This post is going to be a little bit different than my typical jolly promotion of local Utah theatre. Unfortunately the poor decisions of a few has put me in a position where I am angry, upset and don’t know what the best action is going forward. I write this post as a sincere attempt to process my feelings and get feedback from all of you on what I should do.

When I started my quest to support local theatre one of my favorite finds was the small Empress Theatre in Magna, Utah. Housed in an over 100 year old building this was a theatre that took risks and provided an intimate environment to see shows like Company and A Chorus Line. Over the last 2 years I became friendly with former artistic director Ty Whiting and almost had him on my Theatre Tuesday show. I attended their recent gala and have already purchased my season tickets for the next year going forward. I felt proud to be supporting an out-of-the-way theatre that seemed to be doing everything right.

Well, you can imagine my disappointment and shock when it was revealed that the team at Empress have knowingly cast a convicted sex offender in several of their shows including both of the shows I mentioned above and shows like Newsies and Beauty and the Beast with minors present. I guess theaters are not considered protected spaces so technically what they did was not illegal but the fact they didn’t notify cast and crew is shocking and makes me unbelievably angry. Sarah Walker Bringhurst said in a text conversation “this is not black and white” and that “the individual has done much to “account for his actions and steps he has taken to rehabilitate.” I have no doubt that Ty, Sarah and others were trying to help a friend but the fact they wouldn’t let parents and cast know of the situation so they could decide what they want to do is unbelievable. How much faith do you really have in his rehabilitation if it has to be kept a secret? If I was a parent of a child who’d been in one of these shows I would be beyond furious. (I also have been informed of other local theatres who had the opportunity to cast this individual but did the proper background checks and decided against it. I will definitely be supporting them more going forward.)

So, this leaves me with a tricky situation. Ty, Sarah, Josh Adams and Suzanne Whiting have all resigned from The Empress and they put out a statement on a complete change in policy going forward.

They have an upcoming show, Bright Star, coming up in just a few weeks. Not only is this my favorite show but I was thrilled with the preview I got at the gala. I was so excited I messaged the show’s writer Edie Brickell about the production and she responded with an excited emoji. They have a full band and wonderful cast who are innocent of this behind the scenes drama. I’ve already paid for my season tickets so monetary support isn’t really the issue, but I do promote these theatres in my social media and advocate for them on this blog and podcast. Have they made sufficient change for me to support this and other shows? Do I support them in making change or abandon them completely? I’m honestly quite torn with what the best course of action is going forward?

Regardless, I feel angry and betrayed. They have been the beneficiary of my promotions all the while them making such a at best misguided decision in casting. It’s ironic because The Empress was going to do Kinky Boots this year but had to change because of funding- the very show that friends up at the Ziegfeld got unfairly accused of grooming children because of the drag performers. Now to find out they had an actual groomer in our midst at The Empress without notifying parents and cast is beyond disappointing and infuriating. Then again I believe everyone involved has resigned and they have pledged to change their ways. I guess my question is how much change is enough and what does my promotion of a theatre mean when it comes to these types of situations? What should I do about The Empress?

To learn more about this situation check out Chris Peterson’s post at the OnStageBlog here.