It Takes a Village to Host a Tourist

11:45 a.m.

It’s the day before opening night, and the excited cast of “CabaRAE” is assembling for a blessing and a press conference, mostly attended by media from Japan. Billed as “Random Acts of Entertainment,” the show includes singing, dancing, magic, impersonations and aerial acts, performed in a new $5 million, 350-seat in-the-round showroom. Craig Reid, from Scotland, known as “Hula Boy” (not for the dance, but the hoop), is in the white Elvis bodysuit, hair slicked back. Richard DeFonzo is a cleverly combined impersonator of Joel Grey and Liza Minnelli from the movie “Cabaret.” The Hilton’s show is an homage to Spiegeltent – travelling tent shows that toured Europe in the late 1800s and early 1900s.