Vegas Magazine - Niche Media - There is a place beyond the crowds, beyond the ropes, where dreams are realized and success is celebrated. You are invited.
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PHOTOGRAPHY BY DAVID BAZEMORE (GLASS); TOMASZ ROSSA (LE RÉVE) TRI OUT Deep Fried Twinkie by Wendy Steck. Ira Glass onstage with Monica Bill Barnes and Anna Bass. on stage The concept of Ira Glass's new stage show, Three Acts, Two Dancers, One Radio Host, is to marry storytelling and dance, and the horn-rimmed host of the esteemed radio program "This American Life" has pointed words for anyone who finds that idea aberrant: He agrees. "The most important thing to say is that we know this is ridiculous," he quipped to an inter- viewer before the 2014 premiere of the show, a collaboration among Glass, dancer/choreographer Monica Bill Barnes, and dancer Anna Bass. Be that as it may, the production has scored with audiences ever since it debuted in a miniature version at Carnegie Hall in 2013, spawning a national tour that visits Las Vegas this month. The unlikely collaboration came about after Glass saw Barnes's dance company perform and was struck by a strong connection between the dancers' work and his own, even if his medium has no visual elements and theirs has no words. As on "This American Life," he says, "They were documenting small, very relatable human moments" while at the same time trying hard to entertain. That encoun- ter led to a 2012 film project and now this 90-minute theatrical production, which stages "This American Life" interviews with dancing, props, and costume changes. It also incorpo- rates personal stories from the three performers—and yes, Glass even busts a few moves himself, although he's the first to admit he's unlikely to swap the microphone for the merengue anytime soon. January 17. Reynolds Hall at the Smith Center for the Performing Arts, 702-749-2000; thesmithcenter.com Host with the Most IRA GLASS STAGES "THIS AMERICAN LIFE" STORIES WITH THE HELP OF SOME FINE-FOOTED FRIENDS. BY CHRIS ERIKSON // inside theater // ON WITH THE SHOWS WYNN'S AQUATIC ACROBATIC SPECTACULAR Le Rêve—The Dream, with its thrilling high dives and synchronized swimmers doing the tango in red high heels, is nearing its 10th anniversary. To celebrate, the show has been given a new $3 million installation— choreographed by Maksim Chmerkovskiy, winner of Season 18 of Dancing with the Stars—featuring performers dancing through fi re. Pyrotechnics not your thing? Steve Wynn has put together a splashy new production called Showstoppers, with 34 singers and dancers and a 30-piece orchestra re-envisioning Broadway's biggest numbers. 702-770-7000; wynnlasvegas.com After a decade of advancing the Vegas art scene, Trifecta Gallery will close in January and owner Marty Walsh will relocate to Ireland. But there's still time to appreciate the contem- porary works that have made the gallery so prominent, locally and globally, with an exhibit of Abigail Goldman dioramas and pieces by Wendy Kveck. And what of Trifecta's legacy? Walsh, who will be leading an artists council for a new museum currently in development, has a singular wish: "That people will recognize that hope, faith, passion, and the love of art is individually soul-sustaining and necessary for building strong commu- nity." 107 E. Charleston Blvd., 702-366-7001; trifectagallery.com — KATY OLSON 62 VEGASMAGAZINE.COM CULTURE Spotlight