9/13/2023
Education and Outreach
As a nonprofit, The Smith Center will expand its Disney Musicals in Schools program this year to middle schools. Previously offered only at elementary schools, this initiative helps under-resourced schools create their own sustainable musical-theater programs.
9/11/2023
Discovering The Smith Center
When Ana Reyes hears people compliment how glittering clean The Smith Senter looks, it fills her with pride. As Assistant Director of Housekeeping, Reyes and the rest of The Smith Center’s 20-member housekeeping department work hard 24 hours a day, 365 days a year to keep the center spotlessly clean.
9/6/2023
Supporting the Arts
As the holiday season ramps up and charitable giving increases, it’s important to know that helping The Smith Center can also have a practical side. According to Emma Medas, Smith Center director of philanthropy, making year-end charitable contributions to a nonprofit like The Smith Center can offer significant benefits for personal income tax planning.
9/6/2023
Performances and Artists
Luckily, his satin-smooth vocals, rollicking piano stylings and charismatic personality drew attention. He eventually landed a starring role in a musical about Frank Sinatra at the legendary Birdland Jazz Club.
9/5/2023
Performances and Artists
Henry’s upcoming show promises to be an uplifting one, thanks to her album’s sunny tunes. Featuring a wide range of melodies by greats such as James Taylor, Stevie Wonder and even acclaimed songwriter and indigenous activist Buffy St. Marie, the setlist represents iconic melodies that Henry carefully curated over several years, she says.
9/1/2023
Broadway Las Vegas / Performances and Artists
People young and old recognize the tale of Peter Pan, but do they know the story of how this beloved character came to be? Hit musical “Finding Neverland” explores the surprising backstory of the famous Lost Boy. Even beyond this imaginative musical, however, there is much to discover about how Peter Pan originated.
8/24/2023
Education and Outreach
When Andrew Wright walks into the CARE class he teaches at J.E. Manch Elementary School in Las Vegas, he knows the students selected for it have experienced challenges he could never understand. But he also knows something else: that once these students act out a scene, or play a theater game, many of them start smiling and talking freely about their lives and emotions.
8/23/2023
Education and Outreach
Bruce Ewing still remembers feeling uplifted as he watched a performance of musical “In the Heights” at a Southern Nevada high school. “I counted at least 40 to 50 kids in one dance number, and they were great,” recalls Ewing, who has starred in several Broadway national tours. “They just connected to the material. You could see they were so happy, doing a show that spoke to them.”
8/22/2023
Performances and Artists
When acclaimed vocalist Jane Monheit calls herself a “Christmas fanatic,” she means it. “I could put up my Christmas tree (in July),” laughs Monheit, who has performed in leading venues such as Carnegie Hall and the Hollywood Bowl. “We had to switch to a fake tree, because we leave it up for over two months.”
8/16/2023
Discovering The Smith Center
Of all the shows Niki White has experienced at The Smith Center, her favorites definitely include “Riverdance.” She enjoyed the complex step and tap dancing, she says, plus the lavish, velvet costumes and the enormous set pieces. It didn’t matter that White, a Las Vegas resident who is blind, couldn’t actually see any of this – because The Smith Center’s audio describer informed her of every visual detail on stage, allowing her to enjoy it fully.