Wayne Newton to perform ‘Up Close and Personal’ show in Poway on Saturday

Wayne Newton — aka “Mr. Las Vegas” — is coming to Poway for the first time on Saturday.

Newton will perform his “Up Close and Personal” show that includes not only his signature songs like “Danke Schoen,” but videos and photos from throughout his life and over six-decades-long professional career to create an “intimate experience.”

The 7:30 p.m. Nov. 1 show will be held at the Poway Center for the Performing Arts as part of Poway OnStage’s 2025-26 season.

“We’re excited about it,” Newton, 83, said about himself and his accompanying team, including musicians. “This is a show I wrote specifically for places like performing arts centers. It covers my entire life onstage and off. It is really quite unique in that way.”

The show is about 1 hour 45 minutes in length with no intermission, he said.

In addition to “Danke Schoen” and “Red Roses for a Blue Lady,” attendees can expect to hear Newton sing “Daddy, Don’t You Walk So Fast,” which he said is his favorite song.

“It was chosen ‘Song of the Year’ in 1973 and was the number one song,” he said.

According to Newton, it is his personal favorite because it is the “most interesting” of all his songs.

“It was the first to talk about divorce, what happens when you leave your wife and your child is following in your footsteps,” he said.

Newton began on his musical path as a child.

“I started singing with my mother, I was three years old and sang in church. A gentleman from a radio show was there and talked me into singing in his show,” he said.

The Virginia native moved to Ohio and then to Phoenix by the time he was 10 at a doctor’s suggestion because Newton was asthmatic. It was in Phoenix that Newton and his older brother, Jerry, performed on a local TV talent show, which they won.

That led to their own TV show, “Rascals in Rhythm,” and later appearing in Grand Ole Opry roadshows and on ABC-TV’s “Ozark Jubilee,” which was performed in front of then-President Dwight D. Eisenhower.

It was not until Newton was 15, in 1958, when he first performed in Las Vegas, that he seriously considered a music career, he said.

Las Vegas is where Newton saw his career take off. He has been a headliner since 1963 and by the 1970s had become its biggest performer, hence the nickname “Mr. Las Vegas.” He has continued to perform there for decades, racking up more than 30,000 shows on the Las Vegas Strip by 2019, his 60th year on stage.

While Newton is known for his singing, he also can play 13 instruments, including piano, guitar and steel guitar. He said he will talk about the instruments he plays during the Poway show.

“I will talk about how that started and why the magic number 13, which is a little difficult to explain,” Newton said.

As for his favorite instrument, he said it depends on the kind of music he is playing.

“If it is country, then I prefer the guitar or banjo,” he said. “If I am doing songs that are the standards, then piano.”

Despite his long career, Newton still enjoys performing.

“I am the most comfortable on stage, more than anywhere else in life,” he said. “I love seeing the smiling faces and seeing how I move (the audience) as the show goes on. That has remained with me my entire life.”

While he has a planned playlist, there are times when he deviates from it based on the audience.

“We can change songs anytime,” Newton said. “If they yell a title for a song, we can do it. I have incredible musicians who have been with me a long time. So we can do anything for the crowd.”

His audiences also often join Newton in singing. Sometimes, like for his opening song “Viva, Las Vegas,” Newton will invite the audience to sing with him because “everybody seems to know the lyrics to it,” he said. Other times, attendees sing along unprompted.

Tickets to Newton’s 7:30 p.m. “Up Close and Personal” show are $89-$119 for adults; $77-$103 for seniors (65-plus), active military and students (ages 13-21); and $49-$64 for youths (12 and under). Buy at powayonstage.org, by calling 858-748-0505 or through the PCPA box office at 15498 Espola Road.