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THAT’S ENTERTAINMENT
What a character
BY CAMILLE DODERO

It may not be scientifically proven, but one way to take the pulse of the populace on the eve of the new year is to find out how people like to party. For the last two and a half years, the party-planning business was in the dumpster. "Business got clobbered after 9/11," says Joseph, the fast-talking phone salesman at Party Solutions. But within the past six months, disposable income — and the elaborate events that go with it — has made a comeback. And so what do folks want when they finally have the money? According to the people manning the phones at local entertainment agencies, the usual icons — Elvis and Frank Sinatra impersonators — remain popular. Even Barney, the aggressively sanguine singing dinosaur, gets gigs. But if 2003’s most wanted reflects the state of the public psyche, things are grim: this year’s popular entertainers include Neil Diamond doppelgängers, plump pink starfish named Patrick, and, ah, not surprisingly, young naked women.

Elaine at Total Entertainment, a Peabody-based bureau that books costumed characters for family events. "The popular characters were the Incredible Hulk, the Cat in the Hat, Strawberry Shortcake, and Dora the Explorer. And there’s still SpongeBob SquarePants and his friend Patrick the Starfish, plus the old stand-bys like Elmo and Big Bird are pretty popular."

Joseph from Party Solutions, a Medford-based agency that offers everything from gorillas in tuxedos to Austin Powers impersonators. "Look-alikes are coming in very, very strong lately. This year, Bruce Springsteen look-alikes were real big. He’s doing a lot of concerts out here, so I think people like him. We also did a lot of Neil Diamonds.... We get a lot of calls for the new people — like J.Lo and Britney Spears. We just did a big party at the Radisson Hotel last night for a bunch of teens who were nuts over the Britney Spears look-alike." For corporate parties, Joseph says, "illusion and magic are also becoming very popular again too. And a lot of attorneys, for some reason, have hired a lot of tarot-card readers and caricature artists." But one thing that isn’t popular? "Belly dancers. Because of the war. You can’t give one of those away."

Darren Siman of Siman Entertainment, a Brookline-based agency that helps plan weddings, corporate events, and bar/bat mitzvahs. "Clients are getting smarter and getting hipper. They’re trying to stay away from cheesiness; they don’t want their weddings to be like The Wedding Singer.... They want a jazz trio for the cocktail hour, then maybe a steel-drum group.... In terms of DJs, they don’t want a guy with a bright-colored vest playing ‘YMCA’ or the ‘Macarena,’ they want a DJ to play hip-hop from Jam’n 94.5-FM, as well as ‘Brick House.’"

Roy Dee of Roy Dee Entertainment, a Revere-based "theatrical agency" that hires out exotic dancers. "The most popular thing, as always, are bachelor parties. But lately, I get people calling me and asking me if I could send two girls over. And I say, ‘Yeah, for what event? A bachelor party, a private function?’ They say, ‘No, it’s just for me.’ If I had an escort service, my God, I’d be rich." Not surprisingly, the hot thing for bachelor parties is "decent-looking girls who’re voluptuous. And youth. They’re always looking for the youth, someone between the ages of 21 and 30." Women, on the other hand, seem to be looking for older male escorts. "Not too old, but maybe 10 or 20 years older." One thing that isn’t popular: "Very rarely do we get a call for a he-she, which is half-woman, half-man. Matter of fact, I pass on them. Can’t keep one at bay if you only get two calls a year for them."


Issue Date: January 2 - 8, 2004
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