The Smith Center’s architecture takes center stage for 5th anniversary

Carson City may be Nevada’s capital, but when it came time to salute the Silver State’s 2014 sesquicentennial with an all-star concert, The Smith Center was the place — as it has been for locals since the performing arts complex opened downtown in March 2012.

From getting “Wicked” to worshipping “The Book of Mormon,” audiences have flocked to Reynolds Hall, where Broadway shows share the stage with visiting luminaries from the classical, rock, jazz, pop and comedy worlds, alongside resident companies such as Nevada Ballet Theatre and the Las Vegas Philharmonic.

The center’s celebratory concert on Tuesday will feature Broadway veterans Adam Kantor and Betsy Wolfe, who starred in the aptly named “The Last Five Years” in New York — and at UNLV. “It became what we hoped it would,” says CEO Myron Martin, who described The Smith Center as “the living room for LasVegas. … It’s grown to become greater than any of us imagined.”