Easter bonnet contest raises bar for creativity, money for charity

ohn Ivanoff sat in his nun's habit backstage at the Chippendales Theatre, contemplating his future: Would he fall and make a spectacle of himself while wearing his nearly 6-foot-tall Easter bonnet?

Or would he, as the nun Mary Whoeveryouwant, simply make a spectacle of himself?

Well, he didn't fall when he walked onstage wearing his Easter bonnet shaped like the bell tower of St. Rose Dominican Hospital, complete with cross at the top. But judging by the way the audience gasped at his appearance, he made a spectacle.

Looking every bit like a nun balancing part of a hospital on her head, Ivanoff strode onstage, hands firmly on bonnet and mind focused on staying upright. The wood and rose-covered tower was a bit top-heavy, Ivanoff said, and he tried it on for the first time only that morning.

Still, the bonnet's impressive size and his balanacing feat weren't enough to put him in first place during the second annual Las Vegas Easter Bonnet competition, a benefit for St. Therese Center, April 5 at Chippendales Theatre in the Rio.

Instead, Ivanoff finished third while Art of Love, a group of Cirque du Soleil performers, won with a giant contraption that required two people to wear it.

Three bonnets tied for second place: "Phantom -- The Las Vegas Spectacular," Tiger Lily Flower Shop and "Jersey Boys."

Fourteen bonnets were showcased during the contest, with ticket proceeds going to the St. Therese Center, which provides outreach and services to more than 3,500 locals with HIV and AIDS.

The contest is sort of a spinoff of a New York fundraiser started more than 25 years ago by Broadway performers, said producer Amelia Keene, a local Realtor and former Broadway performer. She had the idea to do the show here last year when the center's director, the Rev. Joseph O'Brien, said he wanted to do a spring fundraiser. Last year's show raised $10,000, he said. So far, this year's fundraiser brought in more than $12,000 with additional donations expected to come by mail in envelopes provided at the show.

The competition is for the best Easter bonnet, but these creations are like bonnets only in the sense that they are worn on the head.

There were wedding cake bonnets; boat bonnets; a house with a picket fence bonnet. Tiger Lily Flower Shop created a floral bonnet with a giant butterfly on it. Several local businesses and organizations entered the contest.

Representatives and performers from "Jersey Boys," "The Soprano's Last Supper," "Phantom -- The Las Vegas Spectacular," "Tony 'n' Tina's Wedding," "Jubilee!" and "Chippendales: The Show" were among the participants from the local performing community who made bonnets and modeled them during the show. They sang, they danced, they looked fabulous in makeup and costume, all in an effort to win nothing more than bragging rights.

"Phantom" performers dressed as choir members and sang Queen's "Bohemian Rhapsody." Toward the end of the song, a woman appeared wearing a giant sequined Viking helmet bonnet, a la Bugs Bunny in "What's Opera, Doc?" She fake-stabbed a singer with her spear to vigorous applause.

The Chippendales bonnet was an oversized top hat with shirtless Chippendales dolls on it. They beefed up their entry with beefcake, three bare-chested Chippendales dancers.

Shade Tree Shelter for Women and Children entered a bonnet that looked like Noah's Ark with cats and palm trees on board. The "Tony 'n' Tina's Wedding" bonnet, a wedding cake with gifts, spewed soap bubbles. "The Soprano's Last Supper" bonnet featured a mock pork shop, a stripper on a pole and lots of play money.

In the end, not even Office Max's utilitarian bonnet with highlighters, erasers and hole punchers could overcome the surrealism of Art of Love's bonnet. It involved a miniperformance from Cirque du Soleil jugglers and dancers, a woman on stilts and the unfurling of banners that spelled out "Art of Love."

Contact reporter Sonya Padgett at spadgett@reviewjournal.com or 702-380-4564.