To the Pointe: Size, scope of project impresses arts community

Jeffrey Libby

Thursday, Sept. 26, 2002 | 8:31 a.m.

Henderson Pavilion at Liberty Pointe, the Las Vegas Valley's newest outdoor amphitheater with fixed seating for 2,500 people and lawn space for up to 5,000, opens Friday night.

The amphitheater is expected to provide a much-needed venue for performing artists.

Performers have often been forced to trim acts to fit university schedules, tight stages and the acoustics of smaller community centers, local performing arts leaders say.

As Bruce Steivel, artistic director of Nevada Ballet Theater, put it: "The pavilion's very big. It's got a wonderful stage, seats a lot of people. It's nice to dance outside every once in a while."

Steivel's group, along with the Las Vegas Philharmonic and Opera Las Vegas, usher in the new performing-arts era beginning at 7:30 p.m. Friday. At 8 p.m. Saturday country star Lee Greenwood will be in concert at the pavilion.

Seen from Interstate 215 and Green Valley Parkway, the pavilion erupts like a four-pointed snow cone against the backdrop of McCullough Range. The pavilion is at Paseo Verde Parkway and Green Valley Parkway, near the I-215 offramp.

A 40,000-square-foot canopy roofs the open stage and seating area. There are approximately 3,800 square feet of stage area, an orchestra pit, a traditional proscenium arch, and a stage house constructed to "fly" scenery. An adjacent structure houses concessions and rest rooms.

Arts groups say the Henderson Pavilion will aptly complement the valley's two other central performance spaces -- Artemus Ham Hall, which seats 1,800; and Judy Bayley Theatre, which seats 600. Each are on the University of Nevada, Las Vegas campus, and accommodate students ahead of local organizations.

"It does something significant culturally for the entire valley," Henderson Mayor Jim Gibson said. "This facility, frankly, fills a void. And it's not by mistake that our first performance ... is the local talent that is rooted in the culture of Southern Nevada."

The pavilion sits on a 40-acre complex that includes the Paseo Verde Library, a police substation and the Henderson Multigenerational Center/Aquatic complex, which is scheduled to open in 2003.

American Nevada Corp., which is owned by the Greenspun family, publishers of the Las Vegas Sun, donated the 40-acre parcel. Voters approved construction money for the $12 million facility in 1997 as part of a $55 million parks and recreation bond issue.

Holmes-Sabatini of Las Vegas and Anderson, Mason, Dale Architects of Denver designed the facility.

The partnership for the arts between the city of Henderson and a developer is a new one, and one that must continue if the cultural arts are to thrive in the valley, said Margaret Trasatti, manager of Nevada Chamber Symphony.

Trasatti is also a former member of the Henderson planning committee that first proposed the outdoor performing arts center in the mid-1990s.

In the 1970s, when local visual and performing artists first organized, the Clark County Library District built the performance and gallery spaces, Trasatti said. The Library District built Children's Art Museum, Las Vegas Art Museum and the concert hall at the county's Flamingo Road library branch, among other venues, Trasatti said.

But library districts throughout the valley gave up that role in the early 1990s, and today the Henderson Public Library District has difficulty raising enough money to stock shelves with books.

"It took a little while for the city to discover it was a city," Trasatti said. "But Henderson has seen the importance of the cultural arts and is the newest city carrying forward that banner."

Judi Steele is founder and president of the Arts Council of Henderson, which has produced "Shakespeare in the Park" for 16 years. She is optimistic about the amphitheater's prospects.

"It's wonderful to establish traditions and roots, and in a new town, it's critical to allow our children to be exposed to the classics," Steele said.

And even with all the comforts of a professional, permanent stage, Steele said, "People still have the opportunity to sit under the stars if they want to."

Of course stars can be found in great numbers on the Strip, too, and Jeffrey Koep, dean of fine arts at University of Nevada, Las Vegas questioned whether Henderson will be able to draw people from around the valley to fill the amphitheater to its capacity of 7,500.

"In Minnesota, people drive 100 miles to see what's happening. But it will be interesting to see in Henderson, if people in the northwest travel to see what's produced there," Koep said.

The pavilion is under no pressure to make money, at least not initially, said Debra Haskell, parks and recreation spokeswoman.

"It's part of our services. We're starting out small," Haskell said.

In October, the pavilion hosts the three-day "Shakespeare in the Park" series. And in November, it hosts the valley's first book festival, with readings by several well-known writers, including novelist John Irving.

The city has booked 11 performances for the pavilion's official season, which runs from March through June. The acts range from the International Folk Dancers of Brigham Young University to Caribbean music of the African diaspora. Prices in most cases will range from $2 for lawn seating to $15 for a front-row fixed seat.

Mark Thomsen, artistic director for Opera Las Vegas, said he would look forward to an engagement at the pavilion, following opening night.

If it was a smallish crowd, he said that would give his group its first opportunity to perform in the valley without microphones in an acoustic opera.

"Acoustic sound is so much more gratifying, because you hear all the resonance of the actual human voice, the whole voice, not just the portion that's been miked," Thomsen said.

But for opening night, with a sellout crowd of 7,500 expected to fill the grassy seating area to its peak, his singers will have microphones.

"It's going to be packed," Thomsen said.