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WOOD RIVER WEEKLY
YOUR VOICE IN THE WOOD RIVER VALLEY
Free | Dec 14 - 27, 2022 | Vol. 3 - No. 25 | woodriverweekly.com
“At Christmas, all roads lead home.” – Marjorie Holmes
THEATRE COMPANY FUNDRAISES TO HOLD ON TO HOME ‘Relight the Liberty’ close to deadline
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By DANA DUGAN
ocally owned businesses such as markets, restaurants, a bookstore, and a live theatre venue are what arguably make a town viable. A place you might want to live. And certainly a place worth visiting. The town of Hailey contains many historical gems, but one of its standouts has always been the Liberty Theatre. “Relight the Liberty” is a fundraising effort to save this unique Art Deco theatre. Built in 1938, it’s now in need of structural and industry standard upgrades, along with an operational endowment. In a new video for “Relight the Liberty,” Kaz Thea, Hailey City Councilmember, said the theatre “provides the needed vitality that any community strives for.” First some history: Beginning in the mid-1990s, the Liberty Theatre was home to the Company of Fools, an independent theatre company founded by actors Denise Simone and Rusty Wilson. Demi Moore and Bruce Willis, who owned the theatre itself, were its earliest patrons. Willis was known to appear on stage from time to time. In 2013, Company of Fools became part of the Sun Valley Museum of Art (then Sun Valley Center for the Arts), and in 2016 Moore and Willis donated the Liberty Theatre to SVMoA. The theatre provided an essential venue for arts and theatrical programming for the Wood River Valley. In 2021, after seven years of joint programming, the organizations mutually agreed to become two independent 501(c)(3) arts organizations. Thus, The Liberty Theatre Company (TLTC) was born, made up of performers already associated with both organizations. However, the Liberty Theatre itself remains an asset of the SVMoA. “The Liberty Theatre has been THE arts anchor on Main Street in Hailey for decades,” said Kristine Bretall, SVMoA public programs director. “It’s served as host to countless plays, concerts, authors, community events and productions featuring students from our local schools – events attended by tens of thousands of people. There truly isn’t another venue in the south Valley Continued ‘RELIGHT THE LIBERTY’ Page 5
The Liberty Theatre Company is fundraising to save their theatre. Photo courtesy The Liberty Theatre Company