The Beehive Stage offers great views from any of its 300 seats at the expanded Hale Centre Theatre in Sandy.
Patrons can gather in the lobby and near the concession stand at The Beehive, which adds to the two existing stage areas at Hale Centre. (Photos by Tom Haraldsen/Salt Lake Business Journal)
It was 41 years ago when Nathan and Ruth Hale opened their first theater-in-the-round performance center in South Salt Lake. It was in a space converted from an old lingerie factory and had 220 seats. The Hales, along with their children and grandchildren, fostered the growth of the theater from that early beginning into a legacy today.
Weeks ago, the curtain was raised on the new Hale Centre Theatre Beehive Stage at the Mountain America Performing Arts Center in Sandy. It’s the third performance space in the Hale Centre complex, where productions now provide for a capacity of over 1,600 seats each night. And along with the theater’s budding education program, it’s part of a dream come true for founders Mark and Sally Dietlein and the family that continues Nathan and Ruth’s legacy.
“My mother, Sally, has wanted this place to honor the amount of work that has to be done by everyone involved,” said Quinn Dietlein, vice president and executive director for Hale Centre Theatre. “There are a lot of people coming in here and making their living with the arts, and this new stage expands on our ability to do that.”
He said more than 250 people work at the theater on a regular basis, and coupled with part-time, paid performers, Hale had over 1,000 W-2s to send out in 2025.
“We’re bringing in 10 productions here this year, so we are in constant rehearsals,” he said. “This new addition, including the Beehive, adds space for our education programs, and we’re able to share those rehearsal and education spaces more efficiently.”
The Beehive Stage differs from the two other venues — the Sorenson Legacy Jewel Box Stage and the Young Living Centre Stage — in two main ways. First, the Beehive has a smaller capacity of 300 seats, and second, its traditional design of “direct” viewing across a wider stage allows for more intimate productions. Centre Stage offers theater-in-round-productions and Jewel Box seating is more amphitheater-style.
“This theater changes everything for us,” said David Smith, the director of education and resident director for HCT. “It especially gives our kids a venue to perform showcases. We have our fully produced youth shows that finally have a home. It’s nice and wide, and when we cast shows with 40 kids, it allows all of their faces to be seen.”
The Beehive has a state-of-the-art lighting and LED production system and literally offers a great view of the stage from any seat in the house.
“The technology in this theater allows us to do really cool stuff with the LED, to change settings quickly and allows the focus to be on our youth on stage and in the background,” Smith said.
“Those rehearsal stages are a huge benefit to our directors and actors,” Quinn Dietlein said. “All being together is a huge plus. Since we are in essence a theater factory, to have a place where everyone feels comfortable, safe and at home is tremendous.”
Patrons of Hale Centre Theatre who have season passes can attend any of the productions in any of the three theaters. The Beehive name was chosen not only as homage to the state of Utah icon, or the decor on the walls of the theater, but also as symbolic of the constant movement of those who helped build the addition over two years and the actors, directors, crews and support staff who “are busy as bees six days a week,” Quinn Dietlein said. “Everything here is in constant motion, just like a beehive.”
The first production on the Beehive Stage is “Hallmark’d,” an original romantic comedy that Quinn Dietlein and Vice President and Chief Financial Officer Michael D. Fox co-wrote, with Quinn Dietlein and family writing the music. It plays through June 6 and many performances at least into March are already sold out.
“The mission of the theater is to enrich lives with world-class performance,” Quinn Dietlein said. “The theater has always been about quality of life, about escapism, and to be entertained. Everyone who comes in these doors enters at a different stage in their lives — some are happy, some are saddened with challenges — and the productions become a sanctuary for them. How they feel when the shows end is important to whatever they take home.”
More info on the theater’s productions can be found at hct.org.