Desert Star Theater
Encyclopedia
Desert Star Theater is a dinner theater establishment in Murray
, Utah
. It started out as a small theater called the Gem, which showed silent movies with a piano for music. It was later closed down and demolished, but rebuilt and expanded into the Iris Theater by owner Tony Duvall. After his retirement, the Iris changed hands several times before being renamed the Vista.
The National Register of Historic Places
, notes Iris Theater, Apartments and Commercial Building, built in 1930, is significant for its role in the urbanization of Murray City. With its combination of entertainment, retail, and residential space, the building represents an elaborate example of the multi-use commercial block common during the early twentieth-century development of the city's commercial business district. The building was owned by the Duvall family who managed the theater while living in the apartments above the storefronts. The Iris building is also significant as the only commercial building
in Murray built in the Art Deco
style. Though not a particularly ornate example of the style, the building makes a distinctive contribution to the State Street frontage of the Murray Downtown Historic District
. The building is in good condition and is a contributing historic resource of the city.
The Iris was considered state-of-the-art at the time. The theater showed both blockbusters (e.g.
"Gone with the Wind
"), and more obscure fare (e.g. some Thursday nights were reserved for Swedish films
shown especially for Swedish immigrants brought to Murray by the smelters). The theater had a stage where local groups could mount theatrical productions. The Iris Theater was a
community place. Murray firemen sometimes held conventions there. Many of Murray's youths,
including the Duvall children, worked in the theater. During the Great Depression
, Tony Duvall would
sometimes let children see a movie in exchange for scrap metal, or sometimes simply for free. Tony
Duvall, with partner Joe Lawrence, later built the Murray Theater at 4961 South State. In the 1940s, the Iris would close during the summer while movies were shown in the larger (and cooler) Murray Theater.
The theater first became Desert Star when Mike and Alyce Todd attempted to produce a play near This Is The Place Heritage Park
. This play was the first to exhibit the common traits found today in Desert Star plays. After the summer ended, they attempted to find an indoor location for their plays. They considered the closed down Vista, and eventually took it and renamed it the Desert Star Playhouse.
In 2000, after several successful plays, the city of Murray said that the building had to be brought up to code or torn down. The owner wanted to go with the latter, but the Todds decided to buy the theater and renovate. Today, the playhouse features Dinner
and Cabaret
theaters, as well as performing two shows in different theaters.
Desert Star is known for parody plays, doing comedic spoofs of classic movies and stories. They are also known for political jokes, and their themes tend to revolve around Utah. Each show also ends with a musical olio
, in which the performers dress up in various costumes and do musical numbers.
Murray, Utah
Murray is a city situated on the Wasatch Front in the core of Salt Lake Valley in the U.S. state of Utah. Named for territorial governor Eli Murray, it is the state's fourteenth largest city. According to the 2010 census, Murray has approximately 46,746 residents.Murray is close to Salt Lake City,...
, Utah
Utah
Utah is a state in the Western United States. It was the 45th state to join the Union, on January 4, 1896. Approximately 80% of Utah's 2,763,885 people live along the Wasatch Front, centering on Salt Lake City. This leaves vast expanses of the state nearly uninhabited, making the population the...
. It started out as a small theater called the Gem, which showed silent movies with a piano for music. It was later closed down and demolished, but rebuilt and expanded into the Iris Theater by owner Tony Duvall. After his retirement, the Iris changed hands several times before being renamed the Vista.
The National Register of Historic Places
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places is the United States government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects deemed worthy of preservation...
, notes Iris Theater, Apartments and Commercial Building, built in 1930, is significant for its role in the urbanization of Murray City. With its combination of entertainment, retail, and residential space, the building represents an elaborate example of the multi-use commercial block common during the early twentieth-century development of the city's commercial business district. The building was owned by the Duvall family who managed the theater while living in the apartments above the storefronts. The Iris building is also significant as the only commercial building
Commercial building
A commercial building is a building that is used for commercial use. Types can include office buildings, warehouses, or retail . In urban locations, a commercial building often combines functions, such as an office on levels 2-10, with retail on floor 1...
in Murray built in the Art Deco
Art Deco
Art deco , or deco, is an eclectic artistic and design style that began in Paris in the 1920s and flourished internationally throughout the 1930s, into the World War II era. The style influenced all areas of design, including architecture and interior design, industrial design, fashion and...
style. Though not a particularly ornate example of the style, the building makes a distinctive contribution to the State Street frontage of the Murray Downtown Historic District
Murray Downtown Historic District
The Murray Downtown Historic District is located in the historic city center of Murray, Salt Lake County, Utah. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2006....
. The building is in good condition and is a contributing historic resource of the city.
The Iris was considered state-of-the-art at the time. The theater showed both blockbusters (e.g.
"Gone with the Wind
Gone with the Wind
The slaves depicted in Gone with the Wind are primarily loyal house servants, such as Mammy, Pork and Uncle Peter, and these slaves stay on with their masters even after the Emancipation Proclamation of 1863 sets them free...
"), and more obscure fare (e.g. some Thursday nights were reserved for Swedish films
Cinema of Sweden
Swedish cinema is known as producing many critically acclaimed movies, and during the 20th century was the most prominent of Scandinavia. This is largely due to the popularity and prominence of the directors Ingmar Bergman, Victor Sjöström, and more recently Lasse Hallström and Lukas...
shown especially for Swedish immigrants brought to Murray by the smelters). The theater had a stage where local groups could mount theatrical productions. The Iris Theater was a
community place. Murray firemen sometimes held conventions there. Many of Murray's youths,
including the Duvall children, worked in the theater. During the Great Depression
Great Depression
The Great Depression was a severe worldwide economic depression in the decade preceding World War II. The timing of the Great Depression varied across nations, but in most countries it started in about 1929 and lasted until the late 1930s or early 1940s...
, Tony Duvall would
sometimes let children see a movie in exchange for scrap metal, or sometimes simply for free. Tony
Duvall, with partner Joe Lawrence, later built the Murray Theater at 4961 South State. In the 1940s, the Iris would close during the summer while movies were shown in the larger (and cooler) Murray Theater.
The theater first became Desert Star when Mike and Alyce Todd attempted to produce a play near This Is The Place Heritage Park
This Is The Place Heritage Park
The This Is the Place Heritage Park is located on the east side of Salt Lake City, Utah, USA at the foot of the Wasatch Range and near the mouth of Emigration Canyon.-History:...
. This play was the first to exhibit the common traits found today in Desert Star plays. After the summer ended, they attempted to find an indoor location for their plays. They considered the closed down Vista, and eventually took it and renamed it the Desert Star Playhouse.
In 2000, after several successful plays, the city of Murray said that the building had to be brought up to code or torn down. The owner wanted to go with the latter, but the Todds decided to buy the theater and renovate. Today, the playhouse features Dinner
Dinner theater
Dinner theater is a form of entertainment that combines a restaurant meal with a staged play or musical. Sometimes the play is incidental entertainment, secondary to the meal, in the style of a sophisticated night club, or the play may be a major production with dinner less important, or in some...
and Cabaret
Cabaret
Cabaret is a form, or place, of entertainment featuring comedy, song, dance, and theatre, distinguished mainly by the performance venue: a restaurant or nightclub with a stage for performances and the audience sitting at tables watching the performance, as introduced by a master of ceremonies or...
theaters, as well as performing two shows in different theaters.
Desert Star is known for parody plays, doing comedic spoofs of classic movies and stories. They are also known for political jokes, and their themes tend to revolve around Utah. Each show also ends with a musical olio
Hodge-podge
Hodge-podge is a word used to describe a confused or disorderly mass or collection of things; a "mess" or a "jumble". The UK term is hotchpotch.Hodge-podge or Hodgepodge may also refer to:...
, in which the performers dress up in various costumes and do musical numbers.