Unused, but not forgotten
Though the amphitheater on Old Main Hill is rundown and almost forgotten, it has a rich history that will forever remain in the hearts of those who lived it.
From 1956 to 1965 the amphitheater was a hot spot for musicals, plays and dance concerts.
Vosco Call, director and theater professor during that time, said, “I dare say that was some of the best theater in the state of Utah.”
The seats of the amphitheater were built in 1929 and used for outdoor lectures and an occasional theatrical reading, such as “Antigone,” Call said. In 1956 a stage, housing, sound and lighting were added. Staff and students at Utah State University prepared to begin a saga in outdoor theater arts.
Floyd Morgan, 92, was also a director and professor then. He said “they were still pouring cement the afternoon before” the opening show.
The show was “Look on the Land,” written by USU professors about the history of Cache Valley for a centennial celebration. Students, faculty and community members all participated, Morgan said.
Call said the engineering department helped design a sound system by hanging microphones along a string that crossed the stage. But, the system’s first trial run wasn’t what they expected.
“KVNU radio came over the speaker system, but not a bit from the stage,” he said, laughing.
Audiences liked the final production so much it was repeated the following year. By 1958 USU knew it had to keep the tradition alive, Call said. The theater arts department started the Opportunity Theater – an annual summer program which included one musical, one play and one dance concert at the amphitheater.
USU joined forces with New York’s High School of Performing Arts which sent its world-class dancers to Utah every summer to perform in the amphitheater productions. Many of those dancers ended up on Broadway, Call said.
The Opportunity Theater’s first showings were the musical “Carousel” and the play “Peer Gynt.” USU was “paving the way” for a trend in outdoor theater, he said.
“There’s something about playing under the stars,” Call said.
During a 1959 production of “Kiss Me, Kate,” it was announced at intermission that the first Russian Sputnik was circling Earth and might be seen in the sky that night. That was a bad move, Call said. No one paid attention to the rest of the show.
In following years, USU performed such classics as “Our Town” and “Oklahoma.” A full, live orchestra accompanied the actors, he said. During “Paint Your Wagon,” two white horses pulled a coach along Old Main Hill and onto the amphitheater stage.
“I swear those horses hit the beat of the music,” Call said. “It was grand.”
Morgan, who now lives at Sunshine Terrace, played a lead role in that production.
He said, “I could sing circles around the guy in the movie [Lee Marvin].”
Then he started to sing what he could remember, “I talk to the trees, but they don’t listen to me …”
These treasured memories are all that is left of the Opportunity Theater. After 1965, there wasn’t enough money to support it.
“I wish the amphitheater could have continued,” Call said. “We could have developed one of the best programs in the Western States.”
Call went on to found the Old Lyric Repertory Theater, which has been going strong for almost 40 years and will be presenting shows this summer.
John Pappas, director of Sports Services, said the amphitheater has since been used for a few concerts and church activities. Since the facility has been neglected, it has become a safety issue.
“I don’t know if anyone wants to step up and take on the project,” Pappas said.
Darrell Hart, assistant vice president of Facilities, said, “There’s no adequate power system and the benches are in bad shape.”
Furthermore, the location is bad because it is near the road and residential areas. If the university had the money, they would consider taking it down or relocating it before fixing it up. Right now, that’s not a priority, Hart said.