‘Fantasy’

Angelica Bridges was about to sing "Fever" for the very first time as the new star of "Fantasy."

One reason the Luxor topless revue has lasted 10 years is that it makes small changes fairly often, navigating the fine line between consistent and stagnant.

For its 10th anniversary, producer Anita Mann decided bolder steps were in order. She signed model and former "Baywatch" babe Bridges as the new singing host. The show never shuts down, so new numbers are added one night at a time.

"I love to get new things thrown at me," Bridges said before a recent show. "But I don't like to present it to the world until I own it. I'm a perfectionist. I want to rehearse with a mirror, with a choreographer, for at least a week before I get onstage."

No such luck here. Working on the fly -- and on a budget -- is breaking the redhead of her mirror fixation. On the night of her 36th birthday, Bridges sang the Peggy Lee standard in front of the audience, not the mirror, with a va-voom that echoed Bridges' redheaded inspiration, Ann-Margret. Both sides seemed pleasantly surprised by the outcome.

The same can be said of "Fantasy" as a whole. People go in expecting a topless show and they get a variety show in disguise.

It has been such for a long time now, but Bridges helps answer the question of the Australian guy with the very large beer sitting next to me: "Are there going to be enough boobs to fill an hour and a half?"

Rest easy. There are breasts o' plenty, in all shapes and sizes, from ballet sleek to Vegas-girl implants. And you see them in scenarios that never get too corny for the American male, from cheerleader locker room to cowgirls in red hats and boots -- required by law to be accompanied by Big & Rich's "Save A Horse (Ride A Cowboy)."

But they wouldn't sustain an 80-minute show (at least not without lap dances). The Australian and his friends cheered Bridges' singing and the manic comedy of Sean Cooper. That's saying something, considering they didn't show up to see a dude dress up like Tina Turner, or do a white-face goof on Michael Jackson.

(The latter seemed weird, perhaps too soon after Jackson's death. But maybe it's a healthy sign that we're moving on, taking him off the pedestal and making fun of him again.)

"Fantasy" also lets each dancer have a personality, starting at the end of the opening number when they shout their names while popping their tops for the first time. There are strong featured solos: a Cuban salsa by Yesi (last names withheld to ward off cyberstalkers) accompanied by conga drumming, a silk aerial act by Sonya, and a "lady cop" striptease by Tracey that will have the guys ready to hold up a liquor store.

Bridges chats up the crowd with ease but is still finding her way into the girlie action. Her vocal segments tend to rotate with choreographer Cris Judd's dance numbers. And because you horndogs will ask: No, she doesn't go topless. Not unless you count a two-story silhouette behind a giant screen.

But most people will figure out Bridges is there to sing, even if they didn't know she fronts a pop group called Strawberry Blonde, or that she sings her original composition, "Do It to the Music," in "Fantasy."

It's easy to assume Bridges is an answer to Holly Madison's headlining "Peepshow." While it's no secret the former Girl Next Door is expected to sell tickets, Bridges claims there is no pressure on her to do the same. She's more the icing on the cake, a semifamous face to boost the marketing.

Fanboys may remember her as a '90s action babe in the syndicated TV "Conan" or "Mortal Kombat Conquest." Both were "kick-ass roles where I'm doing martial arts and sword-fighting ... and then I get onstage and I'm like Jessica Rabbit singing sultry numbers."

And not in front of a mirror either. "But that's good for me though," she says. "Tough love. It's really good training for me. "

And, by all measures, good for "Fantasy," too.

Contact reporter Mike Weatherford at mweatherford@ reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0288.