SANDY, Utah — The Hale Centre Theatre in Sandy is now one of the largest public facilities in Utah to not require guests to wear masks. The decision was made after the state's health orders were terminated Tuesday.
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Officials at the performing arts center said they received "the biggest cheer of the night" when the decision was announced before a performance Tuesday of the musical "Les Misérables."
Mark Dietlein, the theater's CEO, said 20 percent of the audience still chose to wear face coverings during the show.
Dietlein said the theater had been following the state's mask guidelines, and decided to relax the mask restrictions when the public health orders were dropped.
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The theater has been open to full seating capacity for six weeks, allowing more visitors to see performances.
"We've been thanked so heavily for the fact that, people have said, 'Man, it just feels so good to get out and have a date night and to go do something!'" said Dietlein.
The theater says it will offer refunds to those have already purchased tickets, but still don't feel comfortable going out.