Revamped Aladdin Theatre set to pick up where it left off

Friday, Aug. 18, 2000 | 8:34 a.m.

Many fans who used to attend events at the old Aladdin Theatre for the Performing Arts have been granted a wish -- not by a genie but by a $25 million renovation project.

The transformed structure, which was left standing when the adjoining hotel-casino was imploded in 1998, will be unveiled Saturday when the curtain goes up at on Latin singing sensation Enrique Iglesias.

Construction crews have worked around the clock for the past several weeks to complete the theater, which opens two days after the the debut of the brand-new Aladdin hotel-casino and the adjacent 130-store Desert Passage retail mall.

The questionable acoustics and poor line of sight that some say cursed the building's original 7,000-seat auditorium have disappeared in a cloud of construction dust.

"We have virtually eliminated all of the sound and sight-line problems," Gary Kehm, the theater's production manager, said. "Before, there were bare walls and giant glass windows -- the dome (in the ceiling) was just exposed wood."

The old seats have been replaced. The large windows, which reflected sound, are gone. The bare walls have been covered with acoustic paneling and the dome treated with sound-absorbent material.

"The theater has been gutted," Lynn Holt, spokesman for the Aladdin, said. "There's a completely new sound system and new lighting has been installed. It is substantially a different theater."

Neil Diamond, who had vowed never to play Las Vegas early in his career, was the first to perform at the original $10 million Aladdin theater when the venue opened in July 1976.

According to published reports at the time, Diamond received the largest salary ever for a performer here -- topping Frank Sinatra's $250,000-a-week figure.

Diamond sold out five performances over a three-day engagement. How much he received was never revealed.

The rock band Motley Crue was the final act to perform at the theater in November 1997.

Between Diamond and Motley Crue, a wide range of acts and events appeared there -- Bing Crosby, Pearl Jam, Phish, the Doobie Brothers, Jefferson Starship, the Bolshoi Ballet, the Peking Opera, the Miss Universe Pageant, "Guys and Dolls," featuring an all-black cast, and several nationally televised boxing matches.

Tradition continues

Aladdin Senior Vice President of Entertainment David Attaway says he wants to continue the tradition established by the theater.

"Our goal is to keep it highly diversified," Attaway said. "We want to bring back true concert settings to Las Vegas."

The auditorium is a rare mid-sized venue in the Las Vegas market -- fitting in between the larger concert arenas that seat more than 10,000 and the smaller showrooms, which hold 1,200 or more.

A curtain system will vary the capacity from 2,500-7,000, creating a showcase for major concerts and more intimate shows.

The theater will be able to host superstars, touring theatrical productions, boxing events and nationally televised award shows, Attaway said.

He noted that much of the work on the theater focused on creature comforts.

"There were no restrooms upstairs; there wasn't an elevator or a concession location. We've added those in," he said.

Singer Lou Rawls, who was among the first entertainers to play the theater, remembers the days of no restrooms.

"There where just holes in the floor where the toilets were supposed to be," recalled Rawls, who opened Thursday at the new Blue Note Jazz Club, which is part of Desert Passage.

Despite the missing toilets, the theater had a promising beginning and received Billboard magazine's Trendsetter Award for "expanding the city's first concert hall facility on the Strip, and expanding the city's live talent capabilities," in 1977.

Though the facility was perpetually underfinanced and danced with bankruptcy for much of its existence, it continued to draw some of the top entertainers and large crowds until the problems overwhelmed it and the rest of the property.

Because of a financial roller-coaster ride the property experienced through the early 1990s, the theater began to suffer from age and lack of upkeep. Top acts willing to play the venue became increasingly difficult to find. Chicago-based Jam Productions and Phoenix's Evening Star Productions began producing events at the Aladdin in 1981, bringing more than 150 acts to the theater before it closed.

The two companies have been retained to pick up where they left off.

Evening Star President Danny Zelisko said he was not as bothered by the sight and sound problems at the theater that others complained about.

"I've always absolutely loved the theater," he said. "Of course, it's like any other place -- it helps if you're (seated) in the middle of the auditorium in the first 20 rows."

Zelisko said negotiations are underway with many groups for future shows.

"We're doing a show with the (German rock group) the Scorpions in September and they'll have a 64-piece orchestra," he said. "The English heavy metal band Iron Maiden will be here in September, also."

Although many of the initial acts will be rock groups, Zelisko said diversity will continue to be a key element at the theater. "I'm very anxious to see the place up and rolling again," he said.

More entertainment

Although the multipurpose theater may be the crown jewel in Aladdin's tiara, when the construction dust finally clears there will be several other entertainment venues at that corner of Las Vegas Boulevard.

Inside the resort is Sinbad's Lounge, overlooking the casino floor. When a yet-to-be named 1,200-seat showroom is completed (a date has not been released) it will offer a production show in the early part of the evening and become a nightclub following the show.

Soon phase two of the Aladdin's construction will get underway with the "Music Project," which will entail building a 1,000-room hotel, a 50,000-square-foot casino, a 1,400-seat nightclub and a variety of restaurants and bars -- all with a theme of music and entertainment.

In the Desert Passage mall, two Mediterranean-themed nightclubs are planned, and the Blue Note Jazz Club is already open for business.

The Las Vegas franchise is the fifth Blue Note to open since the original began catering to the jazz crowd in New York City's Greenwich Village in 1981. Three of the cabarets, which offer dining as well as entertainment, are in Japan.

Rawls and jazz legend Nancy Wilson opened the Las Vegas Blue Note Thursday night and will be there through Saturday.

Several other acts have been booked through the first of December, among them the Duke Ellington Orchestra, Cassandra Wilson, Peabo Bryan, Chick Corea, David Sanborn, Greg Allman, Robert Flack and Chuck Mangione.

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