LAS VEGAS – In what promises to be the performing arts worlds’ biggest and perhaps most glamorous grand opening of a new venue, officials at Las Vegas’ new Smith Center are touting its March 10 premier performance as “an unprecedented lineup of artists from the worlds of music, television, stage and screen.”
The $470-million Smith Center is being hailed as a monumental achievement between public- and private-sector partners.
Actor Neil Patrick Harris will host the celebration which will feature performances by Academy Award winner Jennifer Hudson; country artists Willie Nelson, Merle Haggard, Emmylou Harris and Martina McBride; singer songwriter Carol King; trumpeter Arturo Sandoval; violinist Joshua Bell; gospel great Mavis Staples; Train lead singer Pat Monahan; and American Ballet Theater dancers Marcello Gomes and Luciana Paris.
Broadway will be represented by a who’s who of current stage stars including Tony winner Brian Stokes Mitchell (Kiss Me Kate, Man of La Mancha, Ragtime) Laura Osnes (Grease, South Pacific, Anything Goes), Cheyenne Jackson (television’s Glee, 30 Rock and Broadway’s Finian’s Rainbow, All Shook Up), Sherie Rene Scott (Aida, Dirty Rotten Scoundrels, Little Mermaid, Women on the Verge), Montego Glover (Memphis, Color Purple) and Benjamin Walker (Bloody, Bloody Andrew Jackson, Inherit the Wind).
“This will be an unforgettable night in an unforgettable new performing arts center,” said Myron Martin, president and CEO of The Smith Center. “I expect this to be a great night for the artists and the audience – a truly once-in-a-lifetime experience.”
The Smith Center opening is being produced and directed by George Stevens, Jr. and Michael Stevens, who produce the Kennedy Center Honors each year. The performance will be taped for a national television broadcast at a later date.
The artists will be backed by “a world-class orchestra,” according to a statement issued by Smith Center officials, featuring Musical Director Rob Mathes, producer and musical director for Sting and winner of four Emmy Awards in the same role for the Kennedy Center Honors.
