Hurricane City Council doesn’t take a chance on ‘Mamma Mia,’ asserts control over local theater productions

HURRICANE — In the midst of Hurricane City’s council chambers, Tiffany Wright sat patiently in the middle of Hurricane City’s council chambers, listening to logistical arguments and technical zoning ordinance jargon while a Greek-island musical remained fresh on her mind.

View of Hurricane council chambers, Hurricane, Utah, July 21, 2022 | Photo by Truman Burgess

As the applicant for Hurricane Valley Theatrical Company, Wright came to Thursday night’s Hurricane City Council meeting on behalf of the city’s theater director Kyle Myrick to propose a 2023 production switch from “Beauty and the Beast” to “Mamma Mia.”

Based on her responses later in the evening, Wright didn’t expect every Hurricane City council member would staunchly dismiss the play.

The opposition began quickly into Wright’s proposal when Mayor Nanette Billings interjected.

Wright had casually mentioned the company’s plans to perform the musical “The Spitfire Grill” in early 2023, before “Mamma Mia.”

“I appreciate you coming before the council,” Billings said, “but I don’t remember approving ‘Spitfire.’ The only two we talked about were ‘SpongeBob’ and ‘Little Mermaid.’”

Billings voiced her concerns about showing “Mamma Mia” and “The Spitfire Grill” — two modern plays with adult themes — in Hurricane, saying she didn’t believe as many Hurricane citizens would be interested in attending.

“‘Oklahoma!’ ‘Annie Get Your Gun.’ Anything that is traditional, we know we’re going to get a lot of people coming to us. For anything traditional, all groups will come. I’d hate to limit (the audience) to an adult group for ‘Mamma Mia.’”

Overflow chairs stacked on the wall of Hurricane’s council chambers, Hurricane, Utah, July 21, 2022 | Photo by Truman Burgess

“I was given feedback from the latest budget meetings that you wanted more adult shows,” Wright responded. “Not adult content, but something more adult than ‘SpongeBob.’”

Councilman Joseph Prete addressed Wright by giving his own take on attending theatrical performances in Hurricane and echoing Billings’ concerns.

“I will go to all of the plays (in Hurricane) because I want to support the program,” Prete said. “The city has invested millions of dollars into our theater. It’s a great, wonderful thing for our community, and I will go to be supportive.”

“However, if I didn’t feel duty-bound, I would have no appeal to go see ‘Spitfire Grill’ or ‘Mamma Mia.’ I would go to ‘Beauty and the Beast.’ I would go to ‘The Little Mermaid.’ I would go to ‘Peter Pan’ and some of the older (plays), like ‘Seven Brides for Seven Brothers,’ classics like ‘Oklahoma!’”

“We have to make sure that if we keep investing tens of thousands of dollars in productions that we are doing it right so that we serve the entire community and not get too off in left field with being artistic or whatever.”

Prete said he fully supports funding theater performances in Hurricane if the production titles interest the entire Hurricane community, saying he’d be willing to give $10,000 to $15,000 of additional funds in the budget to ensure the theater gets the rights to these plays.

After listening in front of the council for 10 minutes, Wright was astounded by the council’s comments.

“Really?” she asked the council. “No ‘Mamma Mia’ music? You don’t love it?”

Councilman David Hirschi joined the discussion next, supporting the council’s stance on “Mamma Mia.”

“The music we love,” he said. “I think this group up here all likes ABBA. But it’s the content of the play that’s a little bit of a drawback. It’s not really appealing and conducive to our younger generation.”

View of Hurricane council chambers, Hurricane, Utah, July 21, 2022 | Photo by Truman Burgess

Like Billings, Hirschi said he thinks “Mamma Mia” is possibly a play just for adults and it’s likely, too, that a lot of Hurricane adults won’t want to see this production.

Billings, Prete and Hirschi all praised theater director Kyle Myrick’s directing ability, and they emphasized how they still want to ensure he stays with the city while still ensuring the theater performances properly appeal to Hurricane residents.

To help manage this, Prete offered an idea of the council creating a list of approved plays and giving the list to Myrick to select from there. Every council member supported Prete’s motion to personally create a list of possible plays for the council to look at in 30 days, presumably presenting the choices to Myrick soon after.

Taken aback by the council’s swift denouncement of the musical, Wright left the microphone by nonchalantly quoting “Mamma Mia”:

“Alright, well, if you change your mind, I’m the first in line. Honey, I’m still free — take a chance on me.’”

Copyright St. George News, SaintGeorgeUtah.com LLC, 2022, all rights reserved.

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