David Cassidy will perform in the Tropicana Showroom on March 8 and 9 as part of his much-anticipated international concert tour. The shows are on Friday at 9pm and Saturday at 8pm. Tickets, priced at $100 for orchestra, $75 for mezzanine, and $55 for balcony, are available at the Tropicana box office or through Ticketmaster at 1-800-736-1420.

Multi-platinum recording artist and star of the hit series The Partridge Family, David Cassidy has entertained fans for three decades. At the age of 21 he was the highest paid solo performer in the country. The young and ambitious performer quickly became an international singing sensation with record-breaking concerts around the world.

After his initial bout with superstardom, David Cassidy continued to accumulate a long list of film and stage credits throughout his career. Among his many successes are his run on Broadway in Blood Brothers and Joseph and the Amazing Dreamcoat, a TV show he created for Fox, and an Emmy nomination. He also enjoyed success in Las Vegas where he received Best All Around Performer and Best Singer awards for his starring role in EFX at the MGM Grand. After entirely revamping the $75 million dollar extravaganza, he generated over $70 million in ticket sales in his first year. He later partnered with acclaimed writer/producer Don Reo to create At the Copa. He also directed Reo’s The Rat Pack Is Back which continues to fill houses at the Sahara and earned him “best producer” praise.

Cassidy’s genuinely warm and friendly attitude towards his fans — along with his willingness to serenade his audiences with all-time favorites like “Cherish,” “I Woke Up In Love This Morning,” “I Think I Love You,” and “Lying To Myself” — keep him on top and in demand. His profile on VH-1’s Behind the Music received the highest ratings ever on the network. David Cassidy is as hot as ever and ready to heat up the Tropicana Showroom!
 

WHAT TO EXPECT: Cassidy, 51, is a multi-platinum recording artist and was the star of the hit television series "The Partridge Family." Among his many successes as a former teen idol are a run on Broadway in "Blood Brothers" and "Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat." He last performed in Atlantic City at Harrah's on Nov. 2. 

His set list for a concert at the Rio All Suites Hotel and Resort in November included the songs "Cherish," "Hollywood Nights," Summer Days," "Come On Get Happy," "I Think I Love You," I'll Meet You Halfway" and "I Woke Up In Love This Morning." 

WHAT'S NEW: The entertainer brings his "Then and Now" tour back to Atlantic City, but will debut a brand new show at the Tropicana by dropping the horn section, pulling some songs out and adding the Bill Withers song "Ain't No Sunshine." He will appear with five musicians, including one who will sing, and two female backup singers. A CD that was originally issued in England, "Then and Now," will be released in this country in May by the Decca Label under the Universal Classics Records umbrella.

SHOW INFO: 9 p.m. Friday, March 8 and 8 p.m. Saturday, March 9 in the Showroom in the Tropicana Casino and Resort. Tickets are $55 for the balcony, $75 for the mezzanine and $100 for the orchestra at the Tropicana box office or by calling Ticketmaster at (800) 736-1420. 
 

Co-producer David Cassidy is shopping "The Rat Pack is Back!" after a chilly response during renegotiations with the Sahara. 

Sources say the Sahara is gun-shy over potential lawsuit issues and has agreed to only a 30-day extension through April, raising questions about the future of the tribute show based on a "Rat Pack" celebration of Frank Sinatra's 46th birthday on Dec. 12, 1961. 

The show hit legal problems shortly after Cassidy and co-producer Don Reo launched it at the Desert Inn in July 1999. Sinatra's heirs filed a trademark infringement suit against the producers and the Desert Inn, and the show closed at the end of 1999.

Steve Wynn, after buying the Desert Inn in May 2000, also sued the show's producers as a spinoff of the Sinatras' lawsuit. That case is pending.

The show landed at the Sahara in March 2000. 
 

A national magazine has contributed to confusion about the future of "The Rat Pack Is Back" with a premature, possibly not true at all, report about Dean Martin's son joining the show.

TV Guide reported Saturday that Ricci Martin would join the show April 1. Both a hotel spokeswoman and the show's producer say Rick Michel will continue as Dino for as long as the show is currently contracted, which right now is through April 30.

Fans of the show know it seems to be in perpetual negotiations to stay at the Sahara, but the two sides have always come to terms in the past.

The younger Martin recently caught "Rat Pack" as part of a promotional tour for his book "That's Amore: A Son Remembers Dean Martin." He's longtime friends with David Cassidy, the show's co-producer, as well as Boulder City resident Desi Arnaz Jr., who was part of the '60s pop group Dino, Desi and Billy with Martin's late brother Dean Paul.

Mark Tratos, attorney for the producers, says he is "totally unaware" of any of the negotiations hinging on a legal challenge from Frank Sinatra and  Sammy Davis Jr.'s heirs.

A federal judge dismissed the families' lawsuit against Sheraton Desert Inn Corp. about advertising for "The Rat Pack Is Back," but the families have appealed the decision.

"The Sahara took the show when the case was alive and well, so I don't know why they would be worried about the appeal," Tratos says. ...

(Mike Weatherford's entertainment column)
 

When he sang "I Think I Love You" in the early 1970s, every girl listening dreamed David Cassidy was singing to her.

Such was his boy-next-door charm, even if the character he played on TV's popular show "The Patridge Family" was anything but the boy next door.

After all, he, along with his siblings and groovy mom (real-life step-mother Shirley Jones) traveled to concert gigs in a psychedelic school bus.

Regardless of their alternative lifestyle, the Partridge clan was all-American.

Success on the show and in his solo career put Cassidy's face in every fanzine known to smitten teeny-boppers. At 21, he was the highest paid performer in the world.

" . . . Back in those days you weren't as prepared, or as sophisticated for that kind of success. It was fun, but it was also very disciplined work," Cassidy recalled in a recent interview. "I was doing TV, recording albums for both the show and myself, and going on the road every weekend. It was a 16- to 18-hour-a-day job. I basically took on the weight of a CEO."

After a couple of years, Cassidy took a break from his hectic showbiz life, only to flounder when he attempted a comeback. Then, with a little luck and a strong work ethic that he attributes to his father, the late actor Jack Cassidy, he succeeded where few heartthrobs have: He parlayed his early popularity into a well-rounded adult career.

Though 30 years have passed since his initial burst into stardom, Cassidy is still driving the girls wild. That is perhaps due to his maintaining his youthful exuberance.

In all seriousness, Cassidy, who will perform at the Grand Casino Biloxi on Thursday, offered the following message to his Coast fans: "Come prepared to scream and shout and knock yourself out."

Now if that isn't wholesome, youthful enthusiasm, nothing is.

Cassidy, who is promoting a new CD and celebrating his one-year anniversary back on tour, says his fans keep him young.

"When I strap on the guitar it makes me feel like I'm 19 again," he says.

He lives with his wife and 10-year-old son in Las Vegas, where he began headlining in the mid-'90s. He starred in "EFX" at the MGM Mirage, taking over the lead role from Michael Crawford of "Phantom of the Opera" fame. Then he moved on to "At The Copa" at the Rio. Cassidy then created and produced the popular show "The Rat Pack is Back!," which is still in performance at the Sahara.

Though he enjoyed the Vegas production shows, Cassidy says the concert tour offers more creative freedom and is more family-friendly.

"It's too much of a grind and you have no time for anything else," he says of the long-running production shows. "The world comes to Las Vegas and it's great, but it becomes so relentless that after five years it just becomes so difficult to create anything else."

After his concert at the Grand, Cassidy will perform a couple more dates before heading to the United Kingdom where his new CD, "Then and Now," is a hit. The CD is currently in the Top Five and verging on platinum status in the U.K. It will be released in the United States on May 7.

In addition to new material and a couple of classic cover tunes, the album features his early hits, including "Cherish," "I Think I Love You," "Could It Be Forever" and "How Can I Be Sure."

Like his fans, Cassidy is still fond of those songs.

"I rediscover these great songs every 10 years," he says. "It's like opening an old chest of drawers and finding these jewels. They sound new and alive."

Those golden oldies sound fresh to the fans who sing along, too. Cassidy says that the only difference in his audiences of yesterday and today is that the voices have dropped on octave.

"They are incredibly supportive of me. I'm a very fortunate person. There are very few performers who've been able to survive the kind of fame I've had. I'm going into my fourth decade with success," he says, with a combination of incredulity and pride.

"It's quite extraordinary to imagine; you can't plan on it or explain it except to say I try to give the fans everything I can give . . . It's really an amazing thing. I genuinely feel blessed."
 

I mistakenly stated in Monday's column that a lawsuit filed by Frank Sinatra's family and the widow of Sammy Davis Jr. regarding "The Rat Pack is Back!" included co-producers David Cassidy and Don Reo.

The federal lawsuit sought licensing profits from the Sheraton Desert Inn, home of the show in 1999. U.S. District Judge Kent Dawson last fall dismissed the lawsuit filed by Sheffield Enterprises Inc., which represents Sinatra's children, Tina, Nancy and Frank Jr., and by Davis' widow Altovise G. Davis.

A representative of the production said Tuesday that no lawsuits are pending and that Cassidy is not shopping the show, which recently was given a 30-day extension through April by the Sahara.

(Norm Clarke's column)
 

FORMER '70s teen-idol David Cassidy makes his first ever concert appearance in Bournemouth next month, but he has revealed how he has made secret visits to the town and surrounding area in the past.

The American singer says he once even donned a disguise to make an incognito visit to a Wham! concert at the BIC. He also spent some time relaxing and hiding from fans at Lord Montagu's stately home at Beaulieu.

At the time of the Wham concert in 1985 Cassidy's career was undergoing a revival. He had a new single Last Kiss in the charts and was worried about being recognised.

"I came down to Bournemouth with George Michael and a mutual friend to watch Wham!," he told me. "George was trying to describe to me what his show would be like and he said: `It's nothing like when you were performing. The fans yell and scream - and then stop. The real hysteria you had doesn't exist any more'." 

In the same year David played Poole Arts Centre and our reviewer described scenes of "raw Cassidy mania". 

His British tour last year was his first for 15 years. His latest seven-venue, nine-date UK tour features all the old hits and material from his new CD Then and Now.

Don't miss tomorrow's Echo for an opportunity to win two front-row seats to the concert at the BIC on April 17, and the chance to meet David in person. 
 

To show how law-enforcement agencies don't always get along, two CBS dramas are teaming up for three crossover episodes during May sweeps.

The crossover will start on The Agency, with a visit by The District's Jack Mannion (Craig T. Nelson). The Washington, D.C., police chief will joust with CIA honchos Tom Gage (Beau Bridges) and Robert Quinn (Daniel Benzali) while investigating the murder of a man last seen by Agency operative Lisa Fabrizzi (Gloria Reuben).

"We can only tell (Mannion) so much," because the case goes beyond the murder, says Bridges, who joined the Thursday CIA drama in February.

The Agency's Bridges, Benzali and Reuben will appear on The District, with Nelson returning to The Agency. The investigation won't be all work, as Fabrizzi and District detective Temple Page (Sean Patrick Thomas) develop a mutual attraction.

Bridges, who stars in Lifetime's We Were the Mulvaneys on April 8, says playing the CIA director has added meaning after Sept. 11.

"Everyone is concerned about their security. The CIA is right at the forefront of that," he says.
 

LOS ANGELES - Shirley Jones, the Oscar-winning actress and former matriarch of "The Partridge Family" television show, has filed for divorce from her husband of 25 years, comedian Marty Ingels.

Jones cited irreconcilable differences in her petition, according to court papers filed in Los Angeles Superior Court.

The couple spent more than $100,000 last December to keep developers at bay in a tiny mountain town east of Los Angeles. Ingels and Jones outbid two developers on a half-acre commercial lot in downtown Fawnskin with plans to turn it into a public park.

Though best known for lighter roles, Jones won the best supporting actress Oscar for her role as the vengeful prostitute Lulu Bains in the 1960 film "Elmer Gantry." Ingels was on the 1960s television series "I'm Dickens, He's Fenster" and more recently created a company to line up stars to do television commercials.

SPLIT: Best supporting actress Oscar winner (for 1960's "Elmer Gantry") Shirley Jones, 67, best known for being the matriarch of TV's "The Partridge Family," has filed for divorce from her husband of 25 years, comedian Marty Ingels, 66, reports the Associated Press. She cited irreconcilable differences in her petition, according to court papers filed in Los Angeles Superior Court.

Paulette Ivory's title performance in Disney's Aida is so awe-inspiring, so beautiful in its strength and power, it stirs your soul.

The national tour of Elton John and Tim Rice's musical, based loosely on the Verdi opera, is sexy, stylish and thoroughly contemporary. This musical, which won four Tony Awards in 2000, opened Tuesday evening at Playhouse Square's State Theatre in Cleveland.

John's electrifying music includes a mix of pop rock, gospel and a bit of reggae. He won a Tony for best original score in this production, his second Disney collaboration with Tim Rice (The Lion King was the first).

Aida's set design, which won Bob Crowley a Tony, is unlike anything you've ever seen before. The most stunning backdrop is a huge aqua pool, behind which princess Amneris' handmaidens can be seen swimming through space.

Other sets focus on clean, bright graphics. In a jail scene, 3-D images of cages seem to go on endlessly, with dark figures inside seen in poses of despair.

Crowley also designed the show's vivid costumes, featuring many of the same intense reds and oranges that dominate the scenic design. Kelli Fournier wears the most eye-catching, exotic costumes as Princess Amneris. My Strongest Suit, her spoof on being a slave to fashion trends, is the show's funniest number, featuring outrageous runway fashions.

Aida's mix of styles, both musically and visually, is part of what makes it so hot. Costumes suggest everything from ancient Egypt to Asian and Indian influences, giving Aida a timeless feel.

British actress Ivory knew she had her work cut out for her following in the footsteps of Tony Award-winning Heather Hedley, who originated the role of Aida on Broadway. Like Aida, she has more than risen to the challenge.

Ivory, who was the original Nala in The Lion King in London, joined the Aida tour just five weeks ago. But as the Nubian princess, she is perfection.

Aida, who is enslaved by the Egyptians, is a woman of mythical strength, whose loyalties are torn between her captor, Radames, and her Nubian people. Aida challenges Radames, forcing him to see things outside his own limited perspective.

Ivory, though tiny, is fierce, with glinting eyes and sweeping arm movements. Patrick Cassidy, playing Radames, is convincing in his transition from arrogant soldier to a man who would sacrifice everything for love.

Aida and Radames are swept away by a love beyond their control, and we are swept away with them.

Ivory is most riveting in Dance of the Robe, where we see every bit of turmoil on her face as her people beseech her to act as their leader. The pivotal moment, where Aida accepts her duty and joins her people's frenzied dance, is Ivory's finest.

Deserving a special mention is Robert Neary, who plays the despicable Zoser, Radames' father. This gospel singer rocks in both Another Pyramid and Like Father Like Son, the latter sounding most like classic Elton John.

Sexy dancing, including undulating belly dancing and African-inspired dance, dominates the show. In Another Pyramid, Zoser's eight henchman perform a threatening-looking acrobatic dance with a strong hip-hop feel.

Northeast Ohio audiences couldn't ask for a finer night of entertainment. Verdi's Aida ends in tragedy, but Disney's love story ends on a note of hope.