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Pace never delivers same show twice
By SCOTT CRONICK
For the Press of Atlantic City.
Tony Pace feels like all his hard work is finally paying off. After years of gigging as a performer, impersonator and comedian in the Northeast, specializing in corporate functions, the Massachusetts resident may have landed his big break at
Resorts Atlantic City.
Since starting his afternoon performances in the casino's Screening Room, Pace's show has been extended three times. And although crowds walk out of his show daily with smiles on their faces, no one is smiling wider than Pace.
"This is great," he says. "The people have been phenomenal. Since we started, we've had a standing ovation for each show. That's amazing. I did not expect this kind of reaction. I don't think any artist really can."
Pace, 43, does not take his current success for granted. While many performers might have packed their bags and headed for Vegas, Pace decided to stick it out in Massachusetts, where his wife, Nancy, is comfortable, and his two children have developed strong friendships.
"I always thought something like this could happen if I kept at it," says Pace. "I have always given 100 percent, whether it's for 20 people or 500 people. My philosophy is that you can't look at those empty seats. They don't care about you. You pay attention to the 20 people who paid money and came to see a show. They matter."
Filling seats has not been a problem at Resorts. When "Menopause: The Musical" concludes on June 20, Resorts will look to Pace to move to evenings and face a different audience than the bus crowd he's been mostly playing to.
That's all right with Pace, even if it means he will have to change his routine a little.
"I have been entertaining audiences for a long time," Pace says. "There have been audiences with three generations in it at one time. Whether they are 20, 40 or 80, I know how to adjust."
That's because most of Pace's show is not choreographed. Excelling with improvisation, Pace does not know what skit or impersonation he will do from moment to moment. It may drive his production crew crazy, but it's worth it to Pace.
"Aside from the opening song, Jay and the Americans' 'Cara Mia,' we don't know what we're going to do," Pace adds. "There are subtle cues
I make to let my production crew know where I'm headed, but we've been together for so long, it's like a second sense now."
Although Resorts seems to advertise Pace like he is the next Danny Gans, Pace is quick to note that he is not a pure impersonator. He does impersonate people's voices and mannerisms through song, but there are many other elements to his shows, including comedy skits and interaction with the audience.
"I love to get people involved in skits, and they seem to love it, too," Pace says. "There is one song called 'Come a Little Bit Closer' in which I like to pull the audience up to the stage and give them instruments and set them up like a mariachi band. It's pretty physical humor, but the crowd likes it. It's all about having fun."
The fact that Pace like to live moment to moment when he's on stage keeps things fresh for the performer.
"We probably have about 200 tunes we can pull from on any given night," Pace says. "That way, if someone likes me and comes to see me, they won't see the same show the next time around."
Pace has developed a strong reputation for his musical impersonations of Louis Armstrong, Rod Stewart, Cher and Tom Jones, but when he's playing for a younger crowd in June, he can call out some impersonations to relate to the audience in front of him.
"We know right before the show what the average age of the crowd is," Pace says. "So we get into the mindset of what kind of show we're going to have before we even step on stage. If they want Sinatra, we do Sinatra. If it's younger and we can get away with Prince, Devo, or Eminem, we'll do that."
The fact that Pace's parents or any of his family members were never involved in the entertainment industry didn't matter to Pace. After getting the bug when performing in a sixth-grade production of "Oliver," Pace never looked back. Whether it was theater in high school, bands in high school or cover bands as an adult, Pace believes he was born to entertain.
"It was in the cover bands when I realized I had a knack for musical impersonations," he says. "It was around 1979, 1980 and we were doing Michael Jackson and things like that, and we always acted like a showband. I would dress up like Michael or whomever, take it a step further than everyone else. And as I was doing that, I realty started to voiceprint the performers we were covering."
When you see Pace, the show is a roller coaster of entertainment. At one minute, he could be doing a skit, the next minute he could be singing a Josh Groban tune, and the next minute he could be doing a Broadway spectacular, complete with theatrical lighting.
"I want my show to offer a little bit of everything Atlantic City has to offer," says Pace, who adds that Resorts wants to make him a household name in Atlantic City. "The potential to have my own room, to become synonymous with Atlantic City like Danny Gans and Wayne Newton are to Las Vegas, that is an amazing opportunity. I could be the first signature artist for Atlantic City. How amazing is that?"
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