I love the theater, in virtually all of its forms; but a particular bête noire of mine involves being in the audience of a student production of Pippin, in which the troupe of teens (or, heaven forbid, overly precocious tweens), costumed in black leotards, jazz shoes, and bowler hats, sing “Magic to Do,” as they throw and/or blow glitter onto me, while leaping and cavorting and tumbling up the aisles of the auditorium, like budding Bob Fosses, jazz hands, and all.  Perhaps I’d feel differently if the glitter were being thrown by Ben Vereen (who, frankly, I’d gladly let throw anything at me), but it’s not and he isn’t.  Anyhow, so long as I’m able to avoid this very specific scenario, I’m golden.

So, it was with a teensy bit of trepidation that I attended the DREAM Gala: A New Dawn for Las Vegas’ premiere conservatory for the performing arts, Nevada School of the Arts—aka “NSA” (not to be confused with the National Security Agency)—inside Myron’s at The Smith Center.  Fortunately, upon entering, I was able to get my hands on a program for the evening, which dispelled any Pippin-induced trauma that I’d been holding.

In fact, the evening was particularly lovely; and commenced with a VIP reception co-hosted by illusionist David Copperfield and NSA’s charming President/CEO, Raja Rahman.   There, Copperfield, the holder of eleven Guinness World Records—including Most Tickets Sold Worldwide by a Solo Entertainer, Highest Career Earnings as a Magician, and Largest Illusion Ever Staged—the winner of 21 Emmy Awards (from 38 nominations), and the first magician ever to be knighted by France as a Chevalier de l’Ordre des Arts et des Lettres; doubled-down on his reputation as a generous philanthropist to Las Vegas-based organizations (he’s a decades-long supporter of Keep Memory Alive/Cleveland Clinic Lou Ruvo Center for Brain Health) by serving as the Chair of NSA’s newly announced Capitol Campaign.  Ta-dah, indeed!

Once the evening’s main program began, we moved into Myron’s and took our seats.  Thanks to the indefatigable Punam Mather, who put together, on behalf of the Elaine P. Wynn & Family Foundation, a table filled with people whom I both admire and respect, I had a ball.  Thanks, Punam! 

Over the course of the evening, we were treated to several performances by students and faculty alike.  Some were pretty good.  Some were very good.  And a few were so damned good and evoked so much emotion that many of us were clapping and crying at the same time.  What none of us could not have expected was that this event would turn into a three-hanky evening (albeit, only briefly).

Here's a brief rundown of who did what when (performance-wise)…

Students performed “Brand New Day” from The Wiz.
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President Rahman welcomed everyone while accompanied by Antonio McDonald on the cello.
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The Faculty String Trio—Alex Dyubinsky on violin, Svetlana Garitsleva on cello, and Ai Melby on viola—performed the Rondo (finale) of Ernst von Dohnányi’s Serenade in C Minor, Op. 10.
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The Student Piano Trio—Scott Tilton on piano, Ella Chooi on violin, and the aforementioned Antonio McDonald on cello—performed Antonín Dvořák’s Piano Trio No. 4 in E Minor, Op. 90 [aka the “Dumsky Trio”]  These students were good.  Really good.  And possessed great poise, to boot.
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Apollo Lyons performed Franz Liszt’s Transcendental Étude No. 12 in B♭ Minor, “Chasse-niege” [“Snow whirls”].  During the evening’s most virtuosic performance, Lyons’ deft fingering and pedal work left us breathless, and at times brought many of us to tears, by making the most difficult of the virtuosic Romantic Era composer’s dozen Études d’Exectution Transcendante his bitch.  And while I think standing ovations are given far too often in this town for things I find completely undeserving of such a display; I was (to the best of my knowledge) the first person in the room to leap to his feet, applauding manically.  It was only upon sitting back down that I realized I’d been holding my napkin the entire time.
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Alina La-Liberte and Asia Beehn performed a duet of “For Good” from Wicked which they absolutely nailed; and again, had many of us reaching for Kleenex (and, not finding any, resorting to dabbing our tears with our dinner napkins).  [Note to event planners and organizers: If you think there is even a hint that things might get just a teensy bit maudlin—whether due to the program, the material, or the life stories of the subjects or performers—for the love of all that is good and holy, PLEASE put Kleenex on the tables!]
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Olivia Dease performed her original work, “My New Reality,” which she’d written to help herself cope following the suicide of her father.  As both a singer and a songwriter, Dease is gonna be another one to watch.
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Christian Kolberg, Las Vegas’ go-to charity auctioneer, led the Live Auction and the Paddle-Raise; during which my pal, Matthew Frazier, stood up and announced that, on behalf of the John C. Kish Foundation—of which he is a trustee—he was establishing a $200,000 endowment to provide scholarships for deserving Indigenous students to study at NSA.
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The evening’s three honorees—longtime Las Vegas politico, Shelley Berkley; Eric Grilly (on behalf of Cirque du Soleil Entertainment Group); and the LVRJ’s celebrity/entertainment guru, John Katsilometes—each came to the stage to accept their respective honorifics and to say a few words.  [Technically, of the time allotted to the three honorees, Berkley took roughly 60% of the time, with Grilley taking about 10%, and Kats using the remaining 30%, during which he was joined at the podium by Clint Holmes, with whom he sang a duet of Holmes’ 1972 single, “Playground in My Mind.”  I’ll let y’all guess which of the three honorees is currently running for office.]
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Mackenzie Thomas (Lead Female Singer, Mystère by Cirque du Soleil) and Eddie Cole (Lead Male Singer, Mad Apple by Cirque du Soleil) performed “O” from O by Cirque du Soleil, followed by a deeply soulful rendition of Kansas’ “Dust in the Wind” that got me grooving in my seat.
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Elisa Fiorillo (NSA Faculty, Voice) was joined by Cody Sims (an actor/singer who’d provided the evening’s comic relief) for a rollicking performance of “Purpose” from Avenue Q.
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The Ensemble Performers—Las Vegas Academy students Anthony Balistere, Alexis Barton, Mandy Breen, Gael Contreras, Sienna Desmarais, Lou Gillette, Savannah Hules, Amy Isaacson, Nikki La Vite, Jazz Moore, Aislinn Nash, Ally Nash, Jayme Pacheco, Madison Salvatore, Jamie Stayman, Keri Stayman, Samantha Wampole, Maxine Watson, Seth Wetjen, Krissy Jolind Yamson, and Cameron Zabarte—performed “Aquarius” from Hair: The American Tribal Love-Rock Musical.  Of course, as anybody who possesses even a passing knowledge of late 20th-century musical theater or is a fan of The 5th Dimension (and who doesn’t love Marilyn McCoo and Billy Davis, Jr.?) could have predicted, this led right into “The Flesh Failures (Let the Sun Shine In),” during which the Ensemble trickled offstage and into the audience while the Full Cast took the stage for their bows. 

When all was said and done, after the applause and the hugs (there were a lot of hugs) and the congratulations, it was time to bid our farewells, swing by coat check, and head home.  Cheers to the students, faculty, administrators, and Board of the Nevada School of the Arts and its mission to provide world-class music instruction and a life-changing experience to students of all ages and backgrounds.  I’m a fan!

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[Editor’s Note: The 5th Dimension’s recording of “Medley: Aquarius/Let the Sun Shine In (The Flesh Failures)”—published on the band’s 1969 album The Age of Aquarius—won the awards for both Record of the Year and Best Pop Vocal Performance by a Group, at the Twelfth Annual Grammy Awards, in 1970.]