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Show Inc. Messenger-Enterpris- e, jcic WeOOENOEQ"!NEDQE Meet the Pageant director, Ron Hali Specia Pageant Edition Ronald D. Hall is the pag- eant director, and has directed the pageant for the last two years, principal of the Manti LDS Seminary. After 20 years of directing Miracle Pageant, Mormon the Macksene Rux retired following the 1988 performances. Ronald D. Halls experience in drama began as a performer and has now reached a high point as director of the Mormon Miracle Pageant Between then and now, Mr. Hall has been engaged in high school, college, community and church theater as an actor and a director. The Mormon Miracle Pageant, he said, is a great production and I am happy to have this opportunity to be associated with it" find your way around, as well as a directory of services. This free publication is made possible through the support of businessmen and Welcome to the 25th anniversary production of the Mormon Miracle Pageant! The Manti Messenger and The Ephraim Enterprise newspapers are pleased to once again present this special Mormon Miracle merchants who have advertised in this ld special section. Pageant special section to our subscribers, and our many Pageant visitors. Please use this special section to explore We hope you enjoy your visit with us. We are proud of our community and the contribution it continues to make in presenting this vivid portrayal of the settling of the our communities. It contains historical information about the Pageant, the Manti Temple of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and our communities. A Page 2 Special Mormon Miracle Pageant Supplement west. Please read, enjoy, and save this premiere edition as a memento of your visit to map is included on Page 8 to help you the Mormon Miracle Pageant. Raised in Antimony, Inspired Pageant traces its history back to a simple lecture tour When the Lord gives you an idea, you have a responsibility to do something about it. Thus observation by City. This time, there was a speaking cast of narrators, and a choir, accompanied by the spoken text. Pageant In Miss Johnsons native Sanpete County, local groups were looking for a special observance of the pioneer ancestry of their communities in connection with the statewide annual July 24th celebration, and decided upon the Mormon Miracle. In 1967, the Pageants beginnings gave little indication story to become the largest open air pageant in the United States, seen by as many as 147,000 people last year. The Mormon Miracle Pageant, like the LDS Church, originated in New England. The Pageant had its beginning when Miss Johnson, an Ephraim, Utah native, was asked to present a lecture to$r to Kiwanis and Rotary clubs throughout New England and decided to tell the story of the Mormons. lecture-tou- r of one-nig- marking the appropriate times. Eventually, the Pageant moved across the street, or, more onto it. To precisely, accommodate the increasing number of viewers, bleachers were set up on the pavement of First East and the Pageant was performed at the base ofTern pie the Hill. In 1969, Francis Urry and Macksene Rux narrated the presentation ht something of an achievement, since many members of the community from Manti, Ephraim and Sterling were either in the e choir or the cast, the orchestra. string The first nights performance in 1967 turned out to be even more of a miracle before the night ended. As time for the opening drew near, clouds rolled across the Sanpete Valley, blocking but the settingsun and the appearing moon and stars. Thunder rumbled and lightning flashed, and the wind rose. Rain began to fall, and it appeared the performance would literally be mired down before it even got underway. When the invocation was offered, however, the rain ceased, and was held in abeyance until the performance ended. Practically on cue with the end of the Pageants final scene, rain again began to fall in torrents. For the first three years centennial of the coming of the pioneers into the Salt Lake Valley, she was asked to again present her lecture in the Salt Lake Tabernacle as part of the centennial observance. performance! The 50-pie- Hawaii The Mormon Miracle was a tour of stakes of the Church of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-da- y Saints in California, Washington, Oregon, Idaho, Nevada and Utah. This tour concluded with the presentation of the Mormon Miracle in the Assembly Hall on Temple Square in Salt Lake City. Shortly after that, the script for the Mormon Miracle was published by Deseret Book Co. Many church groups used it as the basis for programs throughout the world. On May 12, 1964, Brigham Young University presented the Mormon Miracle at the LDS Institute of Religion in Salt Lake - performances, the personal touch was the keynote. A chorus and orchestra were recruited from the populace in addition to the cast and all the production Manti Country Vitfage Restaurant 145 N. Main Street, Manti folWgyear! the Pageant entered the age of electronics, with a professional-qualit- y sound track produced through the Brigham Young University Sound Services and Lighting Department. The new track featured the Mormon Tabernacle Choir and the 300-voic- Following that, the script was used for a baccalaureate service at the Church College of 835-955- filling their roles at the The first year the Mormon Miracle Pageant was presented, it attracted 2,000 persons for its Johnson thought that would be the end ofthe Mormon Miracle, but in 1947 the statewide subsequently sponsored for into developing the mobber is Sixth District Court Judge Don V. Tibbs of Manti.) In those days the production had all the tensions of a live radio performance, multiplied by hundreds of persons who had to be there, monumental spectacle which now sweeps across the Manti Temple Hill for eight nights in July. After "her lecture series, Miss celebration memorable pieces of casting from the citizenry involved a member ofthe mob which killed Joseph Smith in the jail scene. Today 75-voi- ce author Grace Johnson brought a simple personnel. (One of the more Garfield County, he had leads in plays and musicals while attending Cedar City High School. And during those high school years he spent the summers as an entertainer at Bryce National Park. Mormon Youth Symphony and Canyon After a quarter at what is Chorus. The sound track was now Southern Utah State Colproduced in the studios of Bonneville International in Salt lege, he enlisted in the Air Force, Lake City, greatly improving won first place in a talent show the audiences ability to hear and spent three years traveling with a group that entertained every word of the performance servicemen. g despite the After coming out of the number of attenders. Mr. Hall worked for KSL service, Today 12,000 chairs line the for a year, sang with television grassy lawn of the Temple where Tabernacle the Choir, and toured once a cornfield stood. Much of with KSL, he While the Pageant takes place on the Europe. also methis future wife, Martha highest slopes of the Temple Hill, Jane Jones, a native of Mexico with nothing to mar the view who was modeling dresses at even on nights when the viewing KSL audience is in excess of 30,000 From KSL he went to persons. State College for a year, Weber This years performances performing in plays and musiwill run July 11, 12, 13, and cals, among them Blossom July 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 1991. and then transferred to There are no performances Time, Brigham Young University. on Sunday or Monday nights.. At BYU he had the tenor Seating for about 12,000 is lead role in the opera Martha" ailable chairs already in and a major part in The Merry p,ace wth plenty of overflow Widow." He also graduated with space provided for those who a bachelors degree in seconprefer lawn chairs or blankets. dary education. More than 132,000 people That degree took him to attended the eight performances Payson Junior High School for last year (1990). six years as a drama, music and Wraps are advisable, as the history teacher. He also perevenings are generally cool. formed in several Utah Valley Opera and Drama Society prosteadily-increasin- h h cals. Mr. Hall came to Manti in as principal of the LDS Seminary. He was soon once more involved in dramatic arts. He has directed Clouds of Glory and directed and performed in Papa Married a Mormon for Sanpete Community Theater, played the lead role in Finians 1980 Rainbow for Manta High School, and a year ago played the prophet Abinadi in Journey to Mormon," a drama written especially for performance by a Richfield bistake group, Hes also found time to be a counselor in a bishopric, a Young Mens president, and an elders quorum president. s k t r f K 4 fc" JS1 "Lamanites apply a little extra skin paint and war paint in preparation for the evening performance. Practice duel between Nephites and Lamanites. Convenience Store Needs at Top Stop All Your I I I I I COUPON Thirst Stopper! 16 oz. Your Refreshment Stop! Ea COUPON I I I I I Regular price 49 each I I I back-stag- 25 WITH THIS COUPON ONLYI Offer good only July 11,12,13,16-20- , 0 1991 at Top Stop Stores I I I J Enjoy the Pageant! Weekend Buffet (Fri.Sat.) 6 p.m. to 10 p.m. $7.95 adults 60cyear for children Groceries Snacks Cold Drinks 5 entrees with all the trimmings, including salad bar, dessert, and drinks. Hours: Monday thru Saturday 6:00 a.m. to 10:30 p.m. Open Sunday 6:30 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. ' toured Utah and California. Gaining a masters degree in cinematic arts, with the emphasis on directing, Mr. Hall returned to Payson for six years, this time as a teacher at the Payson LDS Seminary. His career in drama continued, with performances in Promised Valley," Blue Ribbon Affair," and other musicals. Another move occurred: a transfer to Richfield as Seminary principal for a seven year stay and more directing and acting with the Sevier Valley Community Theater: director and lead in Brigadoon," performances in bicentennial plays and in A Day and a Night and a Day, a Bpok of Mormon play. An then to Pasco, Washington, for four years as coordinator of seminaries and institutes and the lead in Fiddler On the Roof" and other musi- Mr. and Mrs. Hall are the parents of six children, five of them married, and have 11 ductions, among them Guys and grandchildren. Dolls," A Christmas Carol," and Mr. Hall has a special hobby Arsenic and Old Lace." that goes back to his childhood He also sang with the days on a southern Utah ranch: Caravan Chorus, a group that he raises quarter horses. 'T'trvFF! . Ronald Hall Ice OPEN 24 HRS. Low Gas Prices EVERY DAY MANTI mSn V MT. PLEASANT GUNNISON Mala 8beet 8UI Street Hirkway 8 Nortk ms sswisoe RICHFIELD EPHRAIM Mala 8treet and Friendly, Fast Service! e |