Strip fixture Fortenberry takes on China
Pis alternately known as the Man at the Piano and as the Hands of Liberace. But for three weeks he’s the One-man Broadway Tour.
The pianist for “The Cocktail Cabaret” at Cleopatra’s Barge, who has performed in four full-scale Strip productions, is starring in a 14-city tour of China.
Fortenberry is headlining performing arts centers in his first tour of mainland China. “Las Vegas Pianist” is the shorthand description used in the tour’s marketing campaign.
The trek, almost entirely by train, opened Thursday in Mudanjiang of the Heilongjiang province in China’s northeastern region. Fortenberry closes Aug. 19 in Kunming of the Yunnan province in southwest China. His first Instagram post Thursday from his trip showed Fortenberry with a group of schoolchildren on stage after his opening-night performance.
During Fortenberry’s absence, “Cocktail Cabaret” is dark through Aug. 15. Bandleader and pianist Joey Singer subs Aug. 17, with Keith Thompson stepping in Aug. 18. Fortenberry returns to the show, which stars vocalists Eric Jordan Young, Daniel Emmet, Niki Scalera and Maren Wade, on Aug. 22.
Unlike his many other performances, Fortenberry is playing an entire show solo on his tour stops. He’s not backed by an orchestra, band, vocalist, or accompaniment of any kind.
“I am it,” Fortenberry says, chuckling. “It’s just me and the instrument.”
Fortenberry is widely known, and uniformly respected, in Las Vegas.
For years he was the house artist at the Liberace Museum, hosting the “Liberace & Me” shows in the museum’s cabaret room. That role led to Fortenberry being cast as Liberace’s hand and body double for the 2013 HBO film “Behind the Candelabra,” starring Michael Douglas as the legendary showman.
Over the years, playing Broadway tunes in any environment has been commonplace for Fortenberry. The piano virtuoso has performed in 10 Broadway musicals, including “Jesus Christ Superstar,” “Cats,” “Ragtime” and “The Lion King.” He’s also played Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center and the Kennedy Center.
In Las Vegas, Fortenberry was the associate music director of “Jersey Boys,” working with fellow composer and musical great Thompson at the Palazzo Theater and the Paris Theater. Before that production opened in May 2008, Fortenberry played for “Mamma Mia” at Mandalay Bay, “Hairspray” at Luxor and “We Will Rock You” at the Paris Theater.
And Fortenberry’s own dazzling music/storytelling showcase, “The Man at the Piano,” has sold out Myron’s Cabaret Jazz at The Smith Center.
But for Fortenberry, performing a 90-minute show on his own, on international ground, is something new. He’s been preparing for the show for up to three hours a day, a process that is akin to retraining an Olympic sprinter to run a distance race.
“I’ve been doing so much training, because this is so demanding physically,” Fortenberry says. “I have been doing hand exercises, working on flexibility, because there is so much heavy playing.
“This is as much a challenge of stamina as anything.”
Fortenberry landed this tour through his management company, KMP Artists of Austin, Texas. A promoter that books international tours asked to review KMP’S talent roster and inquired about Fortenberry’s availability.
“That’s really the extent of it,” says Fortenberry, who is under a three-year commitment with KMP Artists to tour internationally. “If this goes well, I’ll go back next year.”
With Thompson’s arrangements, Fortenberry is playing what amounts to a Broadway/ Disney greatest-hits package. Selections include “Don’t Cry for Me Argentina” from “Evita,” the overture and “All I Ask of You” from “Phantom of the Opera,” a salute to “Ragtime,” “Bring Him Home” from “Les Miserables,” medleys from “Fiddler on the Roof ” and “Mamma Mia,” and a Rodgers and Hammerstein suite covering “The Sound of Music,” “Oklahoma,” “The King and
I,” “Carousel” and “South Pacific.”
Disney is covered with “Let It Go” from “Frozen,” “Beauty and the Beast” and “Can You Feel the Love Tonight” from “The Lion King,” among others.
How will all this play to audiences in China? Fortenberry has no idea. “When you’re playing the instrument, the language barrier goes away,” Fortenberry says. “But this is really intimidating. I’m scared, I’m excited, it’s all of that. This is one of those opportunities where my fear will be my compass.”
John Katsilometes’ column runs daily in the A section. Contact him at jkatsilometes@ reviewjournal.com. Follow @johnnykats on Twitter, @ Johnnykats1 on Instagram. As of 9 p.m. Friday:
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