PAYSON, Utah — The Payson Community Theatre has been around for nearly 60 years. Over those years, they’ve met hundreds of talented people. Miranda Mobbs and Hannah Anderson, the President and Vice President of the community theatre, have been with the group for more than 20 years.
“We’ve seen kids start little and grow up, come back, start having kids. We’re very generational, so it’s fun.” Anderson said.
For their most recent show, “A Night on Broadway,” they had a total of 87 cast and crew members.
“There’s that saying that says there’s no small parts, only small actors, so when you give somebody a small role, and they just go with it, take it to new heights, they get that theatre bug,” Mobbs said.
One of those small parts was played in a big way by 9-year-old Lyric Bailey.
“My favorite one was definitely the magic carpet, like, 'A Whole New World,'” Bailey said while sitting in the theatre.
A video of Bailey went viral on TikTok, and it racked up more than 2 million views.
“I was moving really good, and I liked how swerve-y it was. I just like being in there. I liked it.” Bailey said.
The local theatre wasn’t expecting the viral moment, but they take a lot of pride in seeing their cast thrive on stage.
“Doesn’t matter if there’s one person or 100 people out there because everyone deserves our best show,” Mobbs said.
What started as a small role turned into something much bigger for Lyric Bailey.
“I felt so sad when we were done with the show, too. I liked being with all those people and with how good I was doing. I will just miss it very much, but I can do it again because there’s another one coming up this summer.” Bailey said.
While this will be a tough act to follow, Bailey is looking forward to her next role on stage.
