Briefs: Music, theater and family fun
Theater
AWARD-WINNING ‘EQUUS’
OPENS AT UNLV THEATER
The Nevada Conservatory Theatre, celebrating its 10th anniversary season, reaches even further back in time to present the Tony-winning 1973 drama “Equus,” which opens a seven-performance run tonight at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas.
Peter Shaffer’s drama focuses on the complex, unsettling relationship between psychiatrist Martin Dysart (played by guest artist Chris Mayse ) and 17-year-old patient Alan Strang (Gerrad Taylor), who has blinded six horses with a spike in a hysterical fit of passion.
Director Todd Espeland , a third-year master’s candidate at UNLV, chose “Equus” as his thesis production, in part, because “I wanted to do something more realistic — and with a lot more emotional meat to it” than the comedic productions he usually directs.
In his view, “Equus” explores “how we suppress things we really want to do,” and “when you suppress things,” as Alan does, “you tend to react in very extreme ways.”
The play, intended for mature audiences, includes scenes of full-frontal nudity — something author Shaffer requires.
“You have to sign a legal document,” Espeland notes, adding that the nudity is “very important” to the play, depicting Alan “in a moment of innocence. It’s not done for shock value.”
NCT’s “Equus” will be staged at 8 p.m. today and Saturday and at 2 p.m. Sunday in the Judy Bayley Theatre at UNLV, 4505 S. Maryland Parkway; additional performances are at 8 p.m. March 14-16 and 2 p.m. March 17.
Tickets ($20-$30) are available by calling 895-2787 or going online to pac.unlv.edu.
Music
PHILHARMONIC SALUTES
OSCAR-WINNING MUSIC
And the Oscar goes to ... the memorable movie melodies featured in Saturday’s Las Vegas Philharmonic concert, “Lights, Camera ... The Oscars!”
The orchestra’s final Pops concert of the season spotlights an orchestral tribute to five-time Oscar-winner John Williams, along with the themes from such best picture winners as “Gone With the Wind,” “Chariots of Fire” and “Rocky.”
Joining guest conductor Randall Craig Fleischer: Broadway performers Teri Dale Hansen and Nat Chandler, who will sing Oscar-winning songs from “The Way You Look Tonight” and “Over the Rainbow” to “Moon River” and “My Heart Will Go On.”
The concert begins at 8 p.m. Saturday in Reynolds Hall at The Smith Center for the Performing Arts, 361 Symphony Park Ave. For tickets ($46-$94), call 749-2000 or go online to www.thesmithcenter.com; additional concert information is available at www.lvphil.com.
Theater
‘NEXT TO NORMAL’
MAKES LOCAL DEBUT
Mental illness: something to sing about.
At least in “Next to Normal,” a Tony- and Pulitzer Prize-winning rock musical that marks its Las Vegas debut with a three-weekend run, starting tonight, at the Onyx Theatre.
“Next to Normal” (book and lyrics by Brian Yorkey , music by Tom Kitt) focuses on a mother who struggles with worsening bipolar disorder — and how her illness impacts her family. In addition to the Pulitzer Prize for Drama, the show captured three Tony Awards, including best original score.
“Next to Normal” will be presented at 8 p.m. tonight and Saturday at the Onyx Theatre, 953 E. Sahara Ave. Additional performances are at 8 p.m. March 14-16 and 21-23 and 2 p.m. March 17.
For tickets ($25), call 732-7225 or go online to www.onyxtheatre.com.
Family fun
‘LITTLE ENGINE’
CHUGS INTO LV
“I think I can!”
That’s the motto — and the message — of a new musical based on the beloved children’s book “The Little Engine That Could Earns Her Whistle,” which steams into the Historic Fifth Street School Saturday morning.
Featuring a Broadway-style score, the “Little Engine That Could” musical follows the title train’s adventures as she stays on track to transform “I think I can!” into “I thought I could!”
Produced by New Jersey-based ArtsPower National Touring Theatre, the show’s goal “is not only to teach them valuable lessons about self-reliance, but also to instill in them a genuine love of theater,” according to executive producer Gary Blackman.
The musical will be staged at 10:30 a.m. Saturday at the Historic Fifth Street School, 401 S. Fourth St. Tickets are $3; for more information, call 229-3515 or 229-6469 or go online to www.artslasvegas.org.
Music
LIBRARY HOSTS
BRASS, JAZZ BANDS
Brassy tunes — from traditional to jazz — highlight the Las Vegas Brass Band’s Sunday afternoon concert at the Clark County Library, 1401 E. Flamingo Road.
And at 7 p.m. Wednesday, the library’s ongoing UNLV Jazz Concert series continues with a visit from UNLV Latin Jazz Ensemble.
Both concerts are free and open to the public.
The Las Vegas Brass Band, founded in 1994 and modeled after traditional British brass ensembles, features professional and amateur musicians; the UNLV Latin Jazz Ensemble showcases students from the jazz studies program at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas.
For more information, call 507-3459 or visit the Las Vegas-Clark County Library District website at www.lvccld.org.
Music
UNLV WELCOMES
Montreal GUITAR TRIO
The award-winning Montreal Guitar Trio, alias MG3, returns to Las Vegas for a Wednesday night concert at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas in support of the group’s latest CD, “Live.”
For more than 13 years, the trio has built an international reputation for wit, warmth and musicianship, winning the 2011 Opus Prize for concert of the year in the jazz/world music category.
They’ll perform at 8 p.m. Wednesday in the Doc Rando Recital Hall at UNLV, 4505 S. Maryland Parkway; tickets ($40) are available by phone at 895-2787 or online at pac.edu.unlv.
— By CAROL CLING
