The year was 1968, and four teenagers were looking forward to a long, boring summer. That is, until the quartet of friends decided to do what any Mickey Rooney, Judy Garland-type would do - put on a show.
Brimming with enthusiasm, the foursome - Lemuel Harsh, who had just graduated, and high school drama students Janie Marvin, Robyn Anderson and Jay Jolley - approached the City Council about putting on a play for the community during Onion Days, the city's big summer celebration.They asked for $350, recalled Harsh, now a drama teacher at Evergreen Junior High in Salt Lake City. But the council rebuffed them, suggesting they get some adult supervision first.
So they approached faithful school supporters Marion Wilson and Doris Gasser. Earlier that year the drama class at Payson High School had prepared to put on "Little Mary Sunshine," recalled Gasser. But as fate would have it, the school lacked the funds.
Gasser and Wilson became the first adult participants in what was to become the Payson Community Theater. And with their support, the council granted the monetary request, and the Payson Community Theater was born, with Harsh as the first director.
On June 20, PCT observes its 30th anniversary with a celebration concert featuring songs and guest performers from past shows. The concert will be at Payson High School, which PCT has used for rehearsals and performances over the years.
"Thirty years for a community theater (to survive) is really quite phenomenal," said Gasser. "It's interesting it survived even in the tough years," she said.
PCT may be the longest running community theater in Utah "as far as we know," said Dave Dahlquist, who will direct the concert. Dahl-quist has worked with the PCT "off and on," since 1977 when the local troupe put on "No, No Nanette."
The concert will feature about 15 numbers from various shows. Some of the guest performers will be local actors and actresses who performed them originally, he said.
"We were all young people," said Harsh. "It was a big deal for them to trust us with the high school. Our backdrop was made out of butcher paper with net. We were very frugal and the merchants helped us. By donations and a little bit here and a little bit there, we did it."
When that first production was over, the teens paid the City Council back, he said. The next year they put on "Brigadoon," and more people pitched in to help. But the year they did "Hello Dolly" was a turning point. " `Hello Dolly' really kicked us off," said Harsh. "Doris Gasser played Dolly and Gov. Rampton came down and we got a full-scale orchestra." A favorable review from a local newspaper also helped, he said.
With that play the group formed a production board, he said, which continues today.
"Marion (Wilson) was a huge force in getting things done," Harsh said. Wilson took the four teenagers to Salt Lake City to meet then-Gov. Calvin Rampton. They invited him to see "Dolly," and he came, she said. Since then, other governors have attended the performances.
"In the beginning every kid who participated got two tickets for their parents," said Wilson. "The first production - `Little Mary Sunshine' - such a refreshing experience," she recalled. "And the first time they did `Hello Dolly' - it was such an exciting time."
The theater grew beyond voluntarism and now operates under the umbrella of the city as a nonprofit entity. While actors still volunteer, directors and choreographers are paid. "When money came into play, it stopped being a youth organization. The adults took over," said Wilson.
Directors have been paid for about the past two decades. "I don't think it took anything away from it," Gasser said. "I don't think it would have survived with donated time and labor."
Now the city grants the production company $5,000 a year, said Keith Morey, city administrator. PCT gets a small grant from the Utah Arts Council, said a board member, and relies on ticket sales and fund-raising as part of its budget mix.
"The years have been measured by the tears and applause and hard work," Gasser said. "We don't have a lot of curbs and gutters and paved streets, but Payson has always enjoyed the cultural things."
Where are they now? The founders of the Payson Community Theater, that is.
- Lemuel Harsh teaches drama at Evergreen Junior High in Salt Lake City, where he continues a love of theater that began in high school.
- Robyn Anderson Thompson taught kindergarten at Parkview Elementary in the Salt Lake School District for nine years, until she became ill. She also taught at-risk students. She no longer teaches. "It was such an important part of my life back then," she said of the Payson Community Theater.
- Jay Jolley is the only American ever accepted into the Royal London Ballet. He no longer dances but remains on the staff.
- Janie Marvin runs MATR at Pine Creek Ranch in Mt. Pleasant, a drug and alcohol rehabilitation center.