John Thomson

Review of Hale Center Theater Orem

Let me first say that I enjoy the Hale Center Thea...

Let me first say that I enjoy the Hale Center Theater in Orem. Especially for the A Christmas Carol performance. It s a fun production that I've enjoyed going to in the past.

With that said, I was very, very unimpressed with how the Theater handled its yearly A Christmas Carol performance in the midst of COVID-19. I was so unimpressed that my wife and I left early. With Utah County being listed as a County with a High Risk of transmission by the health department, the theater did not take the necessary precautions. It packed audience members into the theater till it was almost at a 100% capacity. It encouraged audience members to wear masks at all times while in the theater, but then sold refreshments which then encouraged audience members to take off their masks to eat. It also failed to actively enforce mask wearing, besides the occasional announcement. Finally, it failed to follow state guidelines for 6 feet of social distancing (assuming it doesn't have an exemption; and if it does, they should publish that and why they have an exception) for events/gatherings in counties with high transmission rates. Like I said earlier, they packed in audience members and only placed a seat of space (which couldn't have been more than 2 feet) between groups. They even failed to follow their own promise online to avoid seating audience members in the front row. It was not a safe, smart, or well thought out setup for a state struggling with COVID. I hope that the Theater will take the time to come up with a better plan and to also consult state guidelines, as well as following the ones they promise audience members. Until that time, or a vaccine is widely available, I will not be recommending that anyone visit the theater. Once things improve, I'll be happy to change this rating.