If you want to gain a good perspective on Las Vegas, the person who was named its longest continuously-running headliner by the Guinness Book of World Records just may be the right guy to ask.
Using the same source, you might even get an opinion from a Strip starlet in the bargain.
Frank Marino, “Superstar Female Impersonator,” has been a headliner in the Entertainment Capital of the World for more than 27 years, currently holding court on the Strip at the Imperial Palace. His Divas Las Vegas show features an all-star cast of female impersonators offering lovingly catty impersonations of showbiz icons such as Cher, Diana Ross, Madonna, Beyonce, Lady Gaga, Britney Spears and Dolly Parton, as well as Marino’s dead-on emcee work as Joan Rivers.
Along the way to his own stardom, Marino has picked up accolades such as earning a star bearing his name on the Las Vegas Walk of Fame, having a street named Frank Marino Drive, being named Las Vegas’ “Entertainer of the Century” in 2009, and having then-Mayor Oscar Goodman name Feb. 1, 2005, “Frank Marino Day.” Having acted in His Majesty, the Queen and Miss Congeniality 2, his bio even lists him as “America’s favorite male actress.”
“What I like about Las Vegas is the ‘24-hours’ of it,” Marino offers. “I do my show and get done at one or two in the morning, and then I can go to a fancy restaurant and enjoy a meal, while if I was in another city, usually 10 o’clock would be your late seating.”
He also doffs his bonnet to Vegas royalty.
“When I first got here I was only 19 years old,” he says. “I’ve met Frank Sinatra, Sammy Davis and the entire Rat Pack. The first person who had me come backstage was Liberace. I can honestly say I try to keep a little bit of Old Vegas going with my show.”
Just why Divas Las Vegas makes for a good group entertainment option, he contends, revolves around several key attributes.
“Our show is very popular with groups because it’s a 90-minute show, it’s high-energy, and a reasonably priced show as far as Vegas goes—a group doesn’t have to take out a second mortgage on their home to attend,” he says. “I would guess I have the greatest ‘return’ show in all of Vegas—it will always be a different show in terms of current events and famous people.
“And, on any given night a lot of the celebrities we impersonate come in to enjoy the show themselves, so it’s very exciting for groups to come into the show and see Celine Dion or Cher in attendance,” he adds. “Dolly Parton came in recently and took her earrings off and gave them to the Dolly Parton on stage, so that’s always a thrill to experience.”
According to Marino, the show offers a very good group package, which includes 32-ounce cocktails, and any get-together of more than 10 people gets “an enormous discount.”
But if a high-octane drag spectacular doesn’t seem like your group’s cup of tea, you may be surprised.
“On any given night I think we have everything from prom kids to senior citizens in the audience,” he says, adding that it takes a small army to stage the show, which can include up to 17 costume changes for emcee Marino alone. “To be honest, it’s usually the wife that wants to see the show, but it’s usually the husband that wants to come back the next time when they’re on vacation, because he enjoys it as much as she does. A lot of women get mad at me for being able to get changed so quick, and their husbands ask them why it takes them longer!”
Asked his opinion on what could make for good Vegas activity options, Marino recommends the Fremont Street Flightline zip line, and, in yet another switch, the Dig This attraction, where wannabe construction workers can operate giant bulldozers and excavators.
But when it comes to performing, it’s Marino who does the “heavy lifting,” with shows six nights a week (Fridays are dark).
“I’ve done more than 20,000 shows, for over 10 million people, with 350,000 costume changes,” he says, “which means I’ve taken my clothes off more than Lindsay Lohan.”
