Local arts activities will blanket the valley this fall

Thursday, Sept. 23, 1999 | 10:23 a.m.

On one end of the spectrum we have "Airplane" and "Naked Gun" star Leslie Nielsen starring in a dramatic presentation honoring Clarence Darrow. On the other we have the Vienna Boys Choir.

Then we have famed vocalist Michael Feinstein. Violin virtuoso Itzhak Perlman. Broadway star Betty Buckley. The Drummers of West Africa.

Entering the 1999-2000 season, the UNLV Performing Arts Center cannot be labeled staid or one-dimensional.

"I think our lineup is as good as it gets for any top-flight performing arts center in the country," UNLV Performing Arts Center Director Myron Martin said. "We've taken the tradition of the Charles Vanda Master Series and expanded it."

Performances at Arteums Ham Hall in the new Best of New York Stage Series kick off with Friday evening's concert by Feinstien, designed to usher in a series of top-flight Broadway-quality performances. Also scheduled to grace the Ham Hall stage in the Best of New York Stage Series are the Carnegie Hall Jazz Ensemble on Nov. 13, the New York Voices on Nov. 19 and Nielsen in "Clarence Darrow -- A One-Man Play" on Dec. 5.

The Carnegie Hall Jazz Ensemble is made up of "some extraordinary studio musicians," Martin said. Reviews of the New York Voices have called the singing group a younger, hipper version of the Manhattan Transfer and Nielsen's appearance is part of a national tour serving as a warm-up for his Broadway appearance early in 2000. Buckley, one of Broadway's most respected performers, brings her one-woman show to Las Vegas on Feb. 8.

"We want to take what the Performing Arts Center has offered over the years and retain that tradition, as well as having a much broader scope," Martin said.

The Moscow State Radio Symphony & Chorus opens the Vanda Master Series on Oct. 5. The Vienna Boys Choir performs Nov. 6-7, classical pianist Earl Wild (who, at age 85, is still considered one of the world's premier pianists) appears Dec. 3 and Perlman (who has already sold out three-quarters of Ham Hall) makes his third Las Vegas appearance on Jan. 22, a night before the Drummers of West Africa opens the World Stage Series.

The ambitious schedule closes with Wynton Marsalis and the Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra on April 16.

For more information, call 895-2787.

"We want Artemus Ham Hall to be known as a place for a great cultural experience," Martin said. "Our motto is that we want to be the cultural heart of Southern Nevada and we hope to live up to that."

But the Performing Arts Center on the UNLV campus is far from alone among organizations providing cultural diversions in the Las Vegas area. Also this weekend is the 13th annual Nevada Shakespeare in the Park's performances of "Hamlet," scheduled for Friday and Saturday at 7 p.m. and Sunday at 6 p.m. at Foxridge Park in Henderson.

Performing at Nevada Shakespeare in the Park for the third time is La Petite Musicale of Los Angeles. Lloyd Cutler, president of the Arts Council of Henderson/Green Valley, estimates that more than 25,000 people attended the festival in 1998 and he hopes to surpass that mark this year.

For more information, call 566-2681.

Following is a look at some of the area's highlights between this weekend and January:

The City of Las Vegas Cultural and Community Affairs Division

The Cultural and Community Affairs Division sponsors dance, theater music and poetry over the 1999-2000 season. A few of the select productions and performances:

For more information, call 229-6511.

Las Vegas Art Museum

The presentation marks the first time this particular Chagall collection, on loan from collector David Rogath, will be displayed anywhere in the world.

For more information, call 360-8000.

Las Vegas Philharmonic

For more information, call 895-2787 or 258-5438.

Actors Repertory Theatre

Nevada Opera Theatre

Nevada Theatre Company

For more information, call 873-0191.

Nevada Ballet Theatre

For more information, call 804-0244,

Clark County Parks and Recreation

For information regarding the Amphitheater concerts, call 455-8200. For information regarding "Tri-Art," call 455-8239.

Community College of Southern Nevada Performing Arts Center

All events are at the Nicholas J. Horn Theatre unless otherwise noted:

LI>"Winter Dance Concert," Dec. 10 (7:30 p.m.), Dec. 11 (2 p.m. and 7:30 p.m.).

For more information, call 651-5483.

Signature Productions

Theater in the Valley

Off-Broadway Theatre

For more information, call 737-0611.

The Asylum

Specializing in new American plays, the Asylum productions include

All performances are at the Winchester Center. For more information, call 893-8980.

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