. They enchant the audiences with “politically incorrect tales of their glory days in Vegas,” reportedly with the likes of Charo, Erik Estrada, Phyllis Diller, and Sinbad as they weave their way through unique renditions of songs including “Conga,” “Man in the Mirror,” “9 to 5,” and “We Don’t Have To Take Our Clothes Off.” It’s a peek into a Vegas cabaret experience but right on the Bay Street Stage.
After a suspiciously long and self-enforced time apart via social distancing, former Barbizon model Trudy Lee and reformed homosexual Trent are finally back together.
Genna Ryan said, “The show is written to seem like improv with Trent and Trudy sharing their hilarious showbiz tales from the conservative cabaret circuit and magical 80s medleys in a multimedia experience unlike any other.”
Mr. Barisich said, “And truly, in this day and age, and with an election coming up, folks need a space to laugh at all the ridiculous things happening in the world. Trent and Trudy Lee are the perfect vessels, totally clueless yet full of heart. Audiences feel free to laugh in a way they may not at any other show. The outrageous sequined costumes and delicious medleys of 70s and 80s favorites don’t hurt either!”
Genna Ryan also stressed, “The world is so divided, and this show will make everyone laugh and be happy and united.” Their formula consists of Kyle Barisich’s words, “… killer songs from the 1980s will liven up the room.” He mentioned a new dimension to this show will be actual cocktail tables on the ground level stage where audience members will be encouraged to be cocktailing on the tables on the stage during the show!
Mr. Barisich shared, “Tracy Mitchell (Bay Street’s Executive Director) was instrumental in getting this show to the Bay Street stage.”
As for one of his biggest show business thrills, Mr.Barisich said it came after auditioning for the iconic role of Raul in “Phantom Of The Opera” on Broadway. Mr. Barisich gushed, “Having the legendary Director Hal Prince say that you are going to be Raul is right up there.” Then he confided that the unexpected happened during a show: “One night towards the end of the show, during the moving Gondola scene, the gondola broke down, and I had to jump out and continue singing while walking through the water.”
Listening to the tight bond between Kyle Lopez Barisich and Genna Ryan makes one believe this is a show not to be missed!
