Desert Star Theater is a dinner theater establishment in

Murray Murray may refer to: Businesses * Murray (bicycle company), an American manufacturer of low-cost bicycles * Murrays, an Australian bus company * Murray International Trust, a Scottish investment trust * D. & W. Murray Limited, an Australian who ...

Utah Utah ( , ) is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. Utah is a landlocked U.S. state bordered to its east by Colorado, to its northeast by Wyoming, to its north by Idaho, to its south by Arizona, and to it ...

. It started out as a small theater called the Gem, which showed silent movies with a piano for music. It was later closed down and demolished, but rebuilt and expanded into the Iris Theater by owner Tony Duvall. After his retirement, the Iris changed hands several times before being renamed the Vista. The

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic v ...

, notes Iris Theater, Apartments and Commercial Building, built in 1930, is significant for its role in the urbanization of Murray City. With its combination of entertainment, retail, and residential space, the building represents an elaborate example of the multi-use commercial block common during the early twentieth-century development of the city's commercial business district. The building was owned by the Duvall family who managed the theater while living in the apartments above the storefronts. The Iris building is also significant as the only

commercial building Commercial may refer to: * a dose of advertising conveyed through media (such as - for example - radio or television) ** Radio advertisement ** Television advertisement * (adjective for:) commerce, a system of voluntary exchange of products and s ...

in Murray built in the

Art Deco Art Deco, short for the French ''Arts Décoratifs'', and sometimes just called Deco, is a style of visual arts, architecture, and product design, that first appeared in France in the 1910s (just before World War I), and flourished in the Unite ...

style. Though not a particularly ornate example of the style, the building makes a distinctive contribution to the State Street frontage of the

Murray Downtown Historic District The Murray Downtown Historic District is located in the historic city center of Murray, Utah, Murray, Salt Lake County, Utah. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2006, with a boundary increase in 2020. The historic dis ...

. The building is in good condition and is a contributing historic resource of the city.Brosschinsky, Karol; National Register of Historic Places Multiple Property Nomination, 1999. Utah State Historic Preservation Office. The Iris was considered

state-of-the-art The state of the art (sometimes cutting edge or leading edge) refers to the highest level of general development, as of a device, technique, or scientific field achieved at a particular time. However, in some contexts it can also refer to a level ...

at the time. The theater showed both blockbusters (e.g. "

Gone with the Wind Gone with the Wind most often refers to: * Gone with the Wind (novel), ''Gone with the Wind'' (novel), a 1936 novel by Margaret Mitchell * Gone with the Wind (film), ''Gone with the Wind'' (film), the 1939 adaptation of the novel Gone with the Win ...

"), and more obscure fare (e.g. some Thursday nights were reserved for

Swedish films Swedish or ' may refer to: Anything from or related to Sweden, a country in Northern Europe. Or, specifically: * Swedish language, a North Germanic language spoken primarily in Sweden and Finland ** Swedish alphabet, the official alphabet used ...

shown especially for Swedish immigrants brought to Murray by the smelters). The theater had a stage where local groups could mount theatrical productions. The Iris Theater was a community place. Murray firemen sometimes held conventions there. Many of Murray's youths, including the Duvall children, worked in the theater. During the

Great Depression The Great Depression (19291939) was an economic shock that impacted most countries across the world. It was a period of economic depression that became evident after a major fall in stock prices in the United States. The economic contagio ...

, Tony Duvall would sometimes let children see a movie in exchange for scrap metal, or sometimes simply for free. Tony Duvall, with partner Joe Lawrence, later built the Murray Theater at 4961 South State. In the 1940s, the Iris would close during the summer while movies were shown in the larger (and cooler) Murray Theater. The theater first became Desert Star when Mike and Alyce Todd attempted to produce a play near

This Is The Place Heritage Park This is the Place Heritage Park is a Utah State Park that is located on the east side of Salt Lake City, Utah, United States, at the foot of the Wasatch Range and near the mouth of Emigration Canyon. A non-profit foundation manages the park. ...

. This play was the first to exhibit the common traits found today in Desert Star plays. After the summer ended, they attempted to find an indoor location for their plays. They considered the closed down Vista, and eventually took it and renamed it the Desert Star Playhouse. In 2000, after several successful plays, the city of Murray said that the building had to be brought up to code or torn down. The owner wanted to go with the latter, but the Todds decided to buy the theater and renovate. Today, the playhouse features

Dinner Dinner usually refers to what is in many Western cultures the largest and most formal meal of the day, which is eaten in the evening. Historically, the largest meal used to be eaten around midday, and called dinner. Especially among the elite, ...

and

Cabaret Cabaret is a form of theatrical entertainment featuring music, song, dance, recitation, or drama. The performance venue might be a pub, a casino, a hotel, a restaurant, or a nightclub with a stage for performances. The audience, often dining or d ...

theaters, as well as performing two shows in different theaters. Desert Star is known for parody plays, doing comedic spoofs of classic movies and stories. They are also known for political jokes, and their themes tend to revolve around Utah. Each show also ends with a musical olio, in which the performers dress up in various costumes and do musical numbers.

References

* Tom Tom Liljegren
"Boo and hiss at Tom Cruise at the Desert Star"
The Utah Statesman, 22 August 2006, "Diversions" section. * Ann W. Engar

Utah History Encyclopedia, accessed 6 May 2007

External links

Desert Star Theater
{{Authority control Theatres completed in 1930 Dinner theatre Theatres on the National Register of Historic Places in Utah Buildings and structures in Murray, Utah Theatres in Utah Art Deco architecture in Utah Tourist attractions in Salt Lake County, Utah Event venues established in 1930 1930 establishments in Utah National Register of Historic Places in Salt Lake County, Utah

See also

References

External links