Las Vegas headliner among leaders in new entertainment venue
Teller says he and Penn Jillette built their careers in theaters like Third Street.
It’s not a small statement, from the silent (on stage) member of Penn & Teller, celebrating their 50th anniversary as a duo this year.
But Third Street is … what, exactly?
It’s theater you might know formerly as Downtown Cinemas, before that Art Houz Theaters, and before that Eclipse Theaters. The venue is on 814 S. 3rd Street in downtown Las Vegas, the new name fitting the “where” of it all.
Third Street represents a transformation in the venue as a locally supported “cultural incubator and creative campus,” as co-founder Daz Weller of Vegas Theatre Company describes.
January is the targeted grand opening.
The newly refashioned project is a partnership between Weller, William Adamson and Ann Pongracz of VTC; Ginger Land-van Buuren of Vegas City Opera; Teller; Robert Lee and Kelsey Borlan of Laugh After Dark Comedy; and project architect Alexia Chen.
VTC, Laugh After Dark and Las Vegas Sinfonietta chamber orchestra are the announced resident arts companies. The theater currently houses eight cinemas, a restaurant and an event space. Planned for development in phase one are six performance and production venues, including 250-seat proscenium theater, a 150-seat black box, two 60-seat screening rooms, a 400-person event/rehearsal hall, and a full media production studio..
A 600-seat theater and large-scale production studio are in the phase two development plans. The emphasis is on performance, education and production. Ideas will be hustled along efficiently from concept to curtain.
Internationally famous and locally active, Teller is among Third Street’s backers and visionaries.
“This scale of space gives new artists a chance to be seen in the best possible light, with the best possible support,” the magician says. “Now that Vegas is a real place with a growing arts scene, this is something we can’t afford to live without. The arts are not just a business or a decoration, but an essential infrastructure.”
There is some lifting to be done among the creative team. Weller says the terms of the lease have been agreed upon, the document all but signed. The team needs to raise $5 million total, $200,000 already committed. The first of two fundraising galas is set for mid-October. A donor naming campaign is also in the master plan.
Of course we are in a big “ask” environment among Las Vegas arts companies and projects. Mark Shunock’s vision of The Space 2.0 and Nevada Ballet Theatre’s efforts to fund “George Balanchine’s The Nutcracker” are but two major initiatives ongoing this year.
But Weller is confident the public will hit the charity throttle on Third Street. He makes a persuasive argument.
“We’ve been exporting our talent and importing our culture. It’s time to reverse that,” said Weller, VTC’s executive artistic director. “Las Vegas is overflowing with creative potential, but without proper infrastructure, we keep losing our best artists to other cities. Third Street is how we change that … With strategic investment and community vision, we can deliver a world-class facility in months, not years.”
Sideline Sudeikis
For the first time in a long time, I interacted with the great comic actor Jason Sudeikis, who was courtside at Sunday’s Aces-Fever game at T-Mobile Arena. The “Ted Lasso” star was taking in the game with his 9-year-old son, Otis; and 7-year-old daughter, Daisy, 7.
The last time we’d spoken to Sudeikis was 2003-ish, when he was in the “Second City Las Vegas” cast at what is now Bugsy’s Cabaret at the Flamingo.
“I remember when they sky-hooked you to ‘SNL,’ ,” I said in our brief confab.
“That’s a good way to put it,” Sudeikis said with a grin. He’s known as a big Caitlin Clark fan, but he likes all pro hoops. The Aces took care of business, 89-81, with an impressive 18,547 in the house.
Blue Men go national
Last week, we reported Blue Man Group’s closing in Boston left the show at Luxor as the only BMG production in North America. That distinction didn’t last long. The troupe is embarking on “Bluevolution, National Tour,” its first such series since 2023. The tour starts in January. Las Vegas won’t be on it, because Luxor.
In addition to the live tour, BMG content is available on FAST (free, ad-supported TV) channels. Blue Man Group programming will go live at midnight-5 a.m, 7 a.m.-1 p.m., and 5-8 p.m. Pacific time on the Cirque du Soleil channel.
The exclusive channel is available on Amazon, Distro TV, Plex and Anoki TV and Philo. The difference between the streaming service and BMG live: No plastic needed to protect from splattering paint.
Cool Hang Alert
Miss Melanie Moore, a wonderful singer and also a fabulous usher (Dolby Live is where she does that) is on stage from 8-11 p.m. Thursday at the Dispensary Lounge on 2451 e. Tropicana Avenue. A very chic lineup with Brenda Cowart as music director, Steven Lee (aka Brenda’s husband) on guitar, Brahm Sheray on bass and Adam Shendal on drums. No cover. Two-drink minimum. Go to thedispensarylounge.com for intel. And as always, try the cheeseburger.
John Katsilometes’ column runs daily in the A section. Contact him at jkatsilometes@reviewjournal.com. Follow @johnnykats on X, @JohnnyKats1 on Instagram.