Curtain closing on 4 productions

An open-ended run of a stage play in Murray has closed, and Rhett Thomas Productions is closing three of its shows in Springdale next weekend.

"The Taffetas" has ended its run at the Desert Star Dinner Theatre in Murray, and the venue will remain dark until "Little Shop of Horrors" returns later in the fall. (Desert Star Theaters has "Les Miserable(s): A Revolution in Comedy" playing through Aug. 25 in the Cabaret Theatre, after which an original parody, written by Ben E. Millet, "Spamlet: Where Mystery Meats Comedy" will play Aug. 30- Nov. 10. "Little Shop of Horrors" will be revived in September in the Dinner Theatre (www.desertstar.biz or 266-2600)).

Meanwhile, "Twist the Night Away," "It's Showtime!" and "I Fall to Pieces" are closing at the Bumbleberry Theatre and the Zion Canyon Theatre in Springdale, two venues where Thomas has been producing shows the past few years.

Audience size has been fairly good — averaging 70-80 people per night — but Thomas said by phone from Springville that he is moving his family to Nashville, Tenn., to pursue other options. "At this point in time, it's been a good run, but it takes a lot of work to get the hikers to come in to see the shows night after night. Running a theater is expensive; we're not nonprofit and we're not subsidized."

The Bumbleberry Theatre was, for many years, the site of locally produced melodramas and is owned by the same family that operates the adjacent restaurant and motel. He indicated the theater is for sale.

Thomas' company also produced musical revues in the nearby Zion Canyon Theatre, built originally for big-screen, Imax-style films, which are still shown daily. Currently the theater is screening "Zion Canon: Treasure of the Gods" and "Ride Around the World," plus occasional mainstream Hollywood films (www.zioncanyontheatre.com).

Monday will be the final performance of the one-woman show, "I Fall to Pieces"; the other two productions will close Aug. 11 (435-772-3611).