Beyond the Curtain

Nothing against the flashy costumes and the massive set pieces and all the other cool but hidden-until-now backstage stuff visitors can see on the "Jubilee!" backstage tour.

But for one group of recent tourgoers, the most interesting thing on the behind-the-scenes look at the venerable Las Vegas show was Paula Allen.

Allen, a principal dancer in "Jubilee!" is leading this morning's tour. And, for this group, Allen's recall of even the most obscure facts about the show, peppered with her own funny stories and apparent willingness to answer any question tourgoers could ask, steals -- no offense to "Jubilee!" -- the show.

But maybe that's not surprising. After all, how often do we civilians get to meet -- and then tell the folks back home that we met -- an actual Las Vegas showgirl?

The backstage tours of "Jubilee!" have been offered for more than 10 years. Each is led by a cast member of the show and affords tourgoers the only-in-Vegas opportunity to examine what Allen calls the "organized chaos" that makes "Jubilee!" work.

Visitors get an up-close look at the set pieces used in the show, examine the costumes and headpieces performers wear, and learn about the history of the nearly-three-decade-old extravaganza.

"This is not a job to me. It's easy, because I'm talking about something I love," explains Allen, who has been leading the tours since they began. "And people are so fascinated."

Yes, they are. Before the 14 guests on the tour even begin walking, they've already asked Allen about her salary, how she got into performing, what her workday is like and -- big surprise here -- what it's like to perform uncovered.

That the crowd doesn't hesitate to ask is a testament to Allen's approachability, while the fact that she answers is a testament to her charming candor. She explains later that personalizing the show -- making guests feel as if they're a part of the performance they see -- is the whole point.

"People want to know the technical stuff," she explains. "But, just as often, they want to know the inside scoop and feel that they have something extra the person next to them doesn't."

It's a casual affair. Photos, Allen tells the group, are prohibited in only two areas, mostly because producers "want to preserve the magic and keep the magic alive for the show."

During the tour, which runs at least 60 minutes but varies with each group, guests hear a wealth of facts, some of them staggering, about "Jubilee!" -- about its 1,000 costumes cared for by 26 wardrobe people; and the 85-member cast; and the stage that, from below-theater-level subbasement to highest rafter, is 10 stories tall; and the complex maze of elevators, screw jacks and pulleys manned by 48 crew members that enables it all to happen.

They'll also hear about the show's history, from opening night nearly 29 years ago to last weekend's 17,000th performance. But they'll also hear Allen's personal history of the show and stories about the people who make it work.

She tells, with a comedian's timing, about falling down stairs and into the audience topless -- "You just bounce up and go back and keep going." -- and the time a fellow performer's heel got caught in a grate, and when she lost a hank of her own hair to a nasty wig mishap.

"Crazy things happen all the time," Allen tells the group, and that's why doing the show never gets boring.

"It's live theater. Anything can happen. You name it, it's happened," Allen says.

Then, with a pause and a practiced glance, she adds: "Plus, you guys are just as much entertainment for us as we are for you."

"Oh yes. We see everything," she continues as the group laughs. "We talk about it, too. Oh yeah."

The tour is a must-see for anybody interested in fashion or costume design. Allen says the costume areas always are a hit for tourgoers, and the costume rooms do elicit the most "Ooohs" per-capita on this tour.

Tourgoers, Allen says later, are "completely shocked when they get up close to the costumes and really see how they're constructed."

Meanwhile, seeing the show's set pieces -- the Titanic's engine room, which could be mistaken for actual backstage machinery, or the column in the Samson and Delilah number that, for now, lies in cracked repose -- out of context is odd, but does reveal how large and how intricate they are.

Inevitably, the obvious question -- what's it like to work uncovered? -- is asked, and Allen, no doubt having heard it hundreds of times before, doesn't flinch.

"It's funny, because, basically, I'm very shy about my body," she says.

"But if you're going to work topless, this is the show to do it, because it's done absolutely beautifully. It's tasteful and there's nothing vulgar or obscene about it.

"And, yes, the curtain goes up and, bam, holy cow, you've never seen so many beautiful tatas in one place at one time in your entire life," she says, as the crowd laughs. But "the guys (in the audience) will not be the ones who giggle when the curtain opens, it's the women, and I'm thinking, 'Ladies, you guys have 'em, too.' "

By the end of the tour, the group has adopted Allen as its own personal showgirl.

"I think the tour was fabulous and I think Paula was extremely thorough," says Laurie Shelton of Bethany, Del.

"I think everybody loves to know what's going on behind the scenes," Shelton adds.

"It was an excellent tour," agrees Dolly Force of Asheville, N.C.

Force hadn't seen "Jubilee!" yet, but had tickets for two days later. The show is "iconic," she says. "You can't go to Vegas and not see this show."

Taking the tour had special meaning for Deborah Hyatt, also of Asheville, N.C. She and her father had planned to visit Las Vegas to see the show once Hyatt turned 21. However, Hyatt's father died when she was 19.

Now, 33 years later, Hyatt is taking the trip she and her dad couldn't.

"So this is a dream," she says. "This is my dream, to see the show."

When she hears that Hyatt and Force will be in the audience two days later, Allen asks where they'll be sitting and promises to send a subtle, otherwise indiscernible wink their way.

Allen loves forging such connections with tourgoers. And, as a performer, she loves, as she puts it, "knowing that I have people out there (in the audience) that are specifically cheering me on."

"I've had people hold signs, 'Go Paula,' " she says, smiling, and "if somebody writes me a letter after the tour, I'll write them back."

"I like making them feel like they're a part of (the show), because I think once they go on the tour and sit in the audience, they are more a part of it," Allen says. "They understand a little bit more than the next guy."

Contact reporter John Przybys at jprzybys@ reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0280.