Toni Braxton brings a sexy show back to the Strip with "Revealed," which hearkens back to the Ann-Margret-era in both good and bad ways. Photo by K.M. Cannon.

Perhaps the true test of stardom is to rise above all the clutter that surrounds it.

Toni Braxton's new show at the Flamingo got off to a rocky start. But a few weeks in, it's looking as if her considerable persona can outshine a lot of cliches and missteps.

Not that all cliches are bad. The "Revealed" show assails us with sheer gowns, undulating dancers and freeze-frame poses on the mandatory staircase enfolding the nine-piece band. If it's a bit overstuffed for the Flamingo's cozy stage, how long has it been since the Strip had a star who traffics in sheer sexiness? Ain't no bad thing, baby.

But all the bare midriffs and flashing thighs would ring hollow if Braxton were to ignore the excited gents who feel compelled to express their love. Instead, she grounds herself as a married mother of two, admits she's a little nervous about this whole Vegas thing, and answers the vocal affectations with, "Don't make me cry. I want to be able to sing. I'm a crybaby. Don't do that to me."

Sure, it's tricky to balance sex and sincerity, not to mention the business of trying to sing well in the process. Braxton's whispery low contralto is often lost in the mix, and her voice seems to have lost some of the high-range sheen you hear on the records. A guy she pulled from the crowd sang "Another Sad Love Song" with more clarity.

The lead vocals aren't even convincingly live on the first two numbers, heavily choreographed and sung with a headset microphone. But the first song ("You're Makin' Me High") is always a throwaway in any diva showcase featuring a rip-away gown. And the second ("Take This Ring") expands the ogling to the quintet of female dancers.

It takes time for the star to fully warm the room. On this particular night, it was Braxton's 1992 "Boomerang" soundtrack breakthrough, "Love Shoulda Brought You Home," that pulled the crowd over from the TV-watching gulf all the busy stuff created. Later, she sits down for a newer ballad, "I Wanna Be (Your Baby)," accompanied just by guitar, to create a mood that could have come sooner.

Braxton at one point confesses she's "not a dancer," explaining why things seemed to work better once she left most of the choreography to the dancers surrounding her.

Show director Andrew Logan doesn't hold back on any Ann-Margret-era cliches, from male dancers in gangster get-up to the Bob Fosse-style chairs. But there is plenty in the music to inspire strong visuals.

The flamenco-based "Spanish Guitar" and "Trippin' (That's the Way Love Works)" are both interesting songs from which to forge mini-dramas, the later with two couples embroiled in steamy adagios. You wonder what a more audacious choreographer might do, but they at least stretch the show within its restricted stage space.

Still, the title is "Revealed," and fans walk in more interested in Braxton than in dramatizations of her song lyrics. The 38-year-old singer had a meteoric rise in the '90s and then seemed to fall off the map just as quickly. (Closer fans know it was more of a gradual slide, complicated by motherhood and litigation over business stuff.)

Here lies this forum's great opportunity for Braxton to catch people up on who she is and what she's about, and to better communicate her offstage likability. Already there's a winning narrative about her youth as "a P.K. -- a preacher's kid" and a flashback video of her first audition with Arista Records.

More, more, more.

Until that day comes, the music is the bond. Braxton's really big hits are universal, but the show treads dangerously close to treating them as throw-aways. For an audience that's been waiting for "Unbreak My Heart," is a sing-along a cop out? Is "Breathe Again" really the right time to wade into the crowd and sit on some lucky laps? Well, if you sit down front it is.

There's a thin line between the whole group ritual thing and giving the hits their due. Almost as thin as the line between Las Vegas nightclub tradition and retro camp.

They used to snicker at the notion of a Vegas showroom act, but these days it's a hard thing to pull off. Given time, it's a good bet that Braxton has the personality to do it. The looks don't hurt either.