Reader comments
New theater is coming to Regent Street

Why have a press conference on Thursday to announce what the Deseret News has already announced on Wednesday?

Great location, great concept and perfect timing to open with the City Creek Center. I'm looking forward to it.

I think everyone knows in their heart of hearts that a theater of this size really belongs in downtown SLC (except possibly Sandy Mayor Dolan, whose hubris is legendary). In downtown it helps create the synergy that all having been working toward to re-establish the vitality of Salt Lake City. This should be a goal of all with the vision to understand what a vibrant downtown means to the whole Wasatch Front.

Great work SLC!

It will be sad to see a new theater going up directly across the street from the now abandoned Utah theater project. Once again SLC misses the point. The theater in Sandy will now have a twin in SLC. There could have been a historic theater that would honor the arts and history of Utah. So sad Utah. Keep it up stucco valley, soon you won't have any past at all.

A large Broadway theatre for touring companies is a venture that benefits investors. It does nothing to support the development of a local professional theatre community. Utah has a plethora of Broadway-quality performers, but not a single venue that can support a full-time acting career for them. Those who wish to have full-time theatrical careers are forced to leave Utah to work in venues that can support them.

I have worked in venues from Broadway, Off-B'way, to B'way Natl. tour, COST, to guest artist and small professional theatre contracts. However, when I moved to Utah, I had no choice but to go inactive in my SAG-AFTRA-AEA unions if I ever wanted to perform in local theatre venues.

On top of this, we are in a "recession" a/k/a depression. I question the timing of this decision. Will taxpayers be agreeable to underwrite the $81 million bill? If local venues could receive this kind of private support, what a boost for a truly professional theatre community it would be.

Perhaps I�m wrong. I would like to hear a response from the investors and promoters about these concerns.

Now the race will be on between Sandy and SLC to see which one gets to take ALL county residents money to pay for it!

Or .....maybe we'll all get to help pay for both of them!

>>If local venues could receive this kind of private support, what a boost for a truly professional theatre community it would be.>>

Amen.

To anonymous, the former Utah Theater site has been determined to be to small to use for a 2,400 seat theater and would require to much demolition of the historic structure to accommodate the increased number of seats. The Utah Theater does stand to benefit from the NAC site decision though, The Utah will now be right in between downtowns two largest performing venues and as the city continues to grow it will be utilized as something else in the arts community, a Sundance institute/screening theater has been mentioned as an option.

C.W. If the county's study has determined that SLC is the best place or even if the county gets behind the SLC proposal there is no way the county residents would end up paying for both of them. If the county puts it muscle behind the SLC proposal, which as Theater Lover put it is really the only logical location for such a venue, then Sandy would be insane (which Dolan is) to pursue a large theater. If there are two theaters in a metro area, one in downtown and one in a suburb, touring shows will pick the dt location 9 times out of 10.

Sometimes I think even our LOCAL elected officials are CLUELESS!
We are in a SEVERE recession or depression and they're talking about having taxpayers help pay for a "Broadway style theater"?
Its very possible this "recession" will becomes much worse and result in MUCH higher unemployment.
I guess as long as we get to pay for a nice new theater with our property taxes it will give us a more positive outlook!

MAYBE THEY COULD SET UP THE SOUP LINES IN FRONT, IT WILL BE SO SPIFFY!

...but lots of us would like to see ADULT "real" theater in Utah, rather than amateur roadshows. IF you want a roadshow venue, build it in Sandy OR get financing for the old Utah theater.

Having Utah finally be seen as a place that grown-ups would like to move to, that companies (besides get-rich-quick schemers) want to locate in, and that enriches it citizens, is a dream that many of us have held for a lifetime.

Thank you, Salt Lake City.
Let's all grow up together

YAY!!!!

The Utah Theater will likely still be used to house independent films...I am excited about that too. I think this is the best of both worlds.

I'm glad there is an entity in town that can look through the muck of our present to secure the benefits of the future. This recession thing is temporary and we'll recover quickly, just keep the ball rolling. It's better than you think it is, and it'll be better in the future than you think it will be. Curtains up!!!

Very sad not to use the UTAH. The key to any thestre is the relationship of audience to the stage and the stage to the audience. You never know how that will work until it is built, with the Utah you can see and feel that immediately. Oh well, SLC messes it up again, hooray for the new and shiny.

...but (1) it can't seat enough to make the venture profitable and (2) there's no way to enlarge the stage to today's big-show requirements.

Why can't The Utah be used for big-event films, roadshows, local entertainment, small concents, etc?
It's too beautiful to lose.....but it just doesn't work for this one.

Timing. Where is the crystal ball on the recession/depression being short? Given Congress� latest bailout, the free market is dead. We are entering a demographic winter statistically. How can we morally put a greater tax burden on our children expecting them to pay off our today's excesses tomorrow?

Governor Sarah Palin has been criticized for her conflict of interest in firing her ex-brother in law in Alaska. How is Mayor Becker's nepotistic relationship with this project's investor any different?

Explain how this project will help, not undermine, a local professional theatre community in supporting full-time local talent.

No touring company brings �Broadway� to a local venue. These are stripped-down, travelling adaptations of B�way shows. Better to get private funding so that local existing theatres can feature an occasional big-name artist, and at the same time keep local talent here.

If the local talent pool could be beamed up to NYC, it would be highly competitive. I know. I�m performing with B�way quality actors right now at the Hale Centre Theatre in Into the Woods.

Show me how the tax revenue injected into this project will not undermine the professional development of our local theatre community and how it will put more funds in patrons� pockets with which to patronize local theatre.

Utah-based actors should not have to relocate to NYC to get a Broadway credit so they can be sentenced to a gypsy life on the LORT and National tour circuits. No life to live for them and more costly for us.

This is what happens when our local taxes are sent to Washington and then returned: much more costly on the journey and less value on the return.

"Governor Sarah Palin has been criticized for her conflict of interest in firing her ex-brother in law in Alaska. How is Mayor Becker's nepotistic relationship with this project's investor any different?"

Easy,

"The site has been a favorite of the mayor's brother, Bill Becker, a Tony Award-winning producer, an experienced theater developer, owner and manager, and chairman of the Downtown Theater Action Group."

Bill Becker is a respected theatre professional, and a product of Utah. He is likely the best candidate for the job. And he is volunteering his services.

I'm interested in what the Downtown Theatre Action Group's agends is to build our local theatrical community and to make it possible for excellent local actors to stay here and earn a full-time living.

Where does the Utah Arts Council stand on this issue?

How many know that we have Broadway actors performing here already? PTC has Broadway Equity actors in EVERY performance. The stage settings and costume designs are every bit as good as Broadway. And they don't continually bring back the same play year after year. I LOVE live theatre, but I don't see the point in using my tax dollars for this purpose. Maybe it would be different if the current theatres here had sellout crowds every night, but that happens only rarely.

We supposedly underfund education and other social programs that actually go towards the needy, and yet we have enough to spend millions of taxpayer dollars on a theater that Utahns don't need and obviously don't want enough to get private investors to build it without a government handout.

This whole thing is sickening.

>>and to make it possible for excellent local actors to stay here and earn a full-time living.>>

Cherilyn, I can see the value in this for local actors.
But why is this a government or a county issue? I.e., what is in it for me (the taxpayer) to make it so that local actors can have a job?