Menu

Tiffany's Attic Closed Once More?


Deseret News, 6 January 1979, page A9

Although no official announcement has been made, it appears that Tiffany's Attic, Salt Lake dinner-theater, has been closed again.

Eric Stilson of Sandy, vice president of Inter-mark, a firm that handles marketing and advertising for theaters, and who has been acting as manager of Tiffany's Attic, has been inaccessible to those who have sought an announcement on the status of the theater.

However, a week before the final night of presentation of "My Three Angels," he announced that the cast would he paid through New Year's Eve and that the presentation of that play would end then. If E. D. Redford, who was directing this operation, said that Stilson lived up to his end of the contract with the actors and closed the play on New Year's Eve.
Since then, he either does not answer his phone or has left word that he is not available. In any event, the theater is closed.

It has had a stormy life since it first opened May 28, 1976, with Dick Carrothers of Kansas City in charge. He has two similar operations in Kansas City.

It suffered two fires in April 1977, a week apart, and had difficulty in reopening. The theater had opened after a $500,000 remodeling job.

About a year ago, Stilson reopened the theater and had name stars on programs that also featured local thespians. Then the presentation policy changed, with variety acts being presented. featuring Las Vegas show people. A little more than a month ago, "My Three Angels" opened. It was directed by Redford and the cast included Utah members of Equity, union of stage performers. It was expected that such an operation would attract playgoers, but it did not make enough money to make it worthwhile to continue in business, according to the stories among those in local theater circles.

Some maintained that a change in liquor laws to allow liquor by the drink in places like Tiffany's would be necessary for such an operation to succeed. Others denied that this was the stumbling block. They maintained that Utahns would not attend a theater-dinner operation because of the high price of tickets.

Mr. Stilson was not talking. Neither was anyone else for Tiffany's Attic.