Posted on July 2, 2025 at 12:03 am

I’ve spent a lot of time in Las Vegas over the years – I was the music supervisor for six industrial shows for State Farm Insurance that played at the Thomas & Mack Arena – and I actually wrote a whole show about that wacky town, but I’ve never actually performed a concert there, in spite of the very healthy musical theater community that’s evolved in the Greater Las Vegas area. So I was particularly intrigued when I got a Facebook message back in January from someone named Myron Martin, who said he ran a jazz club in the Smith Center and wanted to book me for a concert. As it happened, the Parade tour was playing the Smith Center in June, so I thought it might be a nice thing for me to piggyback on that and do a small show just to test the waters.

I can now confirm that the waters are truly excellent. (Not something you can usually say about the desert.) 250 deeply engaged Vegasites packed Myron’s for an intimate and energetic night, and I had a fantastic time making my official LV concert debut.

I knew I wanted a partner for this show, and I was so fortunate that the prodigiously talented Alysha Umphress was available to come sing along with that magical voice of hers. I got to meet Alysha when I invited her to do a SubCulture concert in 2019, and then she was radiant in a workshop of Mr. Saturday Night at Barrington Stage in 2021, but we haven’t gotten to make music together since then. It was such a joy for me to share the stage with her exquisite musicality, her effortless range, her insightful acting, and her contagious enthusiasm. I expect we’ll be doing more concerts together in the future!

A particular kick for me was getting to sing a song from Honeymoon In Vegas – I figured as long as I’m in the town, I should commit to the bit – and it’s a song I’m particularly proud of: Tommy Korman’s “deal you can’t refuse” song, “Come To An Agreement.” I’ll never be James Caan or Tony Danza, but if I were ever going to actually play a role in a production of any show I’ve ever written, I think it might be this one.

It was so great engaging with the cream of the Las Vegas musical theater crop, including Keith Thompson and Phillip Officer and Brent Barrett, and I can’t wait to come back to The Land Where Dreams Come True for another show soon!

Photos by Myron Martin

Hope from How We React and How We Recover (2018)
I Love Betsy from Honeymoon In Vegas (2014)
Boat from Less (2025)
The Shed Shack from Midnight In The Garden of Good and Evil (2025)
ALYSHA: I Can Do Better Than That from The Last Five Years (2002)
ALYSHA: Mary Mallon (2021)
ALYSHA: Another Life from The Bridges of Madison County (2013)
It All Fades Away from The Bridges of Madison County (2013)
Come To An Agreement from Honeymoon In Vegas (2014)
ALYSHA: Get Closer from The Bridges of Madison County (2013)
ALYSHA: Stars and the Moon from Songs for a New World (1995)
ALYSHA & JRB: I’d Give It All For You from Songs for a New World (1995)
ALYSHA: Invisible from How We React and How We Recover (2018)
Zohra’s Philosophy from Less (2025)
Wait ‘Til You See What’s Next from How We React and How We Recover (2018)
Encore: All Things In Time from How We React and How We Recover (2018)

JRB: piano and vocals
Alysha Umphress: vocals
Myron’s at the Smith Center, Las Vegas, NV, 6/28/25