Springville Playhouse celebrating 75 years

Springville Playhouse celebrating 75 years of theater

A small group of Springville citizens gathered together in 1947 with a goal to promote and produce drama in their community.

The resulting organization, known as the Springville Playhouse, is now the longest continuously operating community theater group in Utah.

The group is celebrating is 75th anniversary this year and will be presenting the musical “Into the Woods” as part of Springville’s 2022 Art City Days celebration.

After presenting some small theatrical productions in Springville in 1947, the group offered its first full-length production, “An Ideal Husband,” in 1948. Originally known as the Springville Little Theater, the theater group changed its name to the Springville Playhouse in 1949.

Since its beginning, the group has produced many well-known and well-loved plays and musicals, including “Meet Me in St. Louis,” “Our Town,” “Exit the Body,” “Anything Goes,” “Once Upon a Mattress,” and “You Can’t Take It With You.” Currently, the playhouse presents up to four productions each year.

In addition to offering plays with adult casts, the playhouse has over the years had a strong children’s program, presenting plays for children that are cast with children, including “Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory,” and “James and the Giant Peach.”

The playhouse has been on the cutting edge of theater as well, being the first community theater in Utah to present the musicals “Into the Woods,” “Crazy for You,” and “Nuncrackers: The Nunsense Christmas Musical.”

One of the most unique aspects about the Springville Playhouse is that no one, from directors and cast members to costumers and sound and lighting technicians, is paid for their efforts. The hundreds of people who have participated in playhouse productions over the years have done so purely out of a love of theater and a desire to see it promoted in the community.

The Springville Playhouse, a nonprofit organization, is run by a board of directors. Funding comes mainly from ticket sales and government grants.

The Springville Playhouse has presented plays in many different locations over the years, including the Springville Museum of Art, Springville High School, local churches, and the lower level of the old Springville Civic Center. Currently, it produces its shows at Merit Preparatory Academy in Springville.

This photo from the July 29, 1948, edition of the Springville Herald shows cast members of the play “An Ideal Husband,” one of the earliest shows produced by the Springville Playhouse (then known as the Little Theater).

This photo shows cast members of the summer 2007 Springville Playhouse children’s production of Disney’s “The Jungle Book KIDS.”

This photo collage from the Oct. 14, 1954, edition of the Springville Herald shows cast members of the play “The Curious Savage” produced by the Springville Playhouse.

This photo from the May 22, 1980, edition of the Springville Herald shows cast members from the May 1980 Springville Production of “Any Number Can Die.”

This photo shows the cast of the October 1998 Springville Playhouse production of “Arsenic and Old Lace.”