Performers showcase original work

Robin Baxter, right, sings while Keith Thompson plays his original composition on the piano at the Composers Showcase at the Liberace Museum, 1775 E. Tropicana Ave., July 31. The monthly show is presented by local performers, many of whom can be seen in shows on the Strip, to showcase original pieces.jim miller/view jim miller/viewClint Holmes performs songs from his new CD "Simple Songs" at the Composers Showcase at the Liberace Museum, July 31. Advertisement

While most of the city's off-the-Strip neighborhoods sit dark, the lights at the Liberace Museum, 1775 E. Tropicana Ave., stay on well past midnight once a month for an unadvertised, cabaret-style show called the Composers Showcase.

Minutes after their rehearsals and performances on the Strip, musical directors, songwriters and actors from Las Vegas' big name shows gather a few miles down the road to perform for a different audience -- one another.

For the past 21/2 years, the Composers Showcase has been an outlet for songwriters who want to show off newly written tunes in front of a crowd.

During the Composers Showcase held in late July, the Liberace Museum's 80-capacity theater was filled with cast members and crews from Cirque du Soleil and shows like "Le Rêve," "Mamma Mia!" and "Phantom -- The Las Vegas Spectacular."

Just before the 10:30 p.m. showcase, people gathered around tables with wine glasses in hand, as if they were getting comfy in a friend's living room, ready to exchange creative ideas.

"Its almost like a private party," said songwriter Keith Thompson, who launched the first Composers Showcase with "Le Rêve" musical director Michael Brennan. "As more and more people in the arts come out here, they need that kind of an outlet. We need a place to express ourselves off the Strip."

At first, word of the showcase spread just within theater groups, then, it gradually leaked to those who simply wanted a peek at the people behind the acts.

"All of the sudden, we exploded," Thompson said. "We were Vegas' best kept secret, but maybe we're not such a secret anymore."

There are no curtains, no blinding stage lights and no paychecks at the showcase, and the audience is about 2,000 fewer than most the performers are used to, but Randal Keith, who played King Arthur in "Monty Python's Spamalot," said to sing at the showcase can be just as nerve-wracking.

"I want to show off their best stuff," said Keith, before taking the stage to belt a song written by "Spamalot" conductor Wayne Green. "It's all about them."

Other songwriters who displayed recent work were Vita Corimbi from "Menopause," Richard Oberacker, composer of Cirque du Soleil's "KA," and singer-songwriter Clint Holmes, who performed a song from a new CD, "Simple Songs," with composer Davy Nathan.

Esther Lynn, who has her own Web site about Las Vegas gossip, attended her first Composers Showcase a year ago.

"I haven't missed one since," Lynn said. "They can come out, take off their makeup and be themselves. This is their other life."

The Composers Showcase is free with open seating. The shows begin at 10:30 p.m.

The date for the showcase changes each month, as it fits between the performers' and songwriters' schedules. Visit www.the composersshowcase.com.