Terry Fator won America’s Got Talent in 2007 — the first ventriloquist in the show’s history to take the title — then spent 11 years in a record-breaking headliner residency at The Mirage in Las Vegas. His “Pure Imagination: Once Upon a Voice” tour brings that catalog of characters and impressions to the Riviera Theatre in North Tonawanda on Sunday, June 6.
About the Show
Fator describes the “Pure Imagination” production as deliberately different from his earlier touring work. “Pure Imagination is a totally different concept than my road shows in the past,” he has said. “I found that throughout my life my imagination has spawned countless characters, song parodies and comedy skits and I compiled them all together to give my audience a fun look into my creative psyche.”
The 90-minute show builds around a cast of puppet characters: Winston the Impersonating Turtle, the puppet that helped Fator win AGT; country star Walter T. Airdale; Julius, an Apollo Theater legend who performs in Doo Wop and Motown; Vikki the Cougar; the perpetually lazy Maynard Tompkins, billed as the world’s greatest Elvis impersonator who never got around to learning any Elvis songs; and Duggie. Celebrity impressions fill the rest of the runtime, with Willie Nelson, Michael Jackson, and Justin Bieber confirmed in the lineup alongside a rotating slate of surprise guests Fator keeps unannounced. He has more than 100 voice impressions in his repertoire.
The show runs clean and family-friendly, which makes it one of the easier variety acts to bring a mixed-age crowd to.
Fator took home $1 million when he won AGT, then signed a contract to headline at The Mirage, where “Terry Fator: The VOICE of Entertainment” ran for 11 years, earning him Las Vegas awards for Best Show, Best Impressionist, Best All-Around Performer, Best Family Show, and Best Overall Show. When Fator appeared on The Oprah Winfrey Show in 2008 alongside Simon Cowell, Cowell called him one of the “two most talented people on the planet.”
Venue & Logistics
The Riviera Theatre is at 67 Webster St in North Tonawanda, just north of Buffalo. Fator performed here in November 2024, and the return date suggests the show and the room are a good fit. For anyone making the trip from across Western New York, a Sunday afternoon 3 p.m. start leaves the evening free.
Tickets
Tickets are $54–$69. Buy tickets through the Riviera Theatre.