OGDEN, Utah, Dec. 29, 2023 (Gephardt Daily) — A swank-sounding black tie affair is planned for historic Peery’s Egyptian Theater‘s 100-year anniversary.
“Tickets to our 100-Year anniversary gala featuring a concert with Marie Osmond are still available,” the theater announced Thursday on social media. “Get your tickets before they are gone!”
The Gala event includes a gourmet dinner, a concert with Ogden native Marie Osmond, and an opportunity to celebrate 100 years of Peery’s Egyptian Theater. Organizers say it will be a once in a lifetime event.
The gala will be on Jan. 26 at the Ogden Eccles Conference Center, next to the theater, 2415 Washington Blvd., Ogden. The reception is at 5:30 p.m., with dinner following at 6:30 p.m. and the concert starting at 8 p.m. Find additional gala information here.
Tickets are $250 per person, of $2,500 (Egyptian level) or $5,000 (Pharaoh level) for tables that seat 10. Tables are limited. Dress is black tie. To get tickets please call the theater box office at 801-689-8700, or call Kassi Bybee at 801-689-8602, or email her at kbybee@oeccutah.com.
The theater has 800 seats on the main floor and two private boxes with 15 seats in each box. The boxes are located on the mezzanine level. The gala was announced the first week in December.
Wikipedia says, “Peery’s Egyptian Theater was built after the fiery demise of the Arlington Hotel in 1923.
“Harman and Louis Peery devised a plan to build a grand theater, ‘The Showplace of the West.’ The architectural firm of Hodgson & McClenahan, notable for many important Wasatch Front landmarks, was hired for the task. They took cues from many of the most famous western theaters, including Grauman’s Egyptian Theatre in Hollywood, and settled upon an Egyptian-themed showhouse.
“The first feature played at the new theater was Zane Grey‘s Wanderer of the Wasteland. This “natural color” silent film was accompanied by the Mighty Wurlitzer, the Egyptian’s famous pipe organ.
“The first ”talking picture’ was In Old Arizona, shown in 1929. This downgraded the role of the house pipe organ, which was occasionally used during intermissions and other programs. In 1960, the organ was removed and put into storage.”
The Egyptian Theater Foundation notes: “Entrance to the inner lobby is through a set of eight tall doors. The width of this lavishly decorated space occupies the center third of the building; its depth equal to its width delineated at its length by a second set of eight doors.
“Its walls offer a fascinating study in authentically colored Egyptian figures and designs further enhanced with authentic Egyptian hieroglyphics; that is for the most part, authentic.
“Lou Hodgson Homer, daughter of architect Leslie Hodgson, recalled somewhere amongst the authentic Egyptian hieroglyphics, is a poem: ‘Little drops of mortar, Little bits of tin; It’s a damn good theatre, for the shape it’s in!‘ The theater went through extensive restoration to reopen in 1997.
“The Egyptian’s main claim to fame is its ‘atmospheric’ auditorium ceiling, where with special indirect lighting the time of day can evolve from high noon, to sunset, then dusk, followed by the dark of midnight, illuminated with twinkling stars in a matter of moments.”
