4/3/2025
Broadway Las Vegas / Inside the Theater
(Clockwise from back left) Tony and Beverley Calabrese, Kenman Vanderpool and Kelly Long-Vanderpool, and Larry and Donna Lapow in their Wednesday-night Broadway parterre box at The Smith Center.
Kelly Long-Vanderpool looks forward to her Wednesday-night Smith Center visits for the world-class Broadway shows, of course. But those outings have also come to represent something else exciting for her and her husband, Kenman Vanderpool: a chance to catch up with friends they made through their Smith Center subscription.
Kelly and Kenman have been Smith Center Broadway subscribers since the performing arts center opened in 2012. And for the past seven years or so, they’ve shared their parterre box with Beverley and Tony Calabrese and Larry and Donna Lapow.
“It's been so fun getting to know them and really becoming friends,” Kelly says. “We first met at The Smith Center, and now we catch up on life every time we see them.”
The three couples have become so close, they even meet up beyond their shared nights at The Smith Center.
“A couple months back, around the holidays, we all met up and went to The Bronx Wanderers at South Point,” Kelly says. “One of the other couples got everybody tickets, and we all met up and shared a table.”
Kelly and Kenman have a storied personal history within Las Vegas’ entertainment scene. Kelly, a dancer, moved here to perform in long-running showgirl revue Jubilee! and has also worked on Peepshow, Sirens and Legends in Concert, while Kenman, a dancer and aerialist, has performed in Peepshow and with Lionel Richie, among others.
The pair originally met one-another while both were performing in Show in the Sky at the Rio – and went on to get married at The Smith Center in June 2024.
They remain dedicated to live music and theater, having attended more than 100 shows at The Smith Center since its opening 13 years ago. Kelly lists Six, Jagged Little Pill, Kinky Boots and Beetlejuice among her favorite Broadway musicals she and Kenman have caught here.
“I save all the programs, and I flip through them sometimes to remember all the great shows we’ve seen at The Smith Center,” she says. And to think back on the memorable times they’ve had with their friends, the Calabreses and Lapows.
“I hope more people get to know their neighbors, or just anyone near their seats,” Kelly says. “When you have those season tickets, you're at the Smith Center almost once a month, and what a fun way to really get to know people.”
For information about The Smith Center’s upcoming 2026-2027 Toyota Broadway Las Vegas® Series, visit TheSmithCenter.com/Broadway.