Their comments have been edited for space and clarity. The final run for the pageant continues through Saturday, June They asked me to do the lighting because I had done technical theater work at the high school and during my first year at Snow College.
But I was all they could find and could work for free. We did the first show with about 20 lights. This year we are using close to LED lights. I painted them black, put a little wood stand on them, put a socket in them and a floodlight.
For me, the first performance was the most memorable. It was raining on and off all day. I thought I had gone to all this work setting up the equipment and it was probably going to be rained out. I was discouraged about it, because the forecast was really not good. That night the stake president [a regional Latter-day Saint leader] offered the prayer and commanded the elements to stop so we could have the show. And it stopped blowing and you could look up and see blue sky over the arena.
That was just the first miracle of many. I never used to go out and do things by myself and now I can. I was a missionary before, for the church, and this was a way for me to be a missionary again. I played it for four or five years and then my dad did it for 34 years, until My whole family helped build sets.
My wife sewed costumes and was in the pageant with our kids. The pageant has been a community thing. We never dreamed it would turn into anything like this. First of all, you have a cast this huge and a big percentage of them are teenagers or younger and it works. Then there was the night they said they would have to use just the spotlight because the lighting had gone out. Then the show started and I thought, "That looks like more than spotlights. A variety of cast, crew and community members shared their thoughts and favorite memories as they prepared for the final dress rehearsal on the eve of the final season.
Ken Olsen, 73, was the first to portray General Mormon on Temple Hill for several years, and this year he will be the last. His father, Richard Olsen, also played the same character for 34 years.
His family has also been heavily involved with the pageant over the years. During one memorable performance, when the lights shined high on the temple wall, the young man playing Samuel the Lamanite didn't show. He had been working for a local farmer all day, fell asleep and missed his cue. But the show went on. One miracle sometimes overlooked was how the pageant organizers figured out how to accommodate parking and provide food for the thousands of people who started showing up each year.
It took a couple of years to figure it out, but local authorities worked with the pageant organizers to identify places for parking and how to direct flow so it people could get out faster.
Two small hamburger stands were quickly replaced by a large barbecue turkey operation in the parking lot behind the Manti Tabernacle, Olsen said. June is one of their biggest months of the year, and patrons book rooms as early as January and February.
You gear up every year for it and it brings in a lot of money to the city," McIff said. When asked how the pageant's departure might affect his business, McIff said he would miss the pageant's "free advertising," but didn't seem overly concerned. Jane Braithwaite, 89, served as assistant director of the pageant in the early years and still holds cherished, vivid memories. She said the pageant served as a spiritual awakening for many generations in the area. How could we be so blessed as to witness all these marvelous things?
I have seen so many miracles," she said before quoting verbatim 2 Nephi , in which the Lord proclaims he is a God of miracles yesterday, today and forever. Braithwaite went on to say she's excited for the final season of the pageant but has also shed a few tears. One couple dressed up as Nephites, Ben and Alyssa David, came all the way from Germany to be part of the cast.
As part of their experience, Alyssa David is writing a bachelor's thesis studying different aspects of the theater. The Davids have loved their experience. Less than two hours before showtime, Lannette Nielson was sitting at a sewing machine making a last-minute adjustment to the Savior's white robe. It was one of 1, homemade costumes for the pageant, ranging from pioneer clothes to Lamanite warrior garb. What will become of all these costumes? They might just park the trailer in front of her house, Nielson said with a tired smile.
They like to borrow some of the characters like Captain Moroni or Joseph Smith," she said. To me, that's valuable. Two teens who stood out in their costumes were 6-foot-6 Cameron Crockett, 17, and Rawlee Mickelson, 16, who play Lamanite royalty, King and Queen Lamoni.
They were most excited about being "cast missionaries. I'm about 8 feet tall with this headdress on," Crocket said. Douglas Barton, known to some as "Mr. Lighting and Sound," oversaw the last technical preparations by driving a golf cart while his sons took their positions in the spotlight towers.
A past pageant president, Barton was with the pageant when it started. He recalled how flies and mosquitoes flying around the lights would get caught and smashed on to the soundtrack reel tape. Crew members would have to clean them off, sometimes in the middle of the show.
One Friday night, the pageant had a huge crowd. A visiting General Authority Seventy was there on his first assignment. Less than 30 minutes before the show started, the computers controlling the lighting system failed to boot up. A call to tech support yielded no help. The crew said a prayer in the booth. The General Authority Seventy became aware of the problem and in his opening prayer, minutes before the show started, he petitioned the Lord to bless the technical aspects of the pageant that they will all function properly.
It reminds you you're not in control, you know? While waiting for the show to begin, Patti Long and her adult daughter Terry Hampton sat on the old pageant folding chairs playing a round of gin rummy.
They hadn't been to the pageant in decades and decided to come to the dress rehearsal to avoid the larger crowds. Hampton remembered coming 20 years ago and watching a meteor shower in the sky while the pageant was going.
Her mother has always been impressed with how the amateur cast and crew has always produced such a professional looking show. They will miss the pageant. Start your day with the top stories you missed while you were sleeping. Cookie banner We use cookies and other tracking technologies to improve your browsing experience on our site, show personalized content and targeted ads, analyze site traffic, and understand where our audiences come from.
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