Talent coming to Smith Center as dazzling as the building

Talent coming to Smith Center as dazzling as the building Half a billion dollars can pay for a lot. , who also happened to be Holmes' performing idol. For nearly six years, the showcase has drawn cast members from the best Vegas production shows to such off-Strip venues as the since-closed Suede Restaurant (in the same complex as Double Down Saloon), Liberace Museum, Creative Studios, and Garfield's Restaurant in Summerlin. The allure has been that guests — many of them the entertainers themselves — can be treated to top-level performances of artists performing original numbers at a cost of … about nothing. The cover has for years been $10; seating has been open. He has performed at all variety of Las Vegas venues, including the lounge at Stirling Club at Turnberry Place, Artemus Ham Hall and the showroom at Harrah's, where he headlined for five years through 2006. Thus, Holmes knows the arts-and-entertainment scene in Las Vegas. At Smith Center, that figure has been doubled. Some of the informal vibe that made Composers Showcase popular will dissipate, no doubt, and the series is starting on a month-to-month basis. Holmes is also friendly with a range of performers, from lounge musicians to members of the Las Vegas Philharmonic. He plans to invite the best vocalists and players in the city to join him in his weekend performances, and he hopes to fold in a regular "gypsy" show, a midnight performance on Saturdays staged exclusively for local entertainers. As in: What is in it for us? For this night crawler, that conversation starts at Cabaret Jazz. It keeps the beat. If the Composers Showcase can take hold at Smith Center, and becomes "a cool hang," to use Holmes' term, guests will be more likely to buy tickets to book other performances at Cabaret Jazz or at Reynolds Hall. It hasn't helped that one of the venues in the original plans, a 300-500-seat theater that would have been perfect for local arts groups, was erased in favor of the Discovery Children's Museum. The great appeal for locals at Reynolds Hall — aside from its breathtaking, multitiered design and peerless acoustics — is its "Broadway Las Vegas" series. Martin says the strong ticket sales (more than 10,500 season subscribers) of the "Broadway Las Vegas Series," which includes "The Color Purple," "Memphis" "Million Dollar Quartet," "Mary Poppins," and "Wicked," was evidence that the city is ready to support shows and reverse a trend that saw "Avenue Q" and "Spamalot," (both at Wynn Las Vegas) and "Hairspray" sink in Las Vegas. Las Vegans will note that the Smith Center has drawn quite a few artists who typically performed at the UNLV Performing Arts Center. But what happens when those stars disperse, and the instruments and cameras are packed and hauled away? Those who have not yet had the chance to experience either the majestic Reynolds Hall or the cozily hip Cabaret Jazz club are already asking for the skinny on the Smith Center venues. But as that show's short run (just six weeks) helped reinforce, Broadway-styled productions have not always been an easy sell in Vegas. Helming the show will be Neil Patrick Harris, a performer with such appeal and multidimensional skills that it is a shame he is not headlining his own permanent show in Vegas. That collection of stars, and the range it represents, could populate a series of performances at the Smith Center. Talent coming to Smith Center as dazzling as the building Trade News selected by Local Linkup on 12/03/2012