An act in the balance: Ex-‘Absinthe’ team takes a shot on ‘AGT’
The gentlemen discovered by an ingenious Las Vegas producer in “a tiny little town near Mannheim” are playing it big on “America’s Got Talent.”
Misha Furmanczyk and Lukasz Szczerba, formerly known as the strength Duo Vector in “Absinthe,” are to be featured on the NBC contest show at 8 p.m. Tuesday. Their new moniker is The Bodyguards, the characters they played in the raunchy, acrobatic juggernaut at Caesars Palace.
The Bodyguards are featured in “AGT’s” 20th anniversary season. Their act is a Day One “Absinthe” original. The duo left “Absinthe” amid great adulation at the end of April. After a nearly decadelong courtship from “AGT,” which consistently scours Las Vegas for acts, they auditioned on March 14 at Pasadena Civic Auditorium.
That date was on the 14th anniversary of the duo’s arrival in Las Vegas to perform in “Absinthe.” Furmanczyk and Szczerba logged some 5,000 performances for an estimated 2.5 million fans over 14 years at “Absinthe.”
But the strong and sinewy artists felt some butterflies, as they worked their routine with a spot on national TV in the balance.
“I feel like I was not really completely at ease, at first,” Furmanczyk said in a duo (of course) phone chat Saturday. “Overall, the whole experience was, was really incredible. But at the same time, I did feel pretty stressful. I haven’t felt this kind of stress in a very long time. It was a new stage, different experience, different circumstance.”
Szczerba said the team settled down once they started the act.
“I felt very similar to Misha, it was quite stressful,” the slightly larger member of the act said. “But that changed a lot when we when we actually went on stage to perform. I felt like super calm and confident. The second we get on stage, we actually become very happy.”
So don’t let the scowls fool you. It’s all part of an act that drew Spiegelworld founder Ross Mollison to the duo originally. As the producer said in his sendoff speech to the duo in “Absinthe’s” Spiegeltent, “I was in a tiny little town near Mannheim, I have no idea what it was (expletive) called, and I met these two guys. I said, ‘Look, I’m going to do a show in Las Vegas … Do you want to come?’ And somehow, they came.”
Mollison further praised Duo Vector’s “incredible artistry,” a sentiment shared by anyone who has seen the act.
The guy will perform a variation of the routine from “Absinthe,” but wearing regal gold shorts rather than the white-and-green shorts from the show.
The goal is clear, to reach a national-TV audience — done — and also to win. Las Vegas is home to several “AGT” champs, among them magicians Shin Lim at Palazzo Theater (a two-time champ), Mat Franco at Linq Hotel; Terry Fator at The Strat Theater, and also on Saturday, the Las Vegas Philharmonic; and singer-songwriter Michael Grimm, who fronts recurring performances at Myron’s at The Smith Center.
Scores of other resident headliners — Piff the Magic Dragon at Flamingo and and Tape Face at MGM Grand among them — have reached the finals on the show. Competition from the quantity and quality of “AGT” alumni in Las Vegas was one reason “America’s Got Talent Presents Superstars Live” couldn’t find its way at Luxor. Many of the show’s most popular contestants were already grabbing the show’s audience.
“It’s a great form of exposure, and being in the show is already great for us. We can meet other performers and network, that’s always a benefit,” Furmanczyk said. “But every participant has it somewhere in the back of their mind it would be great to win, regardless. We will do our best on stage to make that happen.”
Sweets sets (another) date
On the topic of former “Absinthe” performers …
Off-script disclosures and rampant frivolity ruled the night as Melody Sweets dazzled in her “Summer Fling” show at Myron’s at The Smith Center on Saturday night. Great call to bring “American Idol” Season 6 runner-up Blake Lewis to the stage.
The wonderful vocalist and beat-box artist finished as runner-up to Jordin Sparks in 2007. He is a one-man mixing board.
Sweets’ latest effort featured striptease numbers from burlesque favorites Buttercup and Maude Zoleum, stilt-walking showgirls, a killer backing band and a trombonist who tried to walk off with discarded bustiers in his suit jacket (Kevin Mullinax nearly got away with it).
Sweets sold the place out, customarily. She said from the stage she’ll be back Dec. 5. As the lady says, up the ante and double your bets. This could be as good as it gets …
Cool Hang Alert
Country standout and tip-generating machine Chase Brown is performing a new rooftop residency at Blake Shelton’s Ole Red from 9 p.m.-midnight Wednesdays. DJ Sara Pedraza guests. Brown is still playing 7 p.m. Fridays at Notoriety Live at Neonopolis. No cover at Ole Red, a nominally priced ticket at Notoriety. Gratuities, as always, accepted.
John Katsilometes’ column runs daily in the A section. Contact him at jkatsilometes@reviewjournal.com. Follow @johnnykats on X, @JohnnyKats1 on Instagram.
