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WEST VALLEY CITY -- Twenty-five years ago, Ruth and Nathan Hale came out of retirement and opened a theater, but they never imagined millions would come through the doors.
The Hales had been in the theater business for 36 years in California, but when they came home to Utah, they had a vision that enveloped generations of their family members. It began with the purchase of an old lingerie factory.
In July 1985, "I Came to Your Wedding" premiered at the grand opening of Hale's first Utah theater in South Salt Lake.
"Someone once said, ‘Why do you put on so many Hale plays?' We said, ‘Because we own the theater, and no one can stop us," Ruth Hale, co-founder of the Hale Centre Theatre, said in a 1985 interview.
From humble pioneer ancestors, the Hales say they wrote hundreds of plays starring nearly that many family members.
"An interviewer was talking to us, and she mentioned that ‘Mr. Hale was practically born on the stage.' When I read that, I said to my wife, ‘She must have meant stagecoach," the theater's other co-founder, Nathan Hale, said in 1985.
In this year, we will see 250,000, almost 255,000 people, through the door; and that rivals any of the major theaters in the country.
–Sally Dietlein, Hale Centre Theatre
In 1998, the Hales opened their $9 million West Valley theater. Ruth was still performing at age 90.
"It's been a good life," she said in 1998. "It's been a happy life, and I've often said, ‘I'm never as happy as when I'm on stage with my family.'"
Twenty-five years ago, the production was about a wedding, and this anniversary-year production is as well. Over the past quarter of a century, 3.5 million people have come through Hale's doors.
"In this year, we will see 250,000, almost 255,000 people, through the door; and that rivals any of the major theaters in the country," says Sally Dietlein, artistic director for Hale Centre Theatre.
The legacy of Ruth and Nathan Hale moves forward as another quarter century begins the same way.
Performances of "The Wedding Singer" run through July 31st. "The Pirates of Penzance" opens Aug. 10. CLICK HERE for details on both performances.
E-mail: cmikita@ksl.com
