UNLV Performing Arts Center

Despite being a part of UNLV for over ten years, tonight was my first time visiting the UNLV Performing Arts Center. More specifically the Judy Bayley theatre. I went to see A Christmas Carol starring Armin Shimerman as Ebenezer Scrooge. I know him from Star Trek and Buffy The Vampire Slayer. I am a fan of both shows which is what drew me here tonight.
I arrived too early tonight and sat outside for 30 minutes before the doors opened. Once inside, I was greeted by the very friendly and informative staff. They pointed out the bar, the merchandise table and the information table. They even mentioned that there would be a meet and greet after the show. More on that in a moment.
I walked around the lobby and sat for a while more before seating began. There were architectural plans for the set on display. Also, character and costume drawings. There was even a section for people to put on and get photographs of. This was all interesting and a great way to feel connected to the production. What piqued my interest the most was the collection of photographs which had nothing to do with the show. But there was a photo of David Hockney, an artist I am a fan of. There was even a photo of Andy Warhol. Cool stuff.
I made my way to my seat about 10 or 15 minutes before show time. It was enough time to get familiar with the set and the theatre as a whole. This is a nive small venue. More intimate and accessible than larger places like the Smith Center. I had a great seat in the fourth row dead center. I was practically at stage level. For sure one of the best seats in the house. Though I get the impression, based on size alone, there is not a bad seat to be found.
After nearly an hour of on stage action, there was a breif intermission followed by another 45 minutes of play time. It was a great production. Funny. Touching. Intense. A little bit frighening. I loved it. And the standing ovation at the end tells me that everbody else did too.
With bows and the curtain call complete, the cast raced their way to the lobby ready to greet adoring fans like me. The cast were all gracious but we all wanted Armin. People were asking for autographs. A group of Trekkers, myself included, wanted a picture. He asked that we wait for the line to die down. We did wait and got our picture. A great way to end a fun evening.

A Christmas Carol written by Charles Dickens has been adapted so many times in so many forms. I read the book years ago and I have watched Scrooge come to life by way of George C. Scott, Patrick Steward, & Mr. Magoo. It was my good fortune to see it in the Judy Bayley Theatre on the UNLV campus last night and I would recommend it to anyone whose needle is stuck in the red zone of Bah Humbug!
The production is amazing and Armin Shimerman nails it as Ebenezer Scrooge. He, and the rest of the Cast deserved every bit of applause they received at the end and more. If the sparkling performance of the cast, wonderfully sung Christmas carols, and much appreciated hard work by all those involved to bring a Classic to life is not enough; a reasonable ticket price, comfortable seats, and spotless venue tips the balance. I will definitely be watching for it next year and I plan on scooping up tickets to see To Kill a Mockingbird in February.
There are 3 more performances left this year: tonight, Friday ¹²⁄₁₁ & Saturday 12/​12, 8:00pm.
I used Google maps on my phone and found the parking structure with no trouble at all.

Performances here are always excellent. I’m never dissatisfied when I go to a concert here. The lobby and theater are clean. The bathrooms are well kept as well. It’s very easy to acquire tickets to the performances and I think it’s great that some of the tickets sold have student discounts.

Went to orchestra 2 at unlv Artemis center and it was enjoyable. People were dressed from casual to gowns. Tons of space and the crowd was pretty pleasant.
The performance was entertaining. The music was of high quality but one of the dancing section was of poor quality. Great show and would defiantly do it again.

We have a pretty hilarious story about how we got so desperately lost trying to find the performing arts center on campus. We asked many people and I don’t understand why it was so hard, but there is not so great signage to direct you. Of course, it doesn’t help if you are not from the area and not familiar. Anyhow, we found the place and parking was very easy and ample. We were in attendance for the Mark Twain Tonight! performance by Hal Holbrook, which was excellent by the way.
There are many stairs to get to your seat, if you have mobility issues you may want to purchase in an accessible area. Every seat was great, so if you get a row farther away from the stage it is still a comfortable view.

Was lucky enough to watch a concert rendition of Les Miserables here at the Artemus Ham Concert Hall on Saturday 2÷15÷14 my wife and friends.
Located off of Cottage Grove Dr and Maryland Parkway as the main cross street, you can park in the structure that is right next to this place. Since it was after school hours, you didn’t need a permit or have to pay to park. Yay!
The theater itself kind of has an old school feel to it. I guess you can say it has an early form of stadium seating. Be careful when looking for your seat here because there are quite a bit of steps involved leading to your seat.
The music acoustics of the place is captivating. This place is truly designed for live musical instruments. In this case, it was a whole orchestra lead by a conductor. When they play their instruments, the music seems to float effortlessly through the air and into your ears. I like the fact that they did not use any microphones next to any of the musicians to amplify the sound. It was definitely not needed. You can hear all the instruments nice and clear.
As for the voice acoustics, well… I think it can use some upgrading. On stage they had I would say about a dozen mics set up for the performers. When I say upgrade, I mean that they need to either get better mics or a better sound mixer/​amplifier. It could also be the speakers they were using as well. Reasons why are whenever the performers would do their thing whether it was a solo, duet, or group act, not all the mics seemed to be tuned at the right volumes. When you hear them sing coming out of the speakers, it sounds like it can use some clearing up or some form of higher amplification for a cleaner sound. Of course this doesn’t mean the people singing were not any good. Matter of fact they were all excellent worthy of a big name production company sponsoring them on a major tour.
So any time you have chance of watching a show here with live instruments, don’t pass up on that opportunity for you will experience and appreciate what live music really sounds like. Hopefully after this review they improve upon the voice acoustics so it can compliment the former. Until then, it is 4 solid stars for me!
Unilocal 2014 365 Review Challenge #49

Ready to listen to the middle schoolers rock out in band! Here we are in 117 degree heat to check out a bunch of 5 year old hip hop ballet stars. This is so cool.
The UNLV Performing Arts Center and Hamm Hall is AMAZING.
a. Parking — Huge parking structure right next to Hamm Hall, great for the heat and so close to the center. Amazingly convenient. Who could have planned this better?
b. The Facility — Awesome seating. Every row and seat has the right amount of space. The acoustics and sound is balanced. The views are all great from all seats. This is first class.
c. The Stage — Just right, esy to see, and the right size for a variety of events.
This is 4 star across the board. If you ever are invited to an event here, you will be happy with the facility.

This is a great, old school theater. It seats around 600 people.
Tickets for shows are relatively inexpensive (between $ 20 -$ 30) and there really isn’t a bad seat in the house.
Support local artist and theater. Yes, the Smiths Center is wonderful, but it also rapes the hell out of your pocket book.
See a show here. You’ll love it!

I want to make sure that this place gets the recognition it deserves. With all of the sudden interest in the performing arts with the multimillion dollar project downtown it disturbs me that it seems no attention is paid to this Las Vegas institution.
As a student at UNLV I was able to see world class artists from musicians to dancers to everything in between. The staff are professional and make all experiences there a blast.
It is a shame to see how few people the shows draw to the underwhelming lack of support by the city of Las Vegas both in terms of the residents and politicians.

I went down to the Artemus W Ham Concert Hall this evening to check out the UNLV Symphony Orchestra. They played three pieces. I enjoyed the first piece, which was «Short Ride in a Fast Machine» by John Adams. It’s fast-​paced and energetic. The middle piece was a Mozart Concerto. It felt a little sleepy, but that was probably just me. The final piece, a Symphony by Schumann, had a better composition to it, but as it turns out, the sleepiness was indeed me. In any case, I enjoyed the concert.
This is actually the first time I’ve been inside this concert hall. I thought I had been years ago. Before I went to UNLV, I saw a production of Cabaret, but it turns out that was in the Judy Bayley Theatre across from the concert hall.
The concert hall itself is interesting. It has this «cloud» system that can raise or lower the acoustic height of the ceiling. From what I understand, it is always at the same height. The seating itself is nice and spacious with good visibility. The sides of the hall are strange. They look like giant locker room cubby holes. I’m not sure if those are for acoustic purposes. The nice thing about the Performing Arts Center is that it’s right next to the parking garage. Anyone can park there after hours (except in marked 24-​hour tow-​away spots).

The Nevada Conservatory Theatre at UNLV is an excellent place for those who enjoy live theatre, great performances, and a venue away from the Strip and the hubbub there.
I have been a season ticket holder for 3 years getting ready for the 4^th year in September. Sure there were some plays that weren’t as enjoyable as others. But, most have been top notch, showcasing the talent in the fine arts programs at UNLV.
The new season brings the plays Fool For Love, Count Dracula, The Fantasticks, Summers of Fear, and Noises Off. In addition, there are three Black Box productions The Hot L Baltimore, Spring’s Awakening, and Trojan Women. These will be in the Judy Bayley Theatre.
Go see one of these shows and perhaps get hooked. I know, I did!