This week, Ira spoke with Lauri S. Thompson, who will be performing in “Follies,” the Broadway musical (with music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim), April 11-14 at the Aliante Casino Hotel. “Follies” features 45 dazzling performers, a 30-piece orchestra and 12 legendary Las Vegas showgirls. In this episode of “Talk About Las Vegas With Ira,” Lauri talks about how the special show came into being; performing on stage after all these years as an attorney; working again with showgirls who she worked with at the Tropicana; how the story mirrors the reality of production shows that used to be staged in Las Vegas; the amount of talent on stage and off who will contribute to this production; why the musical is also a tribute to Las Vegas music legend Bill Fayne; and the special moment of the show for her.
Before practicing law as an entertainment and intellectual property attorney at Greenberg Traurig, Lauri spent 21 years performing as a dancer, singer, actress, model and spokesperson.
Her dancing career included Nevada Ballet Theatre, a 13-year run as the principal adagio act in “Les Folies Bergere” at the Tropicana Hotel, two years in a starring role in a television comedy series called “GLOW,” and the Royal Variety Command Performance for Hm. Queen Elizabeth II.
Lauri has experience in television, film, music, commercials and live stage production, and was co-owner of a production company.
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