Review Of Laughternoon, starring Adam London
Updated 07/18/2004
Laughternoon, starring Adam London (CLOSED)
By Chuck Rounds

"M"...Mariachi Passion & Tradition, the ultimate mariachi experience, presented by Rodri
Entertainment Group, is now playing at a variety of times at the "V" theatre inside the Desert
Passage Shops at the Aladdin Resort and Casino. The Latino-themed show delivers performances by
14 stellar musicians and excellent vocalists, who showcase the best of passionate mariachi
music. Hispanic in origin, it is a blend of traditional culture, passionate rhythms, and live
production involving the entire audience.
The show is a fun 90-minute production that has plenty of audience participation. Within the
show is a brief video montage on the great mariachi legends, featuring such singers as Lola
Beltran and Jose Alfredo Jimenez, who influenced the art of Mariachi. The cast honors those
legends and brings their songs back into live performances.
The "M," mariachi show is bi-lingual with a 22-song set of romantic, fun, and thrilling
arrangements. The show features Maureen Sanchez, a nine-year old prodigy, passionately singing
a sultry version of "Cucurrucucu Paloma," a love song about the despair, sorrow, and misery of
losing a beloved one. Rhonda Garcia does an amazing blend of the American favorite, "At Last,"
by Etta James, woth the romantic sounds of mariachi.
The show-stopping performance of the production was that of harpist, Juan Cabrera. His
abilities with the harp are unbelievable. His performance is almost worth the price of the
ticket alone. In the middle of the show, he got a standing ovation.
With the ever-growing Hispanic population in the area, it is nice to see the emerging Latin-
based productions. It exposes the general public to an interesting and varied culture. There
are times during the production in which you feel lost, because you don’t speak the language.
The songs are beautiful, but we fail to gain deeper meaning, because we don’t understand the
lyrics.
The V theatre is a good showcase for this production. The space was originally built as a
Spanish steakhouse and retains that feeling. The stage sometimes feels a bit crowded, but there
is nice technical support.
"M"...Mariachi Passion & Tradition is a good addition to the entertainment scene in Las Vegas.
It will be interesting, though, to see if they will be able to draw enough of a crowd in order
to survive. The show times are not consistent, and the cost might be a bit much for this new
style of "Vegas" entertainment.