Problems with seats stop shows at theater

The show must go on elsewhere.

Deteriorating theater seats have caused the Las Vegas-Clark County Library District to temporarily close its Clark County Library Theater, cancelling all programs and performance as of last Tuesday.

The replacemnet cost is $89,423, which includes the removal and disposal of the seats. The theater plans to reopen in February 1999.

The theater, located in the Clark County Library at 1401 E. Flamingo Road, was built as part of the library four years ago November.

Sally Ahlstedt, the library's theater manager, said the seats began deteriorating quickly and any spare parts had been used. The company that provided the seats had gone bankrupt, forcing the library to use parts from seats on the perimeter of the theater to maintain the center seats.

"We were losing seating capacity at an alarming rate," Ahlstedt said. The 399-seat theater was reduced at times to 370 to 380 available seats.

Ahlstedt said the high seating capacity and central location of the theater makes it a popular site for performance groups.

"Our theater is probably one of the most heavily used theater in the whole area. We average 6,500-8,000 (attendees) on a monthly basis and use the theater 25 to 27 days a month."

New seats have been ordered from a Michigan-based company, American Seating. In the meantime, Ahlstedt said the library district is working to relocate groups, many of which use the theater on a seasonal basis, to other area theaters.

Groups scheduled to perform during the renovation period include the Nevada Chamber Symphony and the Las Vegas Brass Band.

A week-long performance of "The Crucible" by Bishop Gorman High School students also was scheduled to run in October.

Margaret Trasatti, chairman of the board for the symphony, said her organization is looking at a loss between $7,000 to $10,000 because of the temporary closure.

The symphony had four scheduled performances, three of which have been relocated to the Whitney Concert Hall at the Whitney Library. One performance had to be canceled, Trasatti said.

The 198 seats at the Whitney compared to the 398 seats at the Clark County Library Theater caused 50 percent of the symphony's funding cuts.

"There aren't a lot of choices," Trasatti said, adding that the Clark County Library Theater provides the environment and desired acoustic quality preferred by the organization. "It's the best space.

"We had no indication that the library district was planning to close the theater."

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