SHORT TAKES : Bikel Says Show Is Different

ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. —  Theodore Bikel admits his one-man show of folk songs and show tunes isn’t the usual casino fare.

But Bikel said Tuesday that the Trump Plaza Hotel and Casino was enterprising enough to search out entertainers such as himself.

“I sing in 21 languages,” he said. “I have a wealth of material and I mix it up with more modern tunes. I do some stuff that Sting writes.”

Bikel sings from musicals he has appeared in, such as “Fiddler on the Roof,’ and also does songs from “My Fair Lady” and “Three Penny Opera.”

Bikel, who has been nominated for an Academy Award, said the number of film offers he has received in recent years has declined because he lives in Connecticut.

“Hollywood is a strange place,” he said. “If you’re not there, they think you are sick or dead. Every now and then I have to go back and show my face to show that I’m neither.”