In The News
Terry Hale, Executive Artistic Director (left) with Grant Turner, new Associate Artistic Director at the new Hale|Turner Little Theatre.
A look from inside the new Hale|Turner Little Theatre located 831 Alder Street, Elgin OR
Grant Turner, theater director and actor, joins Elgin Opera House as Associate Artistic Director at the new Hale | Turner Little Theatre with a production of Shakespeare’s Midsummer Night’s Dream.
The Friends of the Elgin Opera House Board of Directors is pleased to announce that Grant Turner, former Artistic Director and Founder of Northwest Classical Theatre Company in Portland and Artistic Director of La Grande Shakespeare Company, has joined the Elgin Opera House as Associate Artistic Director. Turner has over 25 years of experience as an actor and director working with many of the region’s finest theater professionals. In his position as theater company director, he brought in renowned guest directors and actors from around the world. Turner received Portland theater’s highest award, the Drammy, in 2014 for his noteworthy artistic contribution to the area’s theater scene.
Terry Hale, Executive Artistic Director of the Elgin Opera House, is enthusiastic about bringing Turner on board. “Grant joining will help build upon the Opera House’s already successful efforts to become a regionally established entity. Actors at the Opera House are going to learn a lot from Grant because he brings a tremendous amount of experience, especially with the classics, to our program,” said Hale. Grant’s presence at the Opera House will also make time for Terry to direct theatricals at Blue Mountain Community College where he works as an adjunct theatre professor.
Turner commented on this new venture by saying, “I look forward to working with Terry because he’s great with big, spectacular, emotional theater whereas my skills tend toward the intimate, cerebral theater. He’ll teach me to be better, and he’s open to learning from me. Combined I think we’ll bring the best of both worlds to our endeavors at the Opera House.”
Hale and Turner share the same passion for presenting exceptional-quality theatrical experiences and for educating actors and audiences alike. And both directors agree that acting in Shakespeare or classical theater enriches an actor’s work in musical theater and vice versa, so this “merging of creative forces” establishes incredibly positive opportunities for the region’s performers and theater-goers.
Turner will direct and produce Shakespeare’s beloved comedy “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” (opening August 16) in a new performance space located just two blocks from the Elgin Opera House. The Hale Turner Little Theatre (831 Alder Street, Elgin) is a newly-renovated, intimate space that is perfect for smaller productions of Shakespeare, contemporary theater, and other classics.
The main stage at the Opera House will host Hale’s production of the hit Broadway musical “Newsies” (opening September 13). This lively and engaging show will delight audience members of all ages.
The Elgin Opera House 2019-2020 season will showcase more of Hale’s excellent productions of big Broadway musicals: “Newsies” (September/October) and “Matilda” (April 2020). Audiences are also sure to enjoy Turner’s productions of “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” (August), “An Inspector Calls” (October), Charles Dickens’ classic “A Christmas Carol” (December), and Shakespeare’s comedy “Much Ado About Nothing” (February 2020).
Audiences can also look forward to a very exciting new theater event coming next summer. The Eastern Oregon Shakespeare Festival will debut in June 2020 with performances of Shakespeare plays headed by distinguished guest directors, renowned actors from the region and around the world, theater participation for local/regional community members, master classes, and more.
Season tickets are now available in two versions: the Opera House Main Stage pass for patrons who prefer just the musical theater and the Opera House Classics pass for patrons who are most interested in classical theater such as contemporary plays and Shakespeare, or a combination of both.
Season tickets are available by calling the EOH box office at 541-663-6324. More information and online ticketing is available at ElginOperaHouse.com.