David Cassidy on the Web
Nevada gambol: David Cassidy eager to perform
April 2, 2006
By Mel Shields -- Bee Correspondent
www.sacticket.com
"I can honestly say I have never looked forward so much to performing as I am right now," said David Cassidy by phone from his home in Fort Lauderdale, Fla.
Cassidy just received a clean bill of health from his doctor after fighting a lingering infection. His performances this weekend at John Ascuaga's Nugget will be among his first in more than six months.
"It's just going to be wonderful to be able to be back on stage at the Nugget," he said. "I've got a celebration in store for all of us.
"When you aren't able to do what you love, you really miss it, so I'm off to Connecticut where 'The Rat Pack Is Back' is playing," he said. "I'll do some rehearsals there followed by some concerts and then I'm off to Sparks."
"The Rat Pack Is Back" is Cassidy's tribute to Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin and Sammy Davis Jr. and their legendary shows at the Sands in Las Vegas. He wrote, produced and directed it. He saw it play in two hotels in Las Vegas and now has it running at the Mohegan Sun, the giant Connecticut hotel-casino.
"I love the show and the era it represents and the entertainers in it, but you can't imagine the litigation," Cassidy said. "We own the copyright, but all these other (companies) try to do the show. We've even had ex-employees go on to produce their own 'Rat Pack' shows."
Another reason for the recent Cassidy slowdown is a commitment he's made to his wife, songwriter Sue Shifrin-Cassidy, and his son, Beau, 15, to work less.
"I am in too many businesses," he said, and he's certainly in many of them - show producing, record producing, performing, horse training, acting. He's been a busy man since his incredible arrival on the national scene in "The Partridge Family," a gig that led to hit records (the giant "I Think I Love You"), Broadway ("Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat," "Blood Brothers") and Las Vegas ("EFX," "At the Copa").
"I was first and foremost an actor. People don't know that I came to 'The Partridge Family' after doing 10 parts on television. They didn't ask if I could sing or play a guitar. They cast me as an actor."
It was a natural beginning for him. He was the son of actors Evelyn Ward and Jack Cassidy, who divorced when he was young. The older Cassidy went on to marry Shirley Jones who, entirely by coincidence, wound up playing the younger Cassidy's Partridge mom.
David Cassidy doesn't get the chance to pay tribute to his father very often, and he loves to do so, thinking him one of the great underappreciated talents in the business.
Cassidy is quick to name other influences on his life - Bobby Darin, B.B. King, Jimi Hendrix, the Beatles (when he was on "The Partridge Family," his fan club membership exceeded theirs), Eric Clapton and Cream, but clearly his father ranks high. It was even Jack who took the young David to see the real Rat Pack in Vegas.
And for David Cassidy's future? "I want to go back and do another Broadway show, but I don't want to take over for anybody. I want it to be original."
David Cassidy
WHERE: John Ascuaga's Nugget
WHEN: 8 p.m. Friday and Saturday
TICKETS: $47
INFORMATION: (800) 648-1177
