COLLINSTON — As snowmelt continues from the record winter, concern has been expressed for a beloved theater on the banks of the Bear River in Box Elder County.
Micah Coombs from the Old Barn Community Theatre in Collinston, Utah was on KVNU’s For the People program on Monday and said they are taking steps to protect the historic building where flood waters are close by and had puddled into the parking lot.
“There’s concern but, as of right now, Sheri Goring – who owns the land there – and her family have put up barriers and sandbags. They had a lot of volunteers from a church group to come out and get that taken care of. Then also, there’s been some help of pumping out, so that puddle that was there, they’ve been trying to pump out the water. So, (as it stands) right now we’re good to go, the show is going on,” Coombs explained.
The current production is Agatha Christie’s “And Then There Were None”.
The play’s director, and Old Barn board member, Matt Jeppesen said the wooden barn does not just sit on the ground.
“The nice thing about that barn, though, is with most barns I think people picture a building that’s right against the ground, the wood’s right against the ground. But we actually have about 18 inches of cement foundation underneath that barn.
“So, we have a good amount of time before, and water level that has to rise 18 inches across that entire plain before we’re going to have consistent damage in the theatre. So, right now, the concern is actually more in the septic tanks and the plumbing,” Jeppesen said.
He said right now they’re able to stay on top of things, if things change though, his wife is the social media person for the theatre. So, if they need to cancel some performances or anything of that nature, they will notify patrons on social media and also on their email list as soon as possible.
They can be found on Facebook at The Old Barn Community Theatre and you can get tickets at OldBarn.org.
“And Then There Were None” runs on certain nights until May 20th. Their next production is a Utah favorite, “Joseph & The Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat”. That opens on June 30th.