A local theater project receives a $1 million dollar grant from the Nevada legislature. In addition, two recent Las Vegas high school graduates are set to make their debut on Broadway tonight. The performing arts in Las Vegas are booming!
Broadway In The HOOD’s Latest Project Receives Big Boost
Broadway in the HOOD (Helping Others Open Doors) is a national theatre program with their home offices right here in Las Vegas. This non-profit was founded by Torrey A. Russell. They are now the recipients of $1 million dollars in funding from the Nevada legislature.
This grant will be used to fund Broadway in the HOOD’s latest campaign, “The Legacy Theatre Project.” Their “goal is to raise $25 million for the Legacy Theatre to become a hub for education, training, performing arts and community outreach.” That’s according to an article by Justine Verastigue on KTNV.com.
Broadway in the HOOD becomes “the first African-American owned and operated non-profit to receive this funding” in Nevada’s history, per Verastigue’s article. To learn more about Broadway in the HOOD, click here. If you’d like to know more about their new “Legacy Theatre Project,” click here.
Two Recent Las Vegas Grads Debut On Broadway Tonight
Want more proof that the performing arts are booming in Las Vegas? Two recent high school graduates from Southern Nevada will be making their debut on Broadway tonight. According to an article by Justin Hinton on KTNV.com,they’ll be performing on stage during the National High School Musical Awards.
Riley Stannard from Green Valley High School and Zoe McCracken from Coronado High School are representing our city on Broadway. Additionally, there are 94 other students from around the nation participating in the talent showcase tonight. You can view the show on YouTube or Facebook beginning at 4:30pm Pacific Time.
Furthermore, these talented students will be staying in Nevada to pursue their education in the performing arts. Stannard will attend UNLV in the fall. McCracken will head to the University of Nevada, Reno when classes begin.
They are currently in New York city going to Broadway shows. In like manner, they are performing on stage and receiving feedback on their work. All in all, a very educational experience for these two recent Las Vegas high school grads.
7 Nasty Stage Falls Ranging from Funny to Painful
Stage falls: They happen to even the best rockers out there.
Sometimes, they’re hilarious. However, there are times when a tumble will literally have you scream, “OH, SH*T!” out loud.
A great example of this happened to Tom Morello during Rage Against The Machine’s July 23, 2022 show in Toronto. The guitarist took a nasty spill from the stage, but the incident wasn’t really his fault. A fan ran up on the stage, and when security tackled the fan, Morello was taken out in the process. Singer Zack de la Rocha briefly stopped the show to make sure his bandmate was okay. Fortunately, Morello popped back up and was clearly not fazed. He then proceeded to whip the crowd up into a frenzy. After all, this was a Rage show.
Among the stage falls that can be classified as “funny” is this one from Kirk Hammett during a May 2019 Metallica show in Milan. Mid-solo on “Moth Into Flame,” Hammett slips on his Wah Wah pedal due to heavy rain that was passing through. He wrote in an Instagram post showing the slip, “It rained so much I felt like I was playing guitar in the shower.” (Side note: Please never play your guitar in the shower! It seems like a terrible idea. However, peep Hammett’s “guitar face” just before slipping on his Wah Wah pedal. Dude was feeling it during that solo!)
And then, there’s Steven Tyler. The Aerosmith frontman has fallen off the stage a lot in his storied career. One of the worst times occurred in 2009 when Aerosmith played Sturgis. In the clip below, you can see Tyler walking toward the end of a catwalk and bust a few of his trademark moves before falling of the catwalk, much to the shock of the crowd.
Per Rolling Stone, Tyler was then airlifted to a nearby hospital, where he was treated for head, neck and shoulder injuries. Understandably, the show was cut short. After all, it’s kind of difficult to do an Aerosmith show without the Demon of Screamin’.
Rolling Stone noted that during this 2009 Aerosmith tour, Tyler injured his hamstring two months before the Sturgis incident, which resulted in seven shows being postponed. Also, guitarist Brad Whitford missed a significant chunk of that 2009 Aerosmith tour after he needed surgery for bumping his head while getting out of his Ferrari. (Rock star problems, amiright?)
Without further ado, here’s a look back at some of the nastiest stage falls over the years, ranging from funny to painful.
1. Axl Rose (1989)
Axl Rose has fallen on and off stage a lot. Here’s some grainy footage from a Guns N’ Roses show from 1989, which looks frightening. (Side note: Axl has a long history of just wiping out on stage, period. Seriously, Google it!)
2. Axl Rose (2023)
Honestly, we should just call Axl Rose “Timex,” because he takes a licking and keeps on ticking. The singer’s latest fall happened during GN’R’s June 30, 2023 show in London. Axl is singing the first verse of “Bad Obsession” while walking backwards toward the drum riser. He falls but quickly recovers. You can even see him smile as he gets back to the verse, almost as if he’s having a laugh about falling on stage…again!
3. James Hetfield
On September 4, 2017, Papa Het fell into a hole on stage during Metallica’s show in Amsterdam. Thankfully, he was okay, but it certainly could’ve been worse. At the very least, we’re sure that hurt. For anyone that bruises easily, you would be so screwed after this fall.
😮😮😮 JAMES turns away from his mic and walks right into the hole...😮😮😮SEP 04 2017AMSTERDAM, NETHERLANDSZIGGO DOME
This was a scary one. Neil was performing a solo set in October 2021 when he fell through a small gap between a speaker and the stage that resulted in a four-foot drop onto a cement floor. He was taken to a nearby hospital and, fortunately, didn’t sustain any serious injuries.
5. Vince Neil (2024)
Sure, this fall from Vince Neil wasn’t nearly as bad as the one from 2021. However, face-planting during “Wild Side” is a surefire way to suck the cool right out of you. Again, we’re all glad he was okay, but what a bummer! This is like the equivalent of a normal person randomly tripping when walking down the street.
6. The Edge
Another fall that could’ve been a lot worse was this misstep by The Edge on opening night of U2’s 2015 “Innocence and Experience” tour. He literally walked off the edge of the stage! You can’t make this up!
7. Dave Grohl
Who could forget this moment? Dave Grohl’s major fall off stage during a 2015 show in Sweden may have resulted in a broken leg, but it gave us the Foo Throne. We’ll just chalk this up to taking the good with the bad. Plus, he had THE BEST reaction to falling off stage, too. Even in tons of pain, Grohl manages to be the most charming mofo in the room! What a king!
BONUS: Krist Novoselic
Alright…so this isn’t a proper stage fall, but as far as stage injuries go, Krist Novoselic’s bass toss at the 1992 MTV VMAs is always worth mentioning. Seriously, what was he thinking? Even if he had done the stunt before, why take such a risk on live television. Obviously, it didn’t pay off. He’s super lucky the bass toss didn’t go worse.
Larry Martino is the long-time afternoon drive personality on 96.3 KKLZ. The views and opinions expressed in this blog are those of Larry Martino and not necessarily those of Beasley Media Group, LLC.
Larry Martino has been the afternoon drive personality on 96.3 KKLZ since 2007. He is also Music Director and Assistant Program Director. He’s been a professional radio broadcaster since 1980, serving as on-air talent, Program Director, and Music Director during his career. As a content creator for 96.3 KKLZ, Larry specializes in writing articles about music, recording artists, movies, food/restaurants, and hockey.
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