Neil Patrick Harris to Host Smith Center Opening Celebration, 3/10

The Smith Center's Opening Celebration will take place  Saturday, March 10, 2012 at 7:00pm. Actor Neil Patrick Harris will host the celebration which will feature performances by Academy Award winner Jennifer Hudson; country artists Willie Nelson, Merle Haggard, Emmylou Harris and Martina McBride; singer songwriter Carol King; trumpeter Arturo Sandoval; violinist Joshua Bell; gospel great Mavis Staples; Train lead singer Pat Monahan; and American Ballet Theater dancers Marcello Gomes and Luciana Paris.

Only a stage built by an entire community could hold the star power that will officially open The Smith Center for the Performing Arts on March 10. An unprecedented line-up of 24 artists from the worlds of music, television, stage and screen will come together for a one-of-a-kind night of entertainment as The Smith Center officially ushers in a new era in Las Vegas.

Broadway will be represented by a who's who of current stage stars including Tony winner Brian Stokes Mitchell (Kiss Me Kate, Man of La Mancha, Ragtime) Laura Osnes (Grease, South Pacific, Anything Goes), Cheyenne Jackson (television's Glee, 30 Rock and Broadway's Finian's Rainbow, All Shook Up), Sherie Rene Scott (Aida, Dirty Rotten Scoundrels, Little Mermaid, Women on the Verge), Montego Glover (Memphis, Color Purple) and Benjamin Walker (Bloody, Bloody Andrew Jackson, Inherit the Wind).

The Smith Center opening is being produced and directed by George Stevens, Jr., and Michael Stevens, who produce the Kennedy Center Honors each year. The performance will be taped for a national television broadcast at a later date.

A newly released block of tickets for the black tie event, starting at $250, will go on sale today at 3 pm. Tickets can be purchased by calling The Smith Center Box Office at 702-749-2000.