In Vegas Lounge Singer Spoof, Things Go Hilariously ‘Nuts’

A chanteuse on the skids is not a pretty sight. Poor Sheila Sands. A headliner in Vegas, she went into a major depression, gaining weight as quickly as she lost jobs. Fired from Harrah’s--and warned never to go near their buffet again--Sheila wound up washing windshields at the only traffic light in Truckee. But now, thanks to the efforts of her manager, Teddy Towne (Ted Hardwick), Sheila’s hitting the comeback trail.

Or so affirms Sheila’s tongue-in-cheek program bio, which will provoke belly laughs before the lights even go up on “Love Nuts” at Cafe Largo. A dead-on parody of a bad nightclub act, the show stars April Winchell (best known for her Glendale Federal radio commercials) as Sheila Sands, a larger-than-life entertainer who looks a lot like Eydie Gorme--after an explosion at the peroxide factory.

The evening is slight but hilarious. Bedecked with pink glitter and plenty of feathers, Sheila regales the audience with goofy songs. “I Am Jewish, Hear Me Roar” is a particular showstopper. The most wondrously sleazy lounge lizard this side of the Rat Pack, Towne tootles on his trumpet and does his best to placate his prickly star. Pianist James May accompanies Sheila and her various “special guests,” including Alice Vaughn as the hard-boiled Dazzling Chi-Chi, Roy Leake Jr. as the spectacularly nerdy Little Timmy and Tim Bagley as a befuddled pizza delivery boy who wanders onto the wild and woolly scene.

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* “Love Nuts,” Cafe Largo, 432 N. Fairfax Ave., Los Angeles. Wednesdays, 8 p.m. Ends March 18. $10 cover charge. (213) 852-1073. Running time: 1 hour, 15 minutes.