Published: Sunday, Mar. 8, 2009 - 2:00 am
http://www.sacbee.com/travel/story/1676548.html

"This is not a Danny Gans show. This is not a Gordie Brown show," explains impressionist Greg London.

While he admires Gans and Brown, two of Las Vegas' top impressionists, he's quick to set himself apart from those more traditional performers.

"What makes us different is the story. I have a background in theater. I was a stage kid. I love musicals. This show this year is like an off-Broadway show, and I'm very excited to be doing it."

London approaches his third year in Sammy's Showroom at Harrah's Reno with his new show, "Iconman." Its tagline is "Saving the World One Impression at a Time."

Exactly what kind of plot line that tagline promises stays mostly under wraps. The production's poster features London in tux, tie undone, collar open, flanked by himself doing two impressions, Elvis Presley and Ozzy Osbourne. He's a little secret agent, a little rock 'n' roll and a whole lot spoof.

When London opened his first "Icons" show at Harrah's in 2007, he appeared on the Nevada scene as an unknown, but Harrah's followed the script it had written several years earlier for then-newcomer Gordie Brown. Advertise the artist and promote the show as if everybody should know who he is. This is, after all, Harrah's, and this showroom has hosted the major stars of the industry.

It didn't take long for Reno residents and visitors to discover, if not who London is, at least that he is full of talent.

He is not an impressionist who simply does the "and-now-I'll-do-so-and-so" thing. Nor is he out to impress with a huge number of voices, the hits making the misses forgotten. He wants to be a hit with every one, and he also wants to be a hit with just being himself.

He stands at No. 34 in adult contemporary radio play with his single "Everything I Own." He's six spots above Maroon 5 and five above Celine Dion. He occupies the same list as Jason Mraz, Taylor Swift, Nickelback and Pink.

"That's the song by Bread. I chose it because I love it," London explains. "It's not been done in the last 20 years since Boy George covered it, and it's a great song for this time. It speaks to your heart. It's about losing a lover. It was really written about losing a family member, and I just lost a dear friend. The song means a lot to me, and I was so into it the recording was a one-take."

The song features background vocals and guitar by David Zeman, London's musical director (of the Rembrandts and Gin Blossoms). They are working on a cover of the Little River Band's "Cool Change," which will be the title of a full-length album.

Zeman also musically directs the action in "Iconman."

"This new show is very tough," says London in the midst of pre-opening rehearsal. "I'm singing more than I ever have. I'm a little concerned about my voice, but I'm the last of the Mohicans. I just barrel through it. You've got to give them what they want."

And what impressionist audiences want is Elvis. He's there, of course. ("I've made him a lot more exciting than in the previous shows.") They also wouldn't mind a little Willie Nelson and Johnny Cash, favorites of all impersonators.

"The show's structure is to take the audience into my own world. It opens in my dressing room. I go through my career, fancifully. A plane crosses the stage. I'm at Capitol Records being put down. I wind up on 'Hee-Haw,' and that's where Cash, Nelson, along with Waylon Jennings and Garth Brooks, come into play.

"I show up on 'Midnight Special.' I've added Dean Martin to the repertoire along with Amy Winehouse and Britney Spears. There's an Elton John section and a new version of Billy Joel.

"That's as far as I'm going to tell the story. The rest will have to be discovered at the show itself," London says.

The show's director is David Taylor, whose credentials are not to be sneezed at. He was assistant director of "A Chorus Line" under Michael Bennett and took the show into its many incarnations on the road. He did the same with "Cats." He's also done multiple productions with Neil Simon.

In previous outings, London found himself advised by an overhead voice, a special adviser not unlike Flo Ziegfeld in "Will Rogers' Follies." It was Arnold Schwarzenegger.

"Arnold is still part of the show, but this time my guide is Sean Connery.

"I like doing the great entertainers and personalities. I do not do political figures. I think people come to shows to get away from the world, and I want to entertain everybody and offend nobody."

The new London show is booked at Harrah's Reno until November.

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