WEST VALLEY — Just a few short weeks ago the Utah Arts Community was shook with the news that the popular West Valley Arts would be closing its doors at the end of the 2024 season due to choices by the city council. What followed was an impressive display of community effort and action that has resulted in a new nonprofit organization, an underdog story worthy of a hollywood telling, and a happy ending that has at least resulted now in West Valley giving us an exciting season 2025.
To announce the season, West Valley Arts held a block party to celebrate the hard work of everyone who has been attending council meetings, raising funds, and whatever else has had to happen behind the scenes to make season 2025 a possibility. Additionally, they invited a few other theatres from around the valley to showcase their own productions currently or soon to be gracing the stage, had some fun activities to help the community understand what the theatre is all about, and get everyone excited for the upcoming year of theatre.
When my husband and I arrived at the block party we were welcomed by local food trucks that we could not resist, and then volunteer guides told us to go to the box office to get our “passports” which would have us go to different stations around the theatre where we learned about things such as costumes, wigs, choreography, fight calls, staging, set painting, and taking headshots. It was quite fun to see costumes on display from popular shows that West Valley Arts has done in the past, and then see the fun activities they had prepared like making crowns or face painting. Community members got to learn dances or participate in fight scenes, as well as help paint a banner, while finding out about the people who help make the shows come to life.
After a rousing audience participation opening number of Come Alive from the Greatest Showman, we were treated with guest performances from the Sugar Factory’s Drowsy Chaperone and Draper Historic Theatre’s Matilda, which were both great fun as well as such a show of support to the community at large. We were also treated to a sneak peak of Legally Blonde, an upcoming production in this season at West Valley Arts, before the fun announcement of next season’s five shows.
With the big announcement of doing the popular The Play that Goes Wrong, but in the unique theater in the round that West Valley offers, this will be quite the change and a fantastic opportunity for audiences to have a fresh take on this production. The excitement of having the chance to see A Chorus Line is coupled with the fresh face of Alice By Heart, a tale of World War II meshed with the well known Alice in Wonderland fable written by Duncan Sheik.
Then they will be bringing audiences Hunchback of Notre Dame, with promises to see it like it never has been seen before, and rounding out the year with a spooky Wait until Dark for Halloween.
Not only was it a wonderful occasion to see the turnaround our theatre community could do to take a arts center from closing to a new season, but having a free evening of entertainment to announce it was refreshing and exciting. The comradery of inclusion of the other theatres in the area was the icing on the cake, and we at UTBA can’t wait to see how West Valley Arts continues to bring the spirit of theatre community to the valley.
