Sunday, Dec. 6, 1998 | 8:47 a.m.
The place carries a faint odor of wet paint and more resembles an auto repair shop than a repertory rehearsal hall.
Gomer and Goober belong here. Costumed stage performers do not.
But the big garage is where Brian Tidwell and members of the Actors Repertory Theatre (ART) of Las Vegas call home. The troupe is preparing for Tidwell's holiday adaptation of Charles Dickens' "A Christmas Carol," which begins its run with a preview performance Friday and runs through Dec. 23.
The performances will be held at the Summerlin Library Theatre and are funded by grants from the Nevada Arts Council, the Donald Reynolds Foundation and the Howard Hughes Foundation.
Rehearsals began in the warehouse on West Hacienda Avenue on Nov. 1 and moved to the Summerlin Library Theatre on Friday.
"We're going from this place to a library," Tidwell, the production's composer, lyricist, music director and conductor, said. "When I first heard we were going to be performing in a library, I thought, 'What are they going to do with all the books?' I didn't know what we were getting into."
However, the 40-year-old composer with an impressive list of credentials (he served as musical director for "Hello, Dolly" starring Carol Channing) said he's pleased with the accommodations in the 285-seat theater.
It's all about intimacy.
"I think the theater is the most pure form of entertainment," Tidwell, who could easily pass as Dustin Hoffman's younger brother, said. "There is a direct connection between the performers and the audience. I enjoy all types of entertainment, but if you go to a movie, it's just lights and figures on a screen.
"This is real. I like movies, but dollar-for-dollar, this is a more complete, moving form of entertainment."
The production of Dickens' classic tale of Ebenezer Scrooge's Christmas Eve soul search marks Tidwell's first collaboration with the Las Vegas Actors Repertory Theatre. Tidwell spent the past 20 years touring with various productions before finally moving -- permanently, he says -- from Santa Barbara, Calif., to Las Vegas.
"I've been traveling so much that it's difficult to remain creative," he said. "I've been around the country. I've done the New York thing and the Los Angeles thing. It's time for a new challenge. And besides, you can't write music when you're traveling all the time. At least I can't."
Tidwell's ambitious career has included serving as musical director for the new musical "Lunch," music director and orchestrator for "Peter Pan" on Broadway, associate conductor for "Cats" at the Shubert Theatre in L.A., and has taken part in two national tours of "Evita."
He also worked with the late Juliet Prowse in "Mame" at Harrah's in Lake Tahoe, and worked as musical director for "Annie Get Your Gun," starring former Olympic gymnast Cathy Rigby.
It's a fairly distinguished resume for a man currently running a small, all-volunteer production out of a cozy rented garage.
"I love the opportunity to bring this adaptation to Las Vegas," he said. "When people think of Las Vegas entertainment, they think of the big shows at the casinos. It's a city blessed with great entertainment, and you could see Tony Bennett and Liza Minelli in the same week."
That's fine. For tourists.
"This is like a grass-roots effort," he said. "This is for the community, the people who live here. The more this city grows to include people from the East and California, the more demand there will be for theater productions."
Tidwell said he's irked by criticism of the cultural dearth in the so-called "Entertainment Capital of the World."
"That bothers me, because there is a vibrant, culturally active community in this city," he said. "The ART takes chances and works hard to preserve it, but if you don't live here you don't know anything about it."
Tidwell's contact with the ART, established in 1986, developed almost by accident.
"It was really amazing how this all came about," ART director Richard Kimmell said. "We've got a guy in the company named Byron Tidwell who plays a lot of ensemble roles. When Brian moved here (in January), they started getting each other's phone calls and mail."
Soon, Byron Tidwell discovered that Brian Tidwell had a vast theatrical background and had been working on his own adaptation of "A Christmas Carol" for nearly two years.
"That's how it happened," Kimmell said. "It was a fluke."
Tidwell said he has a special interest in the Dickens classic.
"It's definitely one of the more recognizable works in the English language, especially this time of year," Tidwell said. "Everybody knows a 'Scrooge.' "
The story itself has a timeless quality that cuts against the grain of typical holiday fare.
"This isn't 'Santa Claus Is Coming To Town,' " Tidwell said. "You've got this guy who is approached by ghosts on Christmas Eve. That alone should tell you this is something different."
For the Las Vegas production, Tidwell has performed the tasks of three people. He's constructed a script from a book, written new songs for the stage performance and will play and conduct the music.
"It seems like more work than it is," he said. "But when you have a lot of people dedicated to their craft, like we have here, it's not work. It's fun."
Tidwell has written 25 major musical numbers for the Las Vegas production.
"It's all new music and lyrics, and our adaptation is trying to enhance what Dickens' message was," Tidwell said. "It's not easy, because it's such a well-known piece that people already know the story and what it's all about."
Tidwell said his interpretation of "A Christmas Carol" centers on Ebenezer Scrooge's realization -- after a trek through time with ghosts of Christmas past, present and future -- that he doesn't have to die a crotchety old miser.
"There is a song Scrooge's newphew sings called 'Travelers' that is an important part of the story," Tidwell said. "He's singing about fellow travelers to the grave, and that this might be (Scrooge's) last day on Earth. It's about being able to change yourself, and that it's never too late to change.
"Scrooge has been an example of that philosophy for generations."
Steve Hood, the company's resident ham, laughs sarcastically at filling the role of Ebenezer Scrooge.
"For me, it's not much of a stretch," he said. "I don't even have to get dressed up."
The production might be small -- around 40 local residents are involved in "A Christmas Carol" -- but Tidwell's objectives are monumental.
"I'd like people to get a real sense of what Dickens was saying, what we call 'the author's message,' " he said. "There will be a lot of singing and dancing, naturally, but I'd like people to learn something and come away feeling that they'd just seen 'A Christmas Carol' for the first time."
Even a Scrooge can appreciate that gift.
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