Splishin’ and splashin’ in a pool of quippy one-liners, the ventriloquist seated beside his presidential dummy (no political pun intended—it’s literally a dummy) suddenly takes a comedic leap off the high board.
You may be right—I may be crazy! blares the Billy Joel lyric accompanying the arrival of the Donald Trump puppet. But it just may be a lunatic you’re looking for!
Deeply divided—nay, acrimonious—as Americans are politically, Terry Fator isn’t afraid of tackling our presidential polarization. “I don’t make fun of characters, I have fun with characters,” says Fator, whose show just celebrated its eighth anniversary.
“The brilliance behind that joke is that if you hate him, you say, ‘Yeah, he’s crazy.’ If you support him, you say, ‘We wanted a lunatic to get in there and shake things up in Washington.’ Did you notice the cheer afterwards? That was both sides. I’m not trying to push a political belief on my audience. I’m just having fun with the bigness of his character.”
Recently unveiling his production’s new talk-show format, dubbed Terry Fator Tonight, it remains a fast shuffle of Fator routines with the signature pals he animates—including Winston the turtle, Walter T. Airdale, Duggie the stoner, Emma the social media addict, Elvis impersonator Maynard Tompkins, Vikki the cougar, soul singer Julius and Latino heartthrob Fernando V. Francisco. (Another Trump zinger, courtesy of Fernando: “He took $20 out of my pocket and thanked me for building a wall.”)
Meet the newest dummy dynamo: Elton John, performing a whirlwind medley of the pop icon’s hits, though minus punchline-laden banter. “The reason I added him is that I’m getting a lot of interest overseas and I thought, ‘How am I going to deal with this language barrier?’ But if I pull out these legends and have them sing, people will know them. I’m really hoping he comes to the show. I’d love to get a picture of live Elton John and puppet Elton John.”
Though comic crossfire is the core of Fator’s show, music contributes significantly to the comedy, with satirical lyrics taking on noted sex-texter Anthony Weiner (to the Beatles’ “Get Back”) and “Octomom” Natalie Suleman (to “Octopus’s Garden”). And in the show’s new structure, the star builds in more musical solo time, performing the Dean Martin staple “Ain’t That a Kick in the Head” and reeling off singing impressions including Michael Jackson, Tony Bennett, the Bee Gees and John Legend.
“I sing with puppets for an hour and a half. Then I sing a song by myself and people go, ‘I didn’t know you could sing,’” Fator says, chuckling. “I think, ‘Wow, what did you think I was doing the whole time?’ I guess it’s a testament to how lifelike the puppets are.
Looking back over his eight-year tenure—and having recently inked another five-year contract—Fator allows himself a measure of amazement. “I love those moments when people I respect or grew up watching come to the show—like Ray Romano, Tim Allen, Adam Sandler, even Mel Gibson came,” he says. “And I see how many shows have opened and closed since I started and I realize I did something remarkable.”
Apparently, he was just the voice-throwing “lunatic” Vegas was looking for.
The Mirage, 7:30 p.m. Mon.-Thurs., $59.99-$149.99 MVP Experience, plus tax and fee, 5+. 702.792.7777
