The showroom is Vegas traditional, with semi-circle booths and long skinny tables lined with banquet style chairs. It’s a lousy way to see a show since inevitably your neck will be craned to the side to get the best views but this is how most showrooms of the era were done so it’s hard to fault them too much on it.

Another throwback is the showroom has full Maitre d’ seating so if you want to be up front, tip the guy at the door. You want a slightly more comfy booth? Tip bigger. This kind of setup used to be standard but is very rare in Las Vegas these days and we’re happy to see it go away. We find guys in tuxedos wanting money intimidating, but maybe that’s just us.

“Legends” is the only celebrity impersonator show left in town where the impersonators actually sing. Most others have resorted to lip-synching. This is both a good and bad thing and this is where we come back to the “it depends” part of our review. Since these people can’t rely solely on looks, the show itself, and therefore your enjoyment of it, is going to totally depend on the talent of the particular performers on the evening you attend. Since they have a rotating cast of impersonators it’s kind of a “luck of the draw” evening.

When we first saw “Legends” many years ago we hit it on a good night. There was a very good Dolly Parton, a fantastic Charlie Daniels, a decent Elvis, and three other acts that ranged from fair to passable.

This time around our average wasn’t quite as good.

The show opened with a Ritchie Valens impersonator doing the late singer’s hits like “La Bamba” and “Oh Donna.” It was hard to judge this guy… after all, who remembers clearly what Ritchie Valens looks and sounds like? And the show’s production values weren’t much help either. Instead of broadcasting photos of the real Ritchie Valens they showed clips from the movie “La Bamba” while the impersonator performed. Yeah, he kind of looks like Lou Diamond Phillips but is that really the point?

Next up was a Janet Jackson. Okay, so here’s the danger of an impersonator show. We’re huge Janet Jackson fans. Big time. So when you have someone who only looks like her if you’re one of those people who thinks all black people look alike and doesn’t sound anything like her (the impersonator was actually a better singer) it is not all that entertaining.

And sorry, but if you’re going to impersonate a singer and her songs, at least get the lyrics right. The line from “Nasty” is not “I’m not a fool” – it’s “I’m not a prude.”

We will give serious kudos thought to both the performer and the dancers who worked very hard and did a great job of mastering the complex Janet Jackson choreography from her videos. While not letter perfect it was pretty darn close and trust us – this ain’t the foxtrot we’re talking about here.

For some reason this is where we noticed the staging for the first time. By the way – Joey Heatherton called – she wants her sets back.

After Janet came Tom Jones and quite frankly neither the singing nor the look was close enough to create a true illusion. He did a great job with the onstage banter but again, is that really the point?

But at least he looked more at home on Joey Heatherton’s set.

The inevitable Cher impersonator came up next. We loved her audience participation bit, dragging an unsuspecting member up for a painful rendition of “I’ve Got You Babe,” but we were left a little cold by the rest of it. It was sort of like a celebrity impersonator doing an impersonation of a drag queen impersonating Cher. We know a few drag queens that impersonate Cher and this was remarkably similar – and not necessarily in a good way.

Then came the highlight – the reason this show has worked for 20 years. The three women doing Diana Ross and the Supremes were sheer perfection. True, they may not have actually looked all that much like the originals but with the hair, the costumes, and the pitch perfect vocal impersonation we didn’t care. Their simple choreography evoking the best Motown style of the era put it over the top and we wanted them to stay all night.

Unfortunately, they had to vacate the stage to make way for the Elvis impersonator. Whether he was just bad by comparison or was simply the “Worst. Elvis. Ever.” is up for debate but just about the only thing he got right was the sweating part.

So ultimately, whether “Legends in Concert” is worth the relatively inexpensive $39.95 (including tax, tip, and a drink) is totally dependent on which “legends” you get to see. The first time we thought it was worth it. This time, not so much. Next time… who knows.

For 20+ years and a fantastic Diana we’ll still give this one a solid B.