Four Broadway musicals added to Smith Center’s 2012 schedule

Add Sardi's, testy critics and cabbies who treat traffic lights as suggestions and it's nearly Broadway.

Marquee musicals "The Color Purple," "Million Dollar Quartet," "Mary Poppins" and "Memphis" are all present, but the location of the marquee -- the Smith Center for the Performing Arts -- reveals the truth.

"I'd like to tell you some great story about how we went after four great titles and got them all, but it doesn't work that way," said Myron Martin, president of the Smith Center, which announced Thursday it has booked the Broadway tours, each for a weeklong run shortly after the downtown entertainment complex opens in March, and prior to the arrival of "Wicked's" longer engagement in August 2012.

"These were titles we were interested in that were touring in the Western United States during our opening period," Martin said. "Our goal was simply to be a stop along with L.A. and Phoenix and other West Coast markets. Las Vegas is now officially a stop on the Broadway tours."

Only the opener, "The Color Purple," is not currently running on Broadway. Set for April 3-8, "Purple," co-produced by Oprah Winfrey, is based on the novel by Alice Walker about the struggles of African-American women in the South during the 1930s.

"There's the diversity aspect of 'The Color Purple,' which we like," Martin said of the show on its second national tour, which began last year.

"Mary Poppins" and its story of a magical nanny flying by her umbrella follows May 22-27, 2012, on a tour that started in 2009.

"We liked the kid-friendly aspect," Martin said.

"Million Dollar Quartet," next up from June 12-17, 2012, focuses on an iconic recording session that brought together superstars Elvis Presley, Johnny Cash, Jerry Lee Lewis and Carl Perkins for the only time, in a tour that begins in October.

"That show is really pleasing audiences," Martin said. "People jump to their feet and they leave tapping their feet and feeling good."

Concluding the foursome, "Memphis" arrives for a July 18-22, 2012, run, based on Dewey Phillips, one of the first white DJs to play black music in the 1950s, on a tour that also commences in October.

"It's brand new and fresh," Martin said, "and it just won the Tony Award" for best musical in 2010.

They all precede "Wicked," which will be in town Aug. 29-Oct. 7, 2012, marking the start of its 2012-2013 season.

"I know we confused the market when we announced 'Wicked' first and now coming back announcing the four shows that open the Smith Center," Martin said.

"Performing arts centers tend to operate from August through May as a typical season. We're opening at the tail end of a typical season, so everything we're doing in March, April, May, June and July we're calling our opening season. Then 2012-2013 becomes our first full season."

He said events following "Wicked" will be announced in coming months, including music, dance and other performing arts at the 2,050-seat Reynolds Hall.

Though not yet confirmed, most tickets for the first four Broadway shows -- except for a handful of premium tickets -- will likely range from $24-$89.

Season tickets for all four will go on sale in July online (www.thesmithcenter.com) and at the center's office (Holsum Design Center, 241 W. Charleston Blvd.). Tickets for individual shows go on sale in the fall.

"We're considering Las Vegas to be a one-week market, and we hope it grows to a two-week market," Martin said of visiting Broadway shows, noting the exception of "Wicked's" six-week stay. "Our market is people who live here and it's based on population and comparable with cities our size. We might not fill up every single house, but that's our goal."

Opening on March 10, the $502 million Smith Center, now under construction at Bonneville Avenue and Grand Central Parkway, will be anchored by Reynolds Hall, which will also be the new permanent home for the Las Vegas Philharmonic and Nevada Ballet Theatre.

Also included will be cabaret space, a black box theater and educational facilities at Boman Pavilion, plus a new building for the Lied Discovery Children's Museum, which will drop "Lied" from its title upon relocating from the Las Vegas Library.

Financial contributors include philanthropist Elaine Wynn, who donated $5 million, and the Reynolds Foundation is the major donor, contributing $190 million.

The center is named for former Review-Journal executive Fred W. Smith, chairman of the Reynolds Foundation, and for his late wife, Mary B. Smith.

"We've been talking to our Broadway friends for years," Martin said. "It's not until the last 18 months that we heated up the conversations and got serious about putting these shows on the calendar."

Now they just need Sardi's, surly reviewers and unhinged cabbies.

Contact reporter Steve Bornfeld at sbornfeld@review journal.com or 702-383-0256.