Pioneer Theatre Company will formally break ground for the start of its $5.5 million expansion to the Roy W. and Elizabeth E. Simmons Pioneer Memorial Theatre complex during a ceremony at 9 a.m., Wednesday, Oct. 27.
When the curtain went up on PTC's 1999-2000 season last month, patrons discovered holes in the ground and trailers temporarily housing the box office and the company's administration offices. (Publicist Suzanne Neddo is still working out of a cubby hole on the north side of the building -- in space that was originally designed as a cloakroom. It will revert to that when Neddo and other PTC employees move into their new offices about 14 or 15 months from now.)The first major expansion and renovation of the theater since it opened 37 years ago, Wednesday's groundbreaking will bring together many of the individuals who have been instrumental in moving the project from the drawing board to reality.
Major components of the project include construction of all new scene shop, rehearsal hall, costume shop, administration offices and storage space. The renovation will also include expanded restroom facilities and a refurbished lobby.
Funding for the project was kicked off by a $4.1 million gift from Roy and Elizabeth (Tibby) Simmons and their family -- longtime patrons of PTC.
According to Bruce T. Reese, president and CEO of Bonneville International and chairman of PTC's board of trustees, the contribution "is not only one of the largest gifts ever made to the performing arts in Utah, but it inspired tremendous generosity from members of our board."
As a result, Reese said he was pleased to announce, PTC has received a total of $4.96 million in gifts and pledges to date -- over 90 percent of the project's total costs.
"The theater will now look to PTC's patrons and friends to raise the remaining $450,000 to complete the project," he added, noting that the groundbreaking ceremony will also launch the public phase of the company's "Pioneering Great Theatre" capital campaign.
PTC Artistic Director Charles Morey added that the renovations and expansion will benefit patrons of the arts throughout the region.
"We have grown from a small university theater company to one of the most respected professional regional theaters in the country," he said. "The expansion . . . will allow PTC to provide theater of the highest professional standards for Utah audiences -- and is critical to the theater's ability to continue producing superbly crafted plays well into the 21st century."
The new scene and costume shops, rehearsal hall and renovations to the Lees Main Stage and Babcock auditoriums and the lobby are scheduled to be completed by next September. The new administration offices will be finished three months later.
Neddo said last week that entry into the theater will remain handicapped accessible during the construction period.
The project architect is the Salt Lake firm of Brixen and Christopher, with J.L. Hardy Construction as the general contractor.
According to Diane Parisi, PTC's director of development, there are a number of opportunities for special gift recognition. For further information about the fund-raising campaign, call 581-6960.