St. George Musical Theater gets $500K donation for new venue
A generous donation from the Larry H. & Gail Miller Family Foundation is helping the St. George Musical Theater gear up for the opening of its first official venue.
St. George Musical Theater has been around for over 25 years, making it the oldest community theater in southern Utah. Surprisingly, it has never had a venue of its own and has hosted productions at the St. George Opera House, which was built in 1875.
In 2024, the city approached the theater about redeveloping an area of town to create an arts district. The development includes a new theater of over 20,000 square feet that can accommodate almost 400 patrons — a big jump from the 125-person capacity at the opera house.
Additionally, the new theater is across the street from an old Cinema 6 at 905 S. Main that was repurposed into the now-operating Performing Arts Campus. As of last year, the theater had raised more than half the funds for both construction projects, but the total price tag is expected to be $16 million.
On Tuesday, the organization announced the Larry H. and Gail Miller Family Foundation would give $500,000 to the theater.
"Projects like these are a critical component to our mission of enriching the spaces where life takes place," said Don Stirling, executive director of the Larry H. and Gail Miller Family Foundation. "The St. George Community Theater will serve as a vibrant hub for creativity and local talent, bringing the community together through the power of the arts."
The theater organization broke ground on the new theater last July, which is "the first brand new performing arts venue that will be community-centered and community-run since the opera house was built in 1875," St. George Musical Theater CEO Bruce Bennett said.
The venues will provide "much-needed" community space to the city and include a children's theater, arts education facility, rehearsal space, dance studio, tribute band performance venue and recording studio.
"Great artistic projects like this don't happen without the generous support of patrons like the Larry H. and Gail Miller Family Foundation," Bennett said. "We are deeply appreciative of this gift and the underlying values of the Miller Family Foundation aimed at uplifting and enriching our St. George community."
The donation reflects the Miller Foundation's "ongoing commitment" to strengthening communities through cultural and educational initiatives, said a joint statement from the theater and foundation.
"The Miller Family Foundation aims to create meaningful impact statewide by investing in projects that enhance art education and community engagement, ensuring that vibrant cultural spaces are accessible to more Utahns," the statement said.
The new facilities are anticipated to attract around 80,000 patrons a year from nearby cities. The theater — which is expected to open in 2026 — aims to help students, actors, technical support staff and instructors thrive in a performing arts campus that fits the arts community's needs, St. George Musical Theater said.
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