The theater on Main Street, once a spot to catch a movie in Heber, will soon offer a wider variety of entertainment to locals and visitors alike.
New owner Steve Anderson said it will reopen the weekend of May 10 as the Ideal Playhouse.
“We will be doing musical theater, we will be doing concerts, other variety acts such as magicians and comedians, and then we will still continue to show movies in there,” he said.
During the playhouse’s opening weekend, classic rock band Vision will take the stage Friday night, and magician Anthony Hernandez will perform Saturday.
Later in the spring, the playhouse will put on its first musical, “The Wedding Singer.” The cast is already in rehearsals.
Anderson said he envisions all kinds of shows for a wide range of interests, everything from couples looking for a date night destination to parents who want child-friendly entertainment.
“It’s a small town, and with as few entertainment stages as we have, we feel the need to provide different kinds of entertainment on different nights,” he said. “So we’ve tried to identify different age groups and think of different things that people might like to see or experience.”
His ideas range from tribute bands to karaoke contests.
Anderson said he’s been hard at work renovating the theater and getting it ready for this spring. He described the new aesthetic as “rustic mountain Art Deco.”
He and his wife are also working to reopen the sweet shop next door to the theater, which they’ll name Kbop’s. It will feature ice cream, chocolate and other treats. They hope to open sometime this summer.
Anderson said he’s been coming to Heber almost all his life, and now he and his wife live in town. He described opening a family theater as a “dream come true.”
“Part of the reason we moved here is because we really wanted a place where everybody would know each other’s name and we could walk around on Main Street and have some fun,” he said. “So we feel like we’re doing our best as private citizens to support that kind of a feel here in Heber City – the type of town we’d like to live in.”
The Ideal Playhouse opens Friday, May 10. Anderson said more details about the reimagined theater will be available online soon.
