Springville residents take up the Villa Theater cause

SPRINGVILLE (Daily Herald) -- It might be years -- if ever -- before Springville City has enough free cash to refurbish the rundown Villa Theater it purchased two years ago.

But some residents don't have that kind of time, namely members and fans of the Springville Playhouse community theater group, which will be homeless when the old city library is torn down in a year and a half.

A reborn Villa, formerly called the Rivoli, could house the Springville Playhouse, not to mention cheap movies, local musical acts or other community events. That's why resident Andy Shelline pieced together a 10-member ad hoc committee to raise the requisite funds to get the 1927 building up to code.

"There is value in having these types of theaters that stick with good movies, shows and plays," Shelline said. "It's good culture for the community."

The City Council approved the committee's fundraising plan at a work session Tuesday evening. Now city officials are working with Shelline to establish a tax-exempt 501(c)(3) city trust to hold the $500,000 they're shooting for.

Original Article