Hale Center Theater Ticket Giveaway

The Hale Center Theatre folks invited me to take a backstage tour of their new Sandy venue, and to enjoy a performance of “The Hunchback of Notre Dame.”

And, more importantly, I was given two tickets to give away to a lucky reader of my blog. You can enter by leaving a comment at the bottom of this post. Yes, you, too, can “go to Hale!”

You can win 2 tickets to a a future Hale Center Theater show. To enter, leave a comment at the end of this blog post.

I joke that I’ve “gone to Hale” many times — shows such as “Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat,” “The Drowsy Chaperone,” and “Big River” at the West Valley HCT. I also went several nights when my son, Eric Phillips, performed in “The 39 Steps” a few years ago and had a leading role in “The Hit” at the Orem HCT.

I love all the productions. But I’ll admit that after an hour at the West Valley venue, my legs would begin to feel cramped  — and I’m pretty short. I’m happy to report that at HCT’s new home in the Mountain America Performing Arts Centre in Sandy, the new theater seats have six more inches of leg room, and six inches of additional height on the risers, to give better visibility from each seat. Another improvement — 32 women’s restroom stalls! This solves the frustration when patrons are lined up to use the facilities during intermission and can’t get back to their seats before the show resumes.

Clint Rice, the Associate Development Director, showed us the Jewel Box Theater. Note the sparkly light fixtures above and the ruby red seats, just like a jewel box.

The Sandy venue actually has two theaters — the larger, 901-seat theater-in-the-round Centre Stage and the 467-seat Jewel Box. Our tour guide, Clint Rice, HCT’s Associate Development Director, said having two different shows running simultaneously avoids downtime  and makes the theater more financially productive. And, of course, it gives theater-goers more shows to see.

Rice said the smaller Jewel Box theater has a “proscenium thrust” stage. It extends into the audience, giving more intimacy between the audience and performers. The sparkly light fixtures and ruby red seats give an impression of a “jewel box.”

“Cash On Delivery” stage set in the Jewel Box Theater.

Last fall I attended a Jewel Box performance of “Forever Plaid” with my friend, Ivan Lincoln, former theater critic for the Deseret News. After taking an elderly patron on a rainy night, I realized the convenience of having covered parking.

At the time, the seven-floor, 1,700-stall parking garage wasn’t completed, so I dropped Ivan off near the front door, then drove across the street to find a parking spot. I reversed that process after the show ended, so I got soaked twice in one night. Now that the parking garage at the back of the building is complete, there’s no need to go out in the weather to get your car. But I would recommend allowing yourself a few extra minutes before the show starts. I imagine that there could be some delays with that many cars all trying to get into the parking garage at the same time. If you happen to get there early, go ahead and can enjoy the beautiful lobby with fireplace and piano, and/or check out the concession stand (not to mention the 32-stall restrooms) before finding your seat. The garage has about 20 handicapped parking stalls right next to the lobby doors, for added convenience.

The “Hellfire” scene gives an idea of how many parts of the stage can come apart and can move up, down or rotate.  Note the LED wall panels behind the audience that show flickering flames.

The Center Stage Theater has a state-of-the art system with stage parts that can lift, rotate, fit together or come apart, depending on the scene. It contributes so much to the overall experience of the play, and there’s no stopping to switch scenery on or off the stage.

In “The Hunchback of Notre Dame,” the audience is taken high up to the Cathedral’s bell tower where Quasimodo spends his life, and down to the city below where Esmerelda and her gypsy friends dance and sing. The LED lit wall panels acted as scenery too, turning from stained-glass windows of the Cathedral to fiery flames during the “Hellfire” song. (Maybe it should have been called “Halefire?)

Another convenience for people hard of hearing — both stages have a “hearing loop” that delivers sound to people with telecoil technology in their hearing aids or cochlear implants, via an electromagnetic field, without additional equipment. It also can deliver sound to a receiver connected to an earpiece or headphones.

Among the areas we visited backstage, I was most intrigued by the costume areas  — racks and shelves of beautiful clothing, wigs, gowns, and so on.

Racks of clothing are in the costume area.
The costume area is filled with shelves and racks of clothing and fabric.

Beautiful costumes worn in “Aida.”
Beautiful costumes at the Hale Center Theatre.

 

The Jewel Box cast uses this nice room to relax and eat.

And it was fun to see the  rooms where cast members can relax, eat, and hang out  during their downtime.

Getting to our seats before  before “The Hunchback of Notre Dame” begins. Note the gigantic cathedral bells near the ceiling.

And now, let’s talk about the musical. “The Hunchback of Notre Dame,” based on the 1831 Victor Hugo novel, is a moving story, that causes us to think about hypocrisy versus goodness, love versus lust, social injustice, racial prejudice, and how we treat people who are deformed, disfigured or disabled. In other words, “What makes a man and what makes a monster?”

Back in the 1990s, I took my kids to see the animated Disney version at the Riverdale Drive-In , lettering them sit on the roof of our van to watch. So I thought it was fitting to invite my daughter, Amy Miller, to see the stage version with me.  I think it’s a grown-up version than the Disney movie; not something for young kids who would have a hard time understanding what’s happening. And they could be pretty upset by some of the scenes of violence and death.

Quasimodo and Esmerelda from “The Hunchback of Notre Dame.”

As always with HCT productions, the talented acting and the powerful singing made the story come to life. There are some pretty poignant scenes where I had to wipe away a few tears.

If you haven’t “gone to Hale” yet, it’s time you did. The HCT folks are giving away two tickets through my blog.

To enter,  leave a comment about your favorite show, or one that you’d like to see, at the end of this post. You can be witty if you want, but everyone’s comments will be entered into the drawing regardless of what you write!  I will draw out a winner and post it on my blog on MONDAY, MARCH 19. Then I’ll need to get your email address and phone number so the HCT people can contact you about what shows and nights are available. “Hunchback” runs until March 31, but you can choose another show later on during the year. (and FYI, one of my friends tells me that “Cash on Delivery,” now playing at the Jewel Box theater, is pretty hilarious!)

UPDATE: THE PRIZE DRAWING ENDED MARCH 19, AND WE HAVE ALREADY AWARDED A WINNER. OF COURSE, YOU ARE STILL WELCOME TO LEAVE A COMMENT.

 

 

 

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