If only she played the ukulele.
Jennifer Lopez has everything else covered, aside from her own posterior — an observation, not a complaint — and mastery of a musical instrument. But if someone were to toss the little four-stringed guitar onstage during her show at Axis theater, you expect she’d be playing as a virtuoso by show’s end.
J.Lo, her nickname displayed in shapely form as the stage at the Axis at Planet Hollywood party pit, is nothing short of the new gold standard for star headliners in Las Vegas.
She is good at everything — and great at dancing — a well-schooled performer owning impressive star power, energy, easily recognizable hits and forceful attitude that shows her obvious pride in performance.
The title of this 20-show residency is on the money: “All I Have,” as the end of the sentence that begins, “I’m giving you …”
This is a generous show, folks, really generous, in terms of Lopez’s fiery work ethic (about three months of grueling rehearsals leading into Wednesday night’s show), boundless imagination in costumes and the shows’ ever-changing set pieces.
The production budget for this show penciled in just short of $10 million, and when you see the two gigantic Yankees hats, each roughly the size of a two-car garage, you understand where the money was spent.
To pick a signature scene from this show is folly, as the production is one highlight after another. It opens with a quartet of showgirls in full costume — suspended gloriously above the stage. Below are eight gents donning costumes so heavy with bling, they might be deemed too gaudy for a Liberace revival.
The band burns, as expected, with five pieces, at times sounding as big and brassy as The Count Basie Orchestra (especially during “Love Don’t Cost a Thing” and “Lot of Livin’ ” early in the show).
At the center is Lopez herself, whirling and thundering across the stage in a variety of costumes that are alike only in that they are conducive to the shimmy. A former Fly Girl on “In Living Color,” Lopez is good enough to perform as any dancer onstage — means of praise given the aptitude of the 16 gyrating performers who surround her onstage.
The show features a half-oval LED screen that in the show’s opening moments displays the skyline of New York, whence Lopez arrived. Alternately, she performs on a No. 6 subway train for “Let’s Get Loud,” inhabits a gown that rises some 30 feet above the stage (and also serves as an auxiliary video screen), and performs some sinewy acrobatics across a pink chaise lounge during “I’m Into You,” “Girls” and “Booty.”
Lopez’s rollout of hits was amplified by guest stars Ja Rule for “I’m Real,” Ne-Yo for “All I Have” and her fellow Axis flamethrower Pitbull for “On the Floor.”
Even among those stars, Lopez stood out, and we are reminded that this Las Vegas residency is a series of shows she doesn’t necessarily need to boost her place among pop-culture elite. Lopez is still a judge on “American Idol” and also is a TV star on the new NBC series “Shades of Blue.”
She could set up a run of performances that are stripped down, casual and occasional and be forgiven for that type of artistic dalliance. But this show feels committed, entrenched in its performance and financial investment, as if it will go on indefinitely.
In one of the many memorable segments from opening night, Lopez wielded a baseball bat during “Jenny From the Block.”
The neighborhood, today, is the Strip, and the night was a home run from the girl who presides over a raucous block party.
Follow John Katsilometes on Twitter at Twitter.com/JohnnyKats. Also, follow “Kats With the Dish” at Twitter.com/KatsWiththeDish.
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