On board the Norwegian Epic…
Tributes is a much nicer word than impersonators. It almost puts you in a different mindset when you’re watching performers trying to be somebody they’re not or, in some cases, somebody they can’t be. Like Elvis. Sinatra. Michael Jackson. So, you think, what they’re really doing is paying tribute, paying homage, to the stars who can’t be there, for whatever reason.
On the Epic, there are several impers…er, tributes. It starts with Legends In Concert, a company that has be contracting out performers playing other performers for more than 25 years. They do it for 48 weeks a year. That’s a lot of tributes in a lot of places. The Legends we watched on the Epic were Rod Stewart, Britney Spears and Michael Jackson.
Or reasonable facsimiles, of course. By the time they hit the stage, they all bear a physical resemblance to the performers they are playing.
The opener was “Stewart” and he had the raspy voice, the electric hair/wig and all Hot Rod’s moves, like waving the microphone stand like a huge baton and kicking a soccer ball into the crowd. After exceptional covers of Hot Legs, Some Guys, Maggie May and a couple of other songs, he was followed by “Britney.” With a video of the Real Thing playing high on the wall, the tribute act dressed and danced like she was Britney, and sang the high-energy songs that made the original so famous.
Exit stage left, enter the King of Pop. It was scary how much he looked like the real Michael, but then the real Michael did look like he belonged in Madame Tussaud’s anyway. From the soft voice and hard dancing — including the famous “moon walk” — the man in the Epic’s mirror was almost too good, if that’s possible. Beat It, Billie Jean and Thriller were done better than this by only one other person.
That was on stage.
Back stage, where we had a few minutes to chat with the performers, “Rod” is really John Anthony and he’s from Boston, not Britain. He’s been doing this for 12 years and he has no illusions about who he is, or isn’t. “Britney” is Katie Murdock, and she’s in her fourth year. She’s a candid young woman who admits that singing and dancing at the same time is the toughest part of the role, adding that “It’s probably easier for Britney because she lip-syncs.”
King of Pop is, well…let’s put it this way: His real name is William Hall, he is the same original skin color as Jackson and he has been this weird alter ego for 20 years. When we asked if they’d ever met, he said in that same soft voice: “Oh yes, many times. We were fans of each other.” He seems not only to play the role, but to live it.
Somebody said he had to be the only “Michael Jackson” in the Legends In Concert stable. Actually, there are two. It’s just that this one, on the stage and off it, acts like he IS Michael Jackson.