Choreographer Shelbie Gage (center) rehearses dancers for ‘The Sister Wishes’ on Wednesday at Anhder Park in Nibley. The original play by the Nibley Children’s Theatre will be performed on at 7 p.m. on Thursday, June 16 and Friday, June 17.
NIBLEY – Rehearsals began on June 6 for the original play The Sister Wishes by the Nibley Children’s Theatre.
The play will be the centerpiece of the Nibley’s annual Heritage Days celebration, which runs from June 11 to 18 this year.
The Sister Wishes is an original fantasy, written and directed by Marianne Hale.
Hale said that more than 190 children of Nibley residents are rehearsing the play at Anhder Park from 8 a.m. to noon, with the assistance of a faithful cadre of adults who are supervising costumes, scenery and other aspects of the production.
Hale said that many of those adults performed as children during earlier productions and have returned year-after-after to keep the Nibley Children’s Theatre alive.
“The Nibley Children’s Theatre was founded in 1983,” Hale explains. “It’s the longest running city-sponsored children’s theater in Utah.”
“We are thrilled to celebrate 39 years of the Nibley Children’s Theatre with this fun and uplifting play,” says producer Emily Rigby.
“I know that our whole community will enjoy watching our amazing kids perform as these entertaining characters in The Sister Wishes.”
The play is a medieval fantasy about two sisters who dream about very different things. It has intrigue and skullduggery as two kingdoms compete for a gold mine, while the sisters experience misadventures that teach them powerful lessons about making your own happily ever after.
The Sister Wishes also features American folk music, Hale says.
The production is sponsored by Nibley City, the Rocky Mountain Power Foundation, the Utah Division of Arts and Museums, and National Endowment for the Arts.
The Sister Wishes also received a $1,000 grant from the Cache County Restaurant, Arts, Parks and Zoos Tax.
Free performances of The Sister Wishes are slated for 7 p.m. at the Jesse Datwyler Amphitheatre in Anhder Park on Thursday, June 16 and Friday, June 17.
The park is located at 294 West 3200 South in Nibley.