“I haven’t been back to Borgata since I filmed ‘Chic, C’est La Vie,’ Countess told the sold-out crowd of 1,000+ people at The Music Box theatre (her biggest show yet). “I feel right at home here.” That was Real Housewives of New York City cast member Luann fresh off her second stint to rehab bringing her songs and schtick to Atlantic City.
Surprise guests included Michelle Buteau, Lance Bass, Amber Martin and Mykal Kilgore.
Countess, who was in high spirits, kicked off the night with “With a Little Help from My Friends” before playfully commenting on her arrest. “I’m here, I finally made it! After being briefly detained. I had a list of songs I wanted to sing tonight, but I had to reconsider most of them like ‘Jailhouse Rock.’ Yeah, ‘I Fought the Law,’ but the law won. Crazy for thinking I could slip out of those handcuffs. I mean, what the hell was I thinking?” She added, “There’s no handles inside the cop car” as the band broke into “Rehab.” Countess joked, “I loved rehab. I loved it so much I went back again.” She also joked later in the evening that her gown was from “my new line I just lost 10 pounds in rehab so I’m showing off my ass collection.”
Lu changed gowns several times throughout the show (including a shimmering jumpsuit). Every time she came out, she’d ask the crowd to guess who made the dress, after which everyone would scream “JOVANI!” She commented, “He loves me. I can wear a dress by anybody, right? I like Jovani. It looks good on me.” When someone screamed, “Where’s Dorinda?” Countess explained, “I told you she’s in the back, cutting up my dresses.” At another point during the show, she playfully yelled, “To hell with Dorinda!”
Throughout the evening, she read stories from the past 30 years from a bejeweled diary. A few highlights:
– On relationships: “I’ve gotten a lot of grief for some of my relationship choices over the years. What can I say? I’m a hopeless romantic. I love ‘love.’ You know I’m always getting involved with some type of love affair with someone, whether it’s a pirate…he was better than Johnny Depp actually.”
– On her arrest: “Today was certainly the worst Christmas Eve of my lifetime. It’s going to take a while to process all of it, but right out of the gate, I can say I learned one thing. Everybody should memorize three phone numbers from their phone because they confiscate your cell phone! I’m staring at a pay phone, and I can’t remember one phone number to call. And the only number I did remember, I didn’t want to call,” as the band transitioned into the classic song “Almost Like Being in Love.”
– “Obviously I don’t drink margaritas very often. Why? Because I fell into the bushes, that’s why…And my daughter Victoria goes, ‘Mom but you fell so elegantly.'”
In-between lighthearted stories, Countess performed a beatbox remix of “Money Can’t Buy You Class” with Shockwave for the wild crowd. She also performed “Girl Code” for the first time ever in her show.
Highlights during an audience Q&A:
Why Carole is mad at Bethenny: “I think that Carole’s mad at Bethenny because I think she feels the shade that she’s throwing. It’s like you buy something in Marrakesh and you bring it home and think ‘what the hell was I thinking?’ I think one day she was like, I don’t know if I really like this girl that much. It seems to me that something went very south there and it’s beyond repair. Like my second marriage.”
Advice on relationships: “My best advice is always make him feel like he’s the boss even though you’re the one running the show.”
F*ck, Marry, Kill: F*ck Sonja; Marry Bethenny; Kill Ramona
This week’s reunion: “I watched five minutes of it and it was so dark. I was like, Jesus. Bethenny did a great job because she had her hands full. Wow. Well, you know Carole’s gone now” to the crowd erupting.
Which Housewife from the franchise she’d want to be stranded on an island with: “I think I would enjoy Lisa Vanderpump. At least we’d have a lot to talk about because she’s an educated lady. We’d have a lot of stories to swap. We would swap jewelry.”
Lu ended the evening thanking the crowd. “To be up here and have you guys come and fill up this venue. This is the biggest venue I’ve played to date. I’m so overwhelmed with joy, I can’t even tell you,” as “L.O.V.E.” from Michael Bublé began to play. Her encore concluded the show with her fan-favorite hit, “Chic, C’est La Vie.”