We went inside. The inside was very ornate and the carpet was fancy. Many ushers greeted us and one showed us inside the theater itself. From there, another usher showed us our seats. I sat next to Vera. The first thing we noticed was the orchestra pit where many musicians were playing their instruments and warming up to get ready for the performance. We also noticed that there was a balcony to the theater. We each had a program which told the acts of the musical and also had pictures of the cast and the leading performers. We thumbed through this for a while. More people filed into their seats and then there was a quick hush as the concertmaster, the first violinist of the orchestra began to tune the orchestra. Each player played his instrument loudly to make sure he was ready. Then the conductor stepped to the podium and the performance began.
The overture lasted a few minutes and then the curtain opened. But there was a semi-transparent screen over the stage. We could see the performers and they were singing, but it was sort of a preliminary part and a movie projector shined on the screen and showed re-enactments of early Mormon history. Then the projector stopped and the screen was lifted up. The action began with the saints at Winter Quarters in Nebraska and the Untied States asking for 500 volunteers to fight in the Mexican War. Then the saints’ journey to the Salt Lake Valley. At one point, a girl in the cast said, “Look, look, the valley.” And then a tenor sang, “This is the place!.” And the whole chorus joined in a song about this being the place.
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