CEDAR CITY, UT — The Utah Shakespeare Festival recently announced plans to build a $26.5 million Shakespeare theatre on the campus of Southern Utah University in Cedar City, Utah. Construction of the new 900-seat theatre is expected to begin in the fall of 2013 and would be completed by early 2015.

The new playhouse would allow the Festival to add additional performances beyond what it can now offer in the existing Adams Memorial Shakespearean Theatre, potentially increasing attendance by 25 percent. That would end up bringing an estimated 30,000 additional patrons to Cedar City annually.

“The current theatre has been a joy to perform in and has served the actors, directors and patrons well for more than 35 years,” noted Fred C. Adams, founder of the Utah Shakespeare Festival said. “But as the Festival has grown, we are now feeling a dire need for a larger, more modern facility that includes such creature comforts as public restrooms and a proper backstage area. When completed, this new Shakespeare theatre will re-create the charm and intimate environment under the stars that has so thrilled and excited our patrons from across the nation and throughout the world.”

Currently slated to take up an area east of Southern Utah University campus on 200 West between Center Street and College Avenue, the new theatre will include a retractable roof that will allow expansion of the play season and the potential of year-round usage. It will also offer greater audience amenities, such as public restrooms, ADA accommodations, and heating and air conditioning improvements. Additionally, an incorporated artistic center will provide necessary and functional facilities for a number of artistic, technical, and administrative uses.

The Festival currently attracts nearly 120,000 patrons annually, and one in three audience members travel from outside of Utah.

“The addition of the new Shakespeare theatre will not only allow us to increase the size and scope of our programming, but more importantly it will continue to make The Utah Shakespeare Festival and Cedar City among the top destinations in our region for patrons and top tier artists alike,” said Festival artistic directors David Ivers and Brian Vaughn.

A recent economic impact study revealed the Festival generates more than $35 million annually in patron spending and tax revenues. The average nonresident audience member attending the Festival spent $106 per event above the cost of their admission ticket for lodging, transportation, restaurants and souvenirs. The study also indicates that the new theatre will increase the economic impact by an estimated $8 million annually by drawing 30,000 additional patrons to Cedar City.

Additional highlights of the Festival include:

·         Nonresident patron spending in 2010 totaled over $10 million.

·         Audience members in 2011 came from 39 states and nine different countries.

·         The Festival generated $1.2 million in state sales tax in the last three years.

·         The Festival received the Tony Award for outstanding regional theatre in the country in 2000. Only one theatre each year is recognized as such.

“The Utah Shakespeare Festival is a multi-million dollar economic engine for the State of Utah that creates jobs, increases tourism, generates tax revenue, and expands cultural opportunities, and we are thrilled to be affiliated with it on our campus,” said Michael T. Benson, president of Southern Utah University. “The new theatre will ensure the Festival continues to entertain audiences for the rest of this century.”

For more information, please visit www.bard.org.