Welsh Singer Smash Hit
Comic Fred Smoot does a routine about Paul Revere’s famous ride. If Olivia Newton-John had been leading the British troops back on April 18, 1775, I’d be afraid we’d still be a colony.
At least if she could have captured Paul and his buddies as easily as she did the sellout crowd of 2,700 at Celebrity Theater Thursday night.
Bouncing on stage to her first big hit, “Let Me Be There,” the 26-year-old native of Wales was a delight not only to hear but to behold.
Dressed simply but smartly in black culottes, boots and a white blouse with large bell sleeves, Miss Newton-John worked her magic for slightly more than an hour.
Her songs ranged from Dylan’s “If Not For You,” to such standards as “Nevertheless” with stops in between for just about any style one would want.
On “Honey Pie” she turns the revolving stage of Celebrity Theater into a British music hall. And with Albert Hammond’s “The Air That I Breathe,” she made one stop and think.
Too many people have tried to put Miss Newton-John in the country category, but that’s not fair to the entertainer nor her audience. She’s a first-rate singer, with a stage presence that belies her youthful appearance.
What few fans she had not won over by the halfway mark of the show, she pushed into surrender when the Australian-reared lass had the house lights turned up and went out into the audience to lead everyone through “The River’s Too Wide.”
As expected, Miss Newton-John closed her show with her two biggest single records, “If You Love Me (Let Me Know)” and “I Love You, I Honestly Love You.”
Backing Miss Newton-John were six excellent musicians from Minneapolis who among them play more than dozen instruments.
Smoot opened the evening with 30 minutes of highly imaginative comedy work, including the Revere routine and one about trying to shave with the world’s greatest hangover.
Tonight and Saturday night’s shows also are sell-outs.
OLIVIA NEWTON-JOHN with comic Fred Smoot, presented by Buster Bonoff Thursday through Saturday, 8 p.m., Celebrity Theater.
Editor’s note - Olivia’s father was Welsh but Olivia was born in Cambridge, England.