Wayne Newton Gets Up Close and Personal at WHBPAC

Legendary Artist and musical icon Wayne Newton is making his way from his classic Las Vegas performance, to the Hamptons on July 8, when he will perform at the Westhampton Beach Performing Arts Center (WHBPAC).

The show, titled “Wayne Newton Up Close and Personal,” will take the audience on a journey throughout Newton’s career, with performances of hit songs and personal stories. Newton has been performing in Vegas for 64 years, accumulating more than 40 million audience members along the way, his team said. His career has set a record of over 25,000 Vegas shows.

“I came to Las Vegas at 15 years old and started downtown at the Fremont hotel,” Newton explained in a recent phone interview. He had to get a special permit to work because he was so young, and he has never stopped performing since. “I got hit with six shows a night, six nights a week for five years, and on the 20 minute break each hour, I had to go out and stand on the street because I was not 21 and not allowed in the casino.”

Newton expressed deep gratitude for the Las Vegas community for supporting him from such a young age. “The local people really took me in and looked out for me and made sure that I survived this industry and didn’t get in trouble, didn’t get on the wrong path, all those kind of things,” he said. “So, performing has been truly one of the loves of my life.”

Recently, Newton returned to Flamingo Las Vegas Hotel & Casino to perform “Up Close and Personal.” This is Newton’s first time performing on the East End.

“I’ve never played the Hamptons before, but New York City and Atlantic City and Westbury and all those places, I have played, and of course New York has been so very kind to me and my career,” Newton said, noting his first television appearance was The Jackie Gleason Show from New York City, and it’s where he met Bobby Darin who “headed up” his recording career.

“I spent a lot of time in New York and have wonderful feelings,” he said.

Having been a Vegas mainstay for so many years, Newton likes to have a change in venue and travel for performances, which is why he decided to do this show. It was also the stellar reputation of the Performing Arts Center that drew him to the region.

“I’ve never played there before, but I’ve heard nothing but wonderful things about it,” Newton said.

Another benefit of the WHBPAC venue is its intimacy, said Newton, who gears each of his performances toward what the audience wants to hear.

“Shows change and we really never did the same show twice for that reason,” he said.

After all of his years in show business, Newton’s favorite part of performing is what he calls the “heart” of his audience. In all his shows, he starts off by doing three different types of songs at the beginning of his set.

“That tells me pretty much where the audience is, whether they want to hear standards, or they want to hear my recordings of things,” he said. “Much depends on East Coast versus West Coast. And Las Vegas is so different from playing anywhere else because you get such a diversion of the audience, meaning that everybody is truly from somewhere else. Therefore, it behooves me to find out where they are, what it is they like to hear and that kind of thing. But most of all, it has to come from the heart.”

Throughout his career, Newton has recorded 155 albums to date, and over 200 singles. It’s his hit song, “Danke Schoen,” which was featured in the movie “Ferris Bueller’s Day Off,” and lip-synced by actor Matthew Broderick, playing Ferris, that he looks most forward to sharing.

“That has been a highlight of my career, because it really caused me to be a hit all over again,” Newton said. “Daddy Don’t You Walk So Fast,” one of his top songs of the 1970s, is another hit Newton loves to share. “Red Roses for a Blue Lady,” “At This Moment,” “The Letter,” “Summer Wind” and “Years,” are also on the list of hits Newton frequently performs.

Ultimately, for Newton, performing is about connecting and bringing joy to his beloved fans.

“I’m looking forward to looking at the smiles on people’s faces and bringing some happiness into their lives and helping us get over this terrible time we’re all going through in this country with all the changes and everything that’s going on,” he said.

“Wayne Newton: Up Close & Personal” is Saturday, July 8, at 8 p.m. at WHBPAC. Tickets are $200 to $250 at whbpac.org. Westhampton Beach Performing Arts Center is at 76 Main Street, Westhampton Beach.