Elvis Impersonator in Simi Valley

We went to The Simi Valley Cultural Arts Center last night to see Raymond Michael, an Elvis impersonator. We used to see him at Knott's Berry Farm when the kids were little, and even Glen enjoyed the show at that time.

Interestingly, Raymond Michael, who is a nationally known Elvis Impersonator, lives in Moorpark, right next door to Simi. He teaches chorus and musical show production at Moorpark High School during the year and tours during the summer with occasional shows on weekends. He also does a "Superstars of Las Vegas" bit featuring Tom Jones' and a couple of Engelbert Humperdinck hits.

Since it was a local show, he had friends and family, including his younger two sons, four and six, in the audience. He was quite proud to introduce them, and he mentioned that his nineteen-year-old son has started starring in local musical theater productions. When I talked with him a bit after the show, he mentioned that his older son used to perform with him occasionally as the Young Elvis. I'd like to have seen that, but I never even knew about it before.

As for Raymond Michael himself, he's getting a little arthritic to be doing the Elvis moves as smoothly as he used to (he's my age or a bit older), but his voice is still supple. His range also exceeds that of the original Elvis, and he's still slender. The Tom Jones section was less engaging than the Elvis tribute, but that is partly because only Lee recognized most of the songs. I think the theme from Thunderball might have been the only one Glen had heard before, and I remember "It's not Unusual," "What's New Pussycat," "Delilah" and maybe a couple of others from the olden days.

Now we need to see about getting tix for A Chorus Line at the Thousand Oaks Civic Arts Plaza next weekend. We can get them as part of a three show season that includes Smokey Joe's Cafe and Beauty and the Beast.