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Sta ff p ho tos by Arma n do R io

Arts & Entertainment
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Vince Paul, new president and artistic director of Music Hall,

soon will unveil the venue's 2006-07 season.

Music Hall Mogul

Farmington Hills native Vince Paul returns home to guide
performing arts center into the 21st century.

Suzanne Chessler
Special to the Jewish News

V

ince Paul still remembers seeing
his first stage show at the Music
Hall in Detroit. Now, he's about
to see his first show as president and
artistic director of that same theater.
Paul, 43, looks back on The Nutcracker
as his initiation into a lifelong love for
the entertainment business. And now,
he looks ahead to a performance of R&B
singer Etta James as the venue's initiation
into its 2006-07 season.
It is no coincidence that James, who will
be in town Sept. 30, is known for her ren-
dition of the ballad "At Last!' The Music
Hall slogan this year is "At Last',' short for

the phrase, "At last there are a lot of things
happening."
"My priority is to continue that legacy
of the Music Hall as being the first theater
that Metro Detroiters go to as children:'
says Paul, who grew up in Farmington
Hills. "It's that kind of memory that
stays with people the rest of their lives.
Obviously, it stayed with me vividly.
"I will be able to put my own mark on
this season to an extent. There's quite a bit
of it that's all mine and quite a bit that was
in motion when I got here. We soon will
unveil a lineup that will include the best
jazz season of any theater in the nation!"
Paul's appointment was announced in
July after a six-month nationwide search to
replace Cameron B. Duncan, who is retiring.

The selection was based in part on Paul's
21 years of work for performance organiza-
tions in New York City and on tour.
The new Music Hall president was
founder and president of World Arts Inc.,
an artists management company with an
emphasis on dance. A number of World
Arts shows, including Tango Flamenco
and Les Ballet Africains, have been pre-
sented at Music Hall.
"I've always been enthusiastic about
music and sharing arts:' says Paul, who
has brought productions to 1,000 theaters
spanning all 50 states and 40 countries. "If
I liked a new record, I would go to friends'
homes and say they had to hear it. I was
the kid at North Farmington High School
encouraging everyone to put on shows."

Paul, a 1985 graduate of Michigan State
University's School of Fine Arts, decided on
college after a recruiter told him about the
campus opening of a world-class perform-
ing arts center during his freshman year.
"Not only was I able to get the class-
room studies, but I also was able to see
how major Broadway shows actually
toured because of the Wharton Center:'
Paul explains.
"I saw how the trucks pulled in and
union crews unloaded them. I saw how
other union crews took care of hanging
the lights and still other crews took care of
•
hanging the scenery.
"I was able to work as a union extra my

Music Hall Mogul on page 52

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August 31 • 2006

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