Myron’s at The Smith Center undergoes makeover

Makeovers can happen when you need them, or when you want them. Myron’s at The Smith Center, which has boasted a beautiful countenance since opening in 2012, has nonetheless undergone a facelift.

The 240-seat “listening room” has an overhauled stage set, ordered up by Smith Center President Myron Martin and designed by Emmy Award-winning set creator Andy Walmsley.

A proper proscenium, its neon-fashioned lights changing with the music, now arcs behind the stage. The projection screen has been ditched, along with the concept of using video in performances at the 240-seat club.

This entirely elective procedure makes its premiere Friday night. Myron’s stalwart the Lon Bronson Band (which has packed the place more than 100 times since debuting in 2013) is that night’s headliner, followed Saturday by Syndee Winters (Nala in “The Lion King” on Broadway).

‘Just didn’t like it’

Martin says it was merely time to return the venue to its original vision, visually.

“It was perfect, just the way it was, and as a perfectionist, it’s hard for me to say perfect wasn’t good enough,” he says. “But there were a few things to consider as the room evolved. It was designed as a live music venue. It was a place for the live music experience. And over time, the video screen became more of a thing.”

That thing would descend in front of the static, panoramic image of the Strip.

“When you push the button and bring it in, it would cover up half of that gorgeous backdrop, the image of Vegas,” Martin says. “The video started taking a precedent over the music, and I just didn’t like it, and I didn’t care for the video screen itself.”

The landscape portrait of the Strip was designed for Alan Cumming’s PBS special nearly a decade ago. “We liked it so much, we kept it,” Martin says.

Walmsley adds that the image was inspired by the famed PBS series “Austin City Limits.”

“The performers always had this very distinctive look behind them,” Walmsley says. “Of course, ours is Las Vegas, and Myron photographed it personally, and we did a sort of montage with a more up-to-date version with a fantasy sky with oranges and blues.”

Walmsley sought to make that scene similar to the movie poster for the John Wayne Western “The Searchers.”

He has used LED tape, or a “faux neon” as he describes, to colorize the set.

“If you’re doing a 90-minute show and want to stamp you’re own look on it, people have been using video to do that,” Walmsley says. “What we’ve done now is added a way to change the lighting color for a portion of the show. If you want it more showbiz and more pizzazz, you can do that. If you’re not that kind of performer and that’s not your style, you might not use it at all.”

‘Pure music’

Clint Holmes opened the room in 2012 and has run dozens of performances since. He has effectively used archival footage and home movies of himself singing with his family decades ago. Those moments have added to his performances, which are always unique but always rooted in some to his biography and influences.

Holmes says he will miss that family video, but he says Myron’s is making the right move.

“When I play rooms that are considered music rooms, Birdland or Dizzy’s at Lincoln Center in New York, no videos are used,” Holmes says. “It’s pure music. I think that’s what Myron’s was always meant to be.”

Vegas jazz vocalist Michelle Johnson has forged a home at Myron’s with 25 performances dating almost a decade. She spoke with Martin last month about the changes. She has used projections in nine of her performances, and has used a great clip of herself singing behind Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr during the Earth Day benefit concert at the Hollywood Bowl in 1993.

“At first I was a little surprised. I thought, ‘What am I going to do in my show?’ ” Johnson says. “Then I realized I put so much pressure on myself to continue to use video. I think I went down a little bit of a rabbit hole over the years, figuring out how to use video. But removing it takes us back to basics, where we just focus on the music.”

Listening intently

Martin is an on-site visionary, often in the venue as a spectator or snapping photos. He’s always chatting with those who frequent the venue, patrons along with performers.

“I’m constantly talking to our regulars, and this was about, ‘How do we make your music listening experience even better?’ I’ve had some really good feedback on table layout, the type of chairs people like, all of those elements that go into the experience at Myron’s.”

The chairs are being upgraded as well. Martin is implementing the Chameleon Chairs Collection, elegant seats with interchangeable cushions that blend into a room’s scenery. Myron’s will keep its now-iconic Gatsby-era, Art Deco design.

Inevitably, there will be allowances in the new format. Such productions as Broadway podcaster and writer/actor Seth Rudesky’s show, which requires many video cut-aways, will need to be modified or move into the smaller Troesh Theater at Boman Pavilion. Actress-stage performer Marilu Henner has used archival video from her days on “Taxi” and in “Grease” and “Chicago” to connect with the audience. That show, and those similar, will need to be modified or moved.

Bronson puts the modifications in proper perspective. His band once headlined Ovation at Green Valley Ranch, a terrific live music venue that was pulled apart in favor of a bingo fortress.

“I think it’s fantastic that, even though it already was the best small concert venue in town, that Myron and company want to make it even better. You just don’t see that anymore,” Bronson says. “It’s always, ‘Cut the budget. Let’s downsize. Let’s turn a fantastic concert venue into a bingo hall.’ The Smith Center is the antithesis of that, striving to be even better when they are already the best.”

John Katsilometes’ column runs daily in the A section. Contact him at jkatsilometes@reviewjournal.com. Follow @johnnykats on X, @JohnnyKats1 on Instagram.