Jubilee

After nearly a decade as a Vegas showgirl, Patsy Rodriguez has plenty of stories about performances that didn't go quite as planned. She may not tell all, but she shares plenty when she meets visitors. Like the one about the time her wig fell off and got stuck to the shoe of her male dance partner. "It looked like he was dragging a dead dog," she says. Rodriguez tells several such stories as she leads guests on a behind-the-scenes tour of "Jubilee," the glitzy song-and-dance spectacular that's been playing at Bally's since 1981.

NAIROBI, Kenya -- The International Criminal Court's prosecutor dropped charges of crimes against humanity against a fellow defendant of Kenya's president-elect Monday, raising questions about whether the case against Uhuru Kenyatta will hold up as he is on the verge of becoming the nation's leader. Prosecutor Fatou Bensouda announced that the charges against former public service chief Francis Muthaura had been dropped because a key witness recanted and admitted he had accepted bribes.

'Jubilee!' may be just the ticket Jay Jones' article on the almost-30-year run of the "Jubilee!" show at Bally's hotel was no less than awesome ["Iconic Gem Amid Change," May 16]. I would venture to say that in the last 10 years I have stayed no less than 15 times at Bally's in search of the ultimate Vegas weekend, which is to break even. In my quest, I have to confess that I never once took in the "Jubilee!" show. My next stay at Bally's will not be without seeing this show, hearing a Cole Porter song and, dare I say, possibly breaking even.

LONDON - Ironic detachment may be the guiding principle of acceptable behavior in Britain, but Hannah Prince is having none of it. British flag in hand, the 21-year-old university student traveled to London from western England to attend the Olympics with her boyfriend, both of them ready to cheer their hearts out for "Team GB" with no trace of self-consciousness. "We're a lot more reserved than other nations, whereas Americans will wave their flags at anything. We should do more of it," Prince said.

"Jubilee!" has a cast of about 100, most of them dancers. Each dancer has a six-month, renewable contract and has to re-audition; about 10% of the company turns over twice a year. The money isn't much -- salaries average just over $30,000 a year -- but the job offers vacation and health benefits, prized commodities among the non-union productions on the Strip. But talk to cast members and you find it's about the opportunity to actually dance.

On a recent drop-in to Las Vegas I looked around the plane and wondered what the travelers near me were looking forward to most. Success at the tables or slots? A five-star meal? Or just a chance to put aside worries about the economic realities of the last year? For me, it was "Jubilee!" Never heard of it? That's no surprise, since it's arguably the least hip show on the Strip. On the other hand, there's a chance you may have seen it but just have forgotten about it.

The one constant at "Jubilee!" during its 28-year run has been stage manager Ffolliott "Fluff" LeCoque, on hand six nights a week to run the show. Not unlike "Jubilee!" itself, the 85-year-old LeCoque is an icon in the history of Las Vegas entertainment. LeCoque first hit town in 1947, making $35 a week in a dance line that filled in for Liberace between sets. Las Vegas didn't impress: "It died during the week, just busy on the weekend with L.A. people in to gamble."

'Jubilee!' co-designer: An article about the Las Vegas production "Jubilee!" at Bally's on July 5 said Bob Mackie designed the costumes. Pete Menefee co-designed them with Mackie.

Say, we're watching a remake of the Civil War, with Newt Gingrich as Jefferson Davis. States vs. Feds and Bull Run. Bring the Jubilee! WILLARD OLNEY Hesperia

During his 1933 inaugural address, President Franklin D. Roosevelt correctly identified speculation using borrowed money as the major reason for the plight of the banking system at that time. More than 50 years later, speculation is again the reason for the plight of our financial institutions. A case in point is the number of Orange County banks that have gone under because of losses in real estate loans (Picking Up Pieces of Failed Banks Can Turn Out to Be Risky Venture," June 2). Following his inauguration, FDR closed the banks and then should have declared 1983 to be a year of jubilee.

Andrew Lloyd Webber has another hit single -- this time fit for a queen. "Sing," the official song of the Diamond Jubilee, is the top-selling song of the year and the album of the same name also reached No. 1, ousting Adele's Grammy-winning album "21" from top 10 for the first time in 18 months. The last time Lloyd Webber performed such a musical feat was in 1976 when the album for Evita and "Don't Cry for me Argentina" were simultaneously at the top of the charts. The single, which sold more than 142,000 copies since last week, was presented to Queen Elizabeth II on June 4 to mark her 60 years on the throne.

For the past three days, the residents of Great Britain have been joyfully commemorating  Queen Elizabeth's Diamond Jubilee with a series of huge public celebrations. Jon Stewart, however, isn't that impressed.  On Monday's "Daily Show," the host devoted an entire segment to poking fun of all the pomp and circumstance -- and toCNN'sfawning coverage thereof. After a groaner worthy of the Borscht Belt -- “Sixty years on the throne? Get that woman some fiber!

President Obama has offered Britain's Queen Elizabeth II the "heartfelt congratulations of the American people" on the occasion of her Diamond Jubilee (watch video below). In a video message, Obama said the queen was a "living witness" to the power of the special relationship between the U.S. and U.K., and the "chief source of its resilience. " "As a steadfast ally, loyal friend and tireless leader, Your Majesty has set an example of resolve that will be long celebrated," Obama said.

British Airways shared the above archival photo of a telegram from mother to daughter - but not just any mother and daughter. The mother was the onetime Lady Elizabeth Angela Marguerite Bowes-Lyon, whose husband was King George VI; the daughter was Elizabeth, who was on her way to a tour of Australia and New Zealand when she received news in Kenya of the death of the king, her father, on Feb. 6, 1952.   Here's what the telegram says: Address: “Her Majesty the Queen.” Text: “All my thoughts and prayers are with you. Mummie Buckingham Palace.” The message, says British Airways (BOAC, British Overseas Airways Corp.

Americans may be more enamored of the royal family than the Brits. There is something so delightfully, well, foreign about the concept, and something so endearingly stuffy about a monarch who is always perfectly groomed and a perfect lady. As Californians, don't you long to see her in shorts and flip-flops just once? Probably not going to happen. But we imagine you'll see her in a slightly new light after you take this quiz about a queen who became queen only because her uncle abdicated to marry the woman he loved.

As Britons celebrate Queen Elizabeth II's 60 years on the throne this weekend, Anglophiles can mark the Diamond Jubilee without having to leave the Pacific time zone. Beginning Friday and running through Sept. 3, the Royal BC Museum in Victoria, Canada, is presenting an exhibit of portraits and informal photographs of the queen. The photos by royal photographer Sir Cecil Beaton - some never before publicly displayed - depict Elizabeth as a princess, monarch and mother.

NAIROBI, Kenya -- The International Criminal Court's prosecutor dropped charges of crimes against humanity against a fellow defendant of Kenya's president-elect Monday, raising questions about whether the case against Uhuru Kenyatta will hold up as he is on the verge of becoming the nation's leader. Prosecutor Fatou Bensouda announced that the charges against former public service chief Francis Muthaura had been dropped because a key witness recanted and admitted he had accepted bribes.

LONDON - As a Californian, I had forgotten that you don't cancel your life just because it rains. If you did, you'd never see anything in London, at least not recently. And there is much to see. Too much, in fact. It's a travel buffet, and it's hard not to load your plate with a plethora of monuments, historic buildings and churches. It's important to see that London, but it's imperative to see the lesser-known London, if only to escape the hordes who are coming here for the Queen's Jubilee from June 2-5, World Pride from June 17-July 8, the Summer Games from July 27-Aug.

British Airways thinks 1952 was a very good year -- and a very good price for an airfare sale. Queen Elizabeth II ascended to the throne that year and celebrates her Diamond Jubilee this year. The airline has a special offer for those who want in on the celebrations: Fly in style in business class round-trip from L.A. to London or Manchester for $1,952. The deal: Last-minute partiers may carve out time to fly across the pond and cash in on this deal. The big Diamond Jubilee celebrations in London are slated June 2-5, though there are on-going events on other dates around the country.

The first Queen Elizabeth was standing under an English oak tree when she learned that she had become queen. The second Elizabeth was high up in a mgumu tree in Kenya when she became queen, at the moment her father, King George VI, died in his sleep more than 7,000 miles away. That was 60 years ago Monday. Come June, when the London weather is as good as London weather gets and the tourists are massing, Elizabeth Alexandra Mary, the second- longest-reigning monarch in British history and only the 40th in nearly 1,000 years, will officially celebrate her diamond jubilee.