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(from left) Las Vegas Mayor Carolyn Goodman
with Dan Decker, artistic director of
Las Vegas Shakespeare Company, Michael Gill
Chairman and CEO of the board of directors
for Las Vegas Shakespeare Company,
and Las Vegas City Councilman Ricky Barlow
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The Las Vegas Shakespeare Company (LVSC) announces the kick off to its Capital campaign funding the renovation of the historic Reed Whipple Cultural Center. The 35,000 square foot center will be expanded to house a state of the art 499-seat theatre and rehearsal space as well as the Bard Lounge, Gallery OV - Opportunity Village Fine Art gallery and the return of Chef Mike Jordan to Las Vegas with Rosemary’s Café.
“It was one year ago today that the City of Las Vegas entrusted us with this beautiful building, the Reed Whipple Center, and along with that trust they also gave us a mandate to bring a first-class professional theatre to our region,” says Dan Decker, Artistic Director for the Las Vegas Shakespeare Company. “This expansion allows us to create a multi-faceted cultural gem, anchored by Nevada’s first permanent, professional theater company, and become a model for contemporary resident theaters across the country.”
The Las Vegas Shakespeare Company won a lease for the Reed Whipple building by a unanimous vote of the Las Vegas City Council on September 7, 2011, as its first step in becoming Nevada’s first member of the League of Resident Theatres, (LORT), a theater industry organization of non-profit professional theater production companies which adhere to strict financial standards and utilize all professional union actors, directors, choreographers and designers.
“When we leased Reed Whipple to LVSC, we knew they were a perfect fit for our vision of downtown,” says Las Vegas Mayor Carolyn Goodman. “Having Nevada’s very first permanent professional theater company residing in the heart of our city is a true coup for downtown and is a great step forward as we grow into a city which embraces and fosters the cultural arts.”
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| Rendering of remodeled interior. |
LVSC is embarking on a Capital Fund Drive to complete funding for the $45 million project, which has been conceptualized and designed by Gensler Architects to create a modern, technologically distinct playhouse and community focal point while paying homage to the Whipple Center’s distinctive 1960’s mid-mod architecture. LVSC aims to raise $15 million and break ground in early 2013.
The Las Vegas Shakespeare Company hopes to break ground on the campus early next year with an aim to present its first season of Shakespeare, classic plays, musicals, children’s theatre and world premiere productions in early 2014.