Terry Fator: Live from Las Vegas

America's Got Talent winner Terry Fator, an extremely gifted singer and ventriloquist, struts his stuff in this one-man show taped at the Las Vegas Mirage, where he currently works five nights a week on a five-year contract valued at a measly $100 million. A decent ventriloquist can always get by on stage as long as he fools the people in the first few rows, but Fator is covered by cameras all the time, his act visible in close-up on oversized monitors suspended above and to both sides of the stage—a true testament to his talent. Most of his songs—covers of tunes by Etta James, Roy Orbison, Louis Armstrong, and Sonny and Cher—are performed by his puppet characters, but Fator also occasionally takes the mike himself. Unfortunately, his comedy patter between songs leaves a great deal to be desired (he really ought to spend some of that excess cash on better writers), with corny variations on gags that stopped being funny several decades ago, and some off-color double-entendres. Fator is not a “blue” comic by any means, but while the marketing material calls his show “fun for the whole family,” a few of his lines are inappropriate for young viewers. Those lapses in taste aside, Fator's act spins out a fast-moving set of music and fun. Recommended. Aud: P. (E. Hulse)