Tuacahn
| Tuacahn Center for the Arts | |
|---|---|
 An ariel view of Ivins Utah. Tuacahn is located in the canyon slight off center. | |
| Address | 1100 Tuacahn Drive |
| City | Ivins, Utah |
| Country | United States |
| Architect | Mesa Consulting Group Inc. |
| Owned by | Tuacahn Center for the Arts |
| Capacity | 2000 est. |
| Type | Off Broadway Outdoor Amphitheater |
| Opened | April, 1995 |
| Production | Joseph and the Technicolor Dreamcoat |
| Website | |
| https://www.tuacahn.org/ | |
Tuacahn Amphitheatre and Center for the Arts is a nonprofit 501(c)(3) arts organization nestled in the mouth of Padre Canyon below towering 1500 foot (457 m) red sandstone cliffs in Ivins, Utah adjacent to Snow Canyon State Park and near St. George. The 42,000 square foot (3902 m²) facility was completed in 1995 and includes a 1920 seat outdoor amphitheater, a 330 seat indoor theater, a dance studio, a black box theater, a recital hall, a costume shop and scene shop, studios, classrooms, and a gift shop. Tuacahn presents professional large-scale musical theater productions as part of the annual "Broadway in the Desert" series. The center also presents The Festival of Lights with Live Nativity during the holiday season as well as a spring and fall concert series.
Tuacahn was founded by Utah playwright Doug Stewart, a creator of the musical "Saturday's Warrior." He envisioned a place where the story of the founding of southern Utah could be told in dramatic form. Partnering with businessman and philanthropist Hyrum W. Smith (creator of the Franklin Planner), Stewart's dream became a reality when the arts center opened in April 1995 with a special dedication by Gordon B. Hinckley and the Mormon Tabernacle Choir. The venue presented the outdoor musical drama "UTAH!" for several seasons before discontinuing that production and switching to the "Broadway in the Desert" format in 1999.
In 2005, Tuacahn created the Summer Theatre Institute to provide high school students from throughout the state of Utah the opportunity to experience a summer stock experience for 8 weeks during the summer. The Institute presents a fully staged musical production in the indoor Ruth and Orval Hafen Theatre for approximately four weeks in July and August as the culminating event of the summer camp experience.
In 2006 Music Theatre International selected Tuacahn as one of eight regional theaters in the United States to present the first post-Broadway professional productions of Les Misérables. Tuacahn's production took place June-October 2008. In June 2009 Tuacahn was awarded rights to present the post-Broadway regional-theatre premiere of Disney's Tarzan in 2010. Due to the success of 'this musical, Disney gave Tuacahn the rights for the post-Broadway regional premiere of The Little Mermaid, which ran during the summer of 2011. It has been announced that "The Little Mermaid" will show again in the 2014 season along with other previous performed shows "The Wizard of Oz" and "Joseph and the Technicolor Dreamcoat."
In December 2004, Scott S. Anderson, writer and director of the film The Best Two Years, was named Tuacahn's Artistic Director.
Tuacahn Center for the Arts is also home to a charter school known as Tuacahn High School for the Performing Arts.
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37°11′25″N 113°39′33″W / 37.19025°N 113.659235°WCoordinates: 37°11′25″N 113°39′33″W / 37.19025°N 113.659235°W