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Show Mormon PAiracle Pageant Scheduled at Manti The Manti Utah Stake is preparing to celebrate the 10th anniversary of the Mormon Miracle Pageant. Rehearsals have been underway un-derway since June 1, scenery-is scenery-is being refurnished, costumes constructed and plans completed com-pleted for parking, seating and feeding the 110,000 visitors expected. They will attend the pageants page-ants eight nightly performances performan-ces on Temple Hill in Manti July 8, 9 and 10, and then resuming July 13 through 17. Curtain time each evening will be at dusk. The cast of 350 is rehearsing for the performances under the direction of Macksene Rux, Salt Lake City theater personality. Her assistants again are Jane Braithwaite and Helen Dyreng. The pageant production staff has developed a permanent perman-ent wardrobe of 300 costumes. "We are now constructing 50 new costumes," Phyllis Carpenter Car-penter said. "Some of the new costumes are for the performers perform-ers in major roles; others are for dancing and other groups. Proper costuming for the pageant is a major element, we feel, in its audience appeal, and about 60 people are involved in costume construction construc-tion and maintenance, makeup and hair styling." Six thousand dollars have been spent to improve the lighting, R. Morgan Dyreng. pageant general manager, said. Brigham Young University Univer-sity will again provide and operate the sound system. "Audiences of 20.000 or more will be within good sight and sound distance of the performance," Mr. Dyreng said. He added that about 11.000 folding chairs will be placed at the foot of Temple Hill and that pageant goers are also invited to bring their own lawn chairs and blankets for seating on the spacious lawns. Parking for 2500 cars and as many as 100 buses will be available within convenient walking distance---four to eight blocks of the pageant site. "Traffic management has been perfected to the point where the visitors can be on their return journey within an hour after the pageant's close," Mr. Dyreng said. The Manti Center and South Wards will again provide home-cooked meals each evening eve-ning during the pageant. In addition, Manti Utah Stake Wards will operate food and drink concessions in the near vicinity of the Temple grounds. However, pageant goers are reminded that food and drink are not permitted within those grounds. A new edition of the pageant program, featuring a bicentennial bicenten-nial theme, will be sold at the Temple grounds. "This is our principal source of revenue for financing the pageant," Mr. Dyreng explained. "By means of the money raised from sale of the souvenir programs, we are able to constantly upgrade the production." For this year's 10th anniversary anniver-sary performance audiences totaling about 110,000 are' expected, Mr. Dyreng said. This number won't set a new record, because an estimated 120,000 attended in 1974. He based this 110,000 estimate on the number of inquiries being received and other information. A number of requests f0r advanced reservations have been received from Northwest California and Arizona groups' he said. ' Something new this year will be the opening 0f the Manti Temple for ordinance work July 6-17. Two morning sessions will be held daily starting at 8:00 and 10:30 a.m' during that period, President June Black said. i I |
