Item Detail
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12685
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7
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0
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English
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Brigham Young and the Salt Lake Theatre, 1862-1877
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Medford, MA
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Tufts University
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278
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Ph.D. diss.
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The Salt Lake Theater opened in 1862 and until its demolition in 1928 was an important theater in the American West. It was a community-built project by the Mormon settlers of the Salt Lake Valley under the leadership of the President and Trustee-in-Trust of the Mormon Church, Brigham Young. This is a study of Young's role as theatrical entrepreneur and encompasses all economic, philosophic, and artistic considerations in this regard. Brigham Young fostered recreation and theater in the community as necessary elements of the Mormon lifestyle. Besides his articulated philosophies advocating drama, Young encouraged the development of a resident stock company. When the time was right for a large playhouse in Salt Lake City, Young saw to it his resident company could make the transition from amateur to professional level productions. Using his power and position, he saw to it they had a model playhouse in which to perform. The Salt Lake Theater was a business for Brigham Young, and as such he played an active role in production. This study discusses his involvement with repertory, censorship, soliciting stars, training and managing the home company, establishing house rules, production regulations, and assuring his audience both comfort and safety. The study analyzes Brigham Young's financial involvement, how much he earned, and how he was paid. In this regard, the question of ownership of the theater is explored. Until his death, the church assumed Brigham Young owned and managed the theater as Trustee-in-Trust. From evidence available, Young assumed ownership for himself. The fact monies for the construction of the theater came from church coffers and Young's own personal accounts only complicates the story. The community provided most of the labor and materials through voluntary contributions or 'tithing' donations. The study draws conclusions about Young's use of church funds and the community cooperative to build a theater which he operated for his own personal enterprise. As an epilogue to Young's years as theatrical entrepreneur, the years following his death are reviewed. The comparison of managements helps demonstrate why Brigham Young's assumption of the business made a difference in profits and performance standards. The Salt Lake Dramatic Association lacked Young's sharp sense for making a successful business. They merely kept the theater open for the benefit of the community's entertainment needs, but in doing so, lost control of attractions and the theater's last forty-nine years were of gradual decline. The holding corporation had no alternative but to sell the property in 1928. It was subsequently destroyed for an office building. The fifteen years Young participated in the Salt Lake Theater as owner and producer were the most successful years of business the theater experienced. They were also the years the Salt Lake Theater was most closely connected with the community, both through the maintenance of the Deseret Dramatic Associations and the local control of theater attractions. No doubt Young's use of the church and the community for his own enterprise was selfish. However, in this case the product of his endeavor was a superior theater in the America of its day, a resource center for native talent, as well as an important source of amusement, recreation, culture, and credibility for his isolated, frontier community. [Author's abstract]
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Brigham Young : American Moses
Mormonism and Music : A History
Nineteenth-Century Mormon Architecture and City Planning
Shakespeare among the Saints
Shattering the Vase : The Razing of the Old Salt Lake Theatre
The Seven Ages of Thomas Lyne : A Tragedian among the Mormons
The Utah Letters of Alexander C. Badger, Jr.