PLEASANT GROVE — Actors and theatergoers will soon bid farewell as the curtains close on the beloved Hale Center Theater Orem ,and the overture begins for the debut performance at The Ruth in Pleasant Grove.

"A Christmas Carol" will be the final show ever performed at the Hale Center Theater Orem, on Dec. 28.

"For this to be the swan song, the final curtain call if you will, for the theater, I think is very fitting," Daniel Hess said.

Hess said it's an honor to be playing the infamous Ebenezer Scrooge in the production, which has original music and lyrics written by the Orem theater's founder Cody Hale.

Since first getting cast in "A Christmas Carol" 15 years ago in Orem, Hess, his wife and five daughters have played various roles in the show, but this year is his first time being Scrooge. Playing Scrooge is "daunting" but also rewarding, he said.

After performing hundreds of times in the Orem theater, Hess is sad to see it go.

"There's certain places that just have that smell and that lighting, and you walk in, and it just floods over you — all the memories, all the people. That's never changed in my experience," he said.

With the new theater, there is "the potential and the possibility of blessing more than twice as many people than we could here," Hess said. "The same vision and mindset and love of live theater" that people love about Orem will translate onto the two stages at The Ruth and Nathan Hale Theater.

The Orem theater is so small that "backstage" is actually just the lobby where patrons can buy snacks before finding their seats. The building will become a support system, storage and a costume shop as the company more than doubles its production with the new venue.

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Although people may worry the intimate setting of the tiny theater will be missed at a bigger venue, Hess said he doesn't think that will be lost.

"The audience will still be very close to the action. I think they will be so comfortable and enjoying these beautiful new surroundings that they are going to say, 'Oh, I love the old place, but hey, this is all right,'" he said.

Both theaters at The Ruth will have the audience close to the stage to keep the intimacy strong, just with more seats and actual backstages with dressing rooms.

Continuing Orem's legacy

"We're coming from itty bitty space that is so intimate and so fun to be right up there with the actors, and this will have the same feel. But the quality is going to be just as great, if not better than what it's been," actress Amy Shreeve Keeler said.

Keeler and Aria Love-Jackson will portray Mother and Sarah Brown in "Ragtime," the first production at The Ruth.

But this isn't the first theater Keeler and Love-Jackson have opened together. The two performed in "Aida," the inaugural production at the Sandy Hale Center Theatre in 2017.

"I love the bragging rights of being able to say I've opened both of the Hale theaters, but this one is super special," Love-Jackson said.

The new theater will "give the creatives that work here more to play with," she said, adding that it will still have the quality people have come to expect at Orem, but it will be "elevated."

"We are taking what we have built as a theater community in Orem and giving that same community more tools to be creative, to tell stories in innovative ways and the space for more people to come and see it," Love-Jackson said.

Keeler said having a new theater is exciting but challenging, as everyone is learning together how the new technology, audio and stage effects work. The actors only got into the space on Dec. 11 and have less than a month to get everything perfect for opening night.

"It's just a bonding experience for the people who go through it," Keeler said. "It's fun for the actors, but this is fun for everybody to open something new."

"Ragtime" is one of Keeler's all-time favorite shows. She says it is like an American "Les Miserables" and is timely for today's world.

"It has an impact on people that a lot of other shows don't. I'm excited for that first show here at The Ruth to really get people thinking — that's what good theater does. We can all enjoy a good tap dance, but this is the meaty stuff, and it's such a great thing to open the theater with," she said.

Love-Jackson said "Ragtime" is "a perfect musical" that touches everyone by highlighting the beauty of America. The story follows three American families from different ethnicities, ages, backgrounds and beliefs as they navigate hardships.

"It really is a perfect representation of the beginnings of the American mosaic — who we are, how much of our history we can look back and see where we started and why we're here, good and bad," she said.

She said everyone who watches the show can recognize themselves in it. She hopes people will give the new theater a chance.

"We are excited to give back to the community and to pour into Pleasant Grove ... but also excited for them to pour into this theater and embrace this new era," Love-Jackson said.

The Ruth Smith Grand Theater will open Jan. 4 with "Ragtime" and the Lindsay Legacy Theater will open in February with "Cinderella."

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