UNLV’s Performing Arts Center to stay vibrant despite competition

Wednesday, Oct. 5, 2005 | 7:46 a.m.

In a city built on flashy entertainment and lounge acts, the more refined performing arts in Las Vegas have been a quieter presence, listed on UNLV playbills and concert programs rather than blazing Strip marquees.

While pop acts and celebrities work showrooms, clubs and arenas, Itzhak Perlman, Vienna Boys Choir, Yo-Yo Ma and modern dance troupes perform at Artemus Ham Hall.

Actor Hal Holbrook packed the place. In their later years, Rudolf Nureyev, Rosemary Clooney, Isaac Stern and Andres Segovia made stops there.

Pianist Jose Iturbi relaxed in the janitor's closet between piano sets. Savion Glover and Gregory Hines have tapped the stage. Bob Woodward and Thomas Friedman spoke there.

Harold Weller, musical director for the Las Vegas Philharmonic, probably put it best when he said recently, "Without Ham Hall we would still be in the dark ages."

But plans for a downtown performing arts center are moving forward. Musicals and Broadway stars continue to serve the Strip. Some longtime patrons wonder if the UNLV Performing Arts Center, which celebrates its 30th anniversary this season, will remain a cultural haven in Las Vegas.

Larry Henley, director of artistic programming and production for the Performing Arts Center, which includes programs at Ham Hall, Judy Bayley Theatre and Black Box Theatre, says yes -- even as the Las Vegas Philharmonic and the Nevada Ballet Theatre eye downtown as their future home.

If anything, a downtown performing arts center would give Ham Hall room to breathe, Henley said. Ham Hall is booked solid with campus and affiliate programs.

Besides, Henley said, "There's still going to be an outlet here for other productions while things are going on down there. You'll see us continue to be involved in academic training that goes on at other universities."

And with UNLV's additional buildings and growing enrollment, President Carol Harter says Ham Hall will remain valuable as an arts center and draw in potential donors and supporters.

"It's sort of the window to the university for many people," Harter said. "There are people who -- the fine and performing arts are their life -- once on campus, exposed to campus life, are more sensitive to the university as a whole."

Visions of Midtown UNLV, a college-centered cultural community, also place Ham Hall safely in future activities. This summer Ham Hall even traded out its tattered orange chairs with plush "Rebel Red" ones, a $500,000 project, half of which was paid for by donors.

"It's central to the Midtown concept," Harter said. "The kinds of activities we do there are the kinds of activities we want in Midtown."

Jeff Koep, dean of the College of Fine Arts, sees the Performing Arts Center as part of the history of Las Vegas' cultural scene.

"We want the students at UNLV to have the experience they might have at other campuses ... If someone moves from Chicago, they want to see what they had in Chicago."

But finding big-city experiences can be a challenge in Las Vegas. Henley, who sees himself as the "referee" of Ham Hall, has the delicate job of trying to bring in these performers at costs below what Strip showrooms offer. He also has to find a balance between cutting-edge performances and the more popular, tried-and-true artists.

The modern dance group Bill T. Jones/Arnie Zane Dance Company did not sell well. Twyla Tharp Dance brought less than 900 audience members into the hall, which seats more than twice that. Former Broadway performer Faith Prince drew a meager 400 attendees.

The Herbie Hancock Quartet, which performed on a Saturday night, had such a dismal turnout the jazz musician addressed it with the audience.

When violinist Nigel Kennedy performed at Ham Hall, the first half of the concert went well. But when he came out for the second half and performed Jimi Hendrix songs, "people started leaving in droves," Henley said.

Safe bets for Las Vegas audiences are European orchestras, which are much more affordable than American counterparts, and European ballet companies.

"We do well with what we call Russians in tutus," Henley said. "It's a self-supporting operation. That makes it difficult to be adventurous and to take risks. Modern dance is a tough sell here. But we have a great dance program, and we owe it to them."

Perlman, Betty Buckley, Mandy Patinkin and the Budapest Orchestra are some of the big sellers. In a 2003 audience survey, 51 percent said they'd like to see more performances by Broadway stars. Coming in next were orchestras (47.7 percent), vocalists (26.3 percent) and ballet companies (24.2 percent). Jazz ensembles, world music and modern dance came in last, helping to explain the Performing Arts Center's lack of cutting-edge performances. Also, more than 86 percent of its audiences are age 45 and over.

This season the center's New York Stage and Beyond series will feature Bebe Neuwirth, a booking three years in the making for Henley.

Henley said that he'd love to bring in Bernadette Peters, but she charges upward of $100,000 a night and has it in her contract to cancel if she gets a show.

Lamar Marchese, president and general manager of Nevada Public Radio, which has a promotional affiliation with the Performing Arts Center, says he understands some of its booking challenges.

"This is a tough town to do this in," Marchese said. "You've got to fight multimillion-dollar marketing by the hotels and the people they bring in.

"There's an old song I sing about Las Vegas: That it's an undereducated town and there's a high correlation between education and the arts," Marchese said. "The percentage of people (in Las Vegas) who have a college degree is way below the national average."

But, he added, the Performing Arts Center has a created a niche in the market by scheduling acts that hotels might not consider.

"They one thing that they suffer from is that they don't have adequate backstage space," Marchese said. "It limits them as far as performances. Ham Hall is primarily a music space."

There's no denying that from Henley, who said that Ham Hall was built as a classical music building that at one time was pegged to have a fly gallery added so that operators could rig scene changes used in theater and opera productions. Henley said that last phase could still happen.

Regarding Strip competition and a downtown center, Henley, Harter and Koep all say they welcome it.

"It's a natural outgrowth of the education of the city," Henley said. "It's going to happen sooner or later. That's what cities do. The consumer is going to be the winner in this."

Kristen Peterson can be reached at 259-2317 or kristen@lasvegassun.com.

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