Cedar City Children’s Musical Theatre stages flash mob to promote upcoming performance, building fund

Cedar City Children's Musical Theatre's flash mob at the Walmart in Cedar City, Utah, Aug. 21, 2021 | Photo courtesy of Cedar City Children's Musical Theatre, St. George News / Cedar City News

CEDAR CITY — The Cedar City Children’s Musical Theatre did two pop-up performances at the Cedar City Walmart and Smith’s last weekend to advertise their upcoming summer production of “The Wizard of Oz” and raise awareness of their continuing efforts to find a home for the 12-year-old theater company.

Cedar City Children’s Musical Theatre’s flash mob at the Walmart in Cedar City, Utah, Aug. 21, 2021 | Photo courtesy of Cedar City Children’s Musical Theatre, St. George News / Cedar City News

Performances of the show will be Thursday, Friday and Saturday, with two more performances on Monday and Tuesday at the Heritage Center Theater in Cedar City.

Bruce Anderson, who founded Cedar City Children’s Musical Theatre with his wife, Wendy, and members of the DeMille family, said that tickets to the large-scale production will likely sell out.

“You’ll want to buy your tickets ahead of time,” Anderson told St. George News. “We almost always sell out, and it breaks our hearts to turn away people at the door.”

Though ticket sales will help toward finding a new home for the theater, Anderson said the company has a long way to go before reaching their goal of $2 million.

Young performers rehearsing for a Cedar City Children’s Musical Theatre performance, Cedar City, Utah, date unspecified | Photo courtesy of Cedar City Children’s Musical Theatre, St. George News / Cedar City News

“We’ve raised about $55,000,” Anderson told Cedar City News. “But we’ve had a hard time finding our dream building. And we’ve moved seven times in 12 years, so we’re really looking to settle down.”

Anderson said the company stages both mini-musicals and large cast summer musicals – “Wizard of Oz” has an ensemble of over 200 young performers. The company was previously housed at the old Cedar City Hospital, a space they were attempting to purchase, as previously reported by Cedar City News. But then the pandemic hit, the company was forced to cancel their big summer production, and the large space they occupied was sold out from under them.

While they have been able to still do some work in a smaller space in the building, they’ve been looking for a more suitable space, Anderson said, adding that all of the relocating has put a strain on their volunteers.

“Our company is made up of around 25 steady volunteers,” he said. “While they love working with us, it’s taxing to continuously ask them to help us move.”

In this 2020 file photo, Oompa Loompas perform a song in CCCMT’s mini-musical performance of “Willy Wonka,” Cedar City, Utah, Jan. 21, 2020 | Photo by Paul Dail, St. George News / Cedar City News

Anderson said he hopes the company will continue to bring high quality children’s productions with great effects, scenery and costumes to Cedar City audiences. Ultimately, he said, a permanent home would help the company to serve the children who act and attend shows, as well as the Cedar City community.

All showings of “The Wizard of Oz” begin at 7 p.m. at the Heritage Center Theater, located at 105 North and 100 East, in Cedar City. Tickets are $15 and can be purchased online.

For those who would like to support the cause but can’t make it to see a show, Anderson said the best way to help is to be part of the CCCMT “Give 5” campaign. There will also be a silent auction held during the run of the show, with information soon to be announced on the company’s Facebook page.

Copyright St. George News, SaintGeorgeUtah.com LLC, 2021, all rights reserved.

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