Tickets are now on sale for Odyssey Dance Theatre's Thriller, the Halloween dance tour that has become as much a fall fixture in Utah as pumpkin patches and corn mazes. The production kicks off mid-September and rolls through six cities, with performances scheduled at the Ellen Eccles Theatre in Logan, Kenley Amphitheater in Layton, Perry's Egyptian Theatre in Ogden, the Egyptian Theatre in Park City, the Grand Theatre in Salt Lake City, and Tuacahn in St. George.
According to FOX 13 News Utah, founder and artistic director Derryl Yeager describes the production as a show with “frights, amazement, scares and lots of laughs,” blending various styles of dance while paying homage to the stars of All Hallows' Eve. Expect zombies, Frankenstein, mummies, Jasons, Chuckies, witches, scarecrows and skeletons populating the stage, per the same report. Most performances tend to sell out early, so the station is advising ticket buyers to move quickly once seats go up for their preferred city and date.
A Tradition Born From Humble Beginnings
The show's roots go back to 1994, when former Ballet West principal dancer Derryl Yeager and his wife, Cheryl Yeager, founded Odyssey Dance Theatre. As reported by SLUG Magazine, Yeager set out to build a Halloween production that could serve the same seasonal financial role for a jazz-ballet company that The Nutcracker serves for classical ballet. The very first Thriller performance in the 1990s reportedly sold just 50 tickets, according to the same outlet, before the show grew into a sold-out, multi-city tradition packing major auditoriums across the state.
That early trickle of ticket sales matters because Thriller now accounts for approximately 90% of the company's total annual operating budget, according to KSL.com. Unlike many nonprofits that lean on major philanthropic gifts, Odyssey's operations rely almost entirely on this single fall show's box office performance to sustain its artistic programming.
The Show That Almost Didn't Come Back
Longtime fans may remember when Thriller appeared to be gone for good. The company announced a complete shutdown in 2022 after 28 years when Yeager left for a full-time mission for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, KSL.com reported. Later coverage of Thriller shows the production remained part of the company's story.
The production itself runs roughly two and a half hours and combines technical choreography with recurring pop-culture vignettes, including The Curse of the Mummy, Dem Bones, Jason's Jam, Salem's Mass, Frankenstein, and The Lost Boys, according to The Daily Utah Chronicle. Before the main curtain even rises, costumed dancers dressed as the undead roam through the audience seating area to growl, snarl and improvise scares with seated patrons, the Chronicle reported, setting an immersive tone that feels more like a variety show than a traditional dance recital.
A Company Built on Local Talent
Odyssey Dance Theatre operates as a professional company employing 24 dancers, with more than half of its 24 dancers Utah-born, giving homegrown dancers professional work without requiring a move to the coasts. The company has also served as a launching pad for national careers, sending eight Odyssey-associated dancers to the final rounds of Fox's So You Think You Can Dance, including Season 12 top-four finalist Hailee Payne and Season 5 runner-up Brandon Bryant.
The troupe's standing in Utah's arts scene is reflected in its 20 Utah's Best of State awards in Dance since 2006, with company member Peiter Mortensen named Best Individual Dancer. The recognition adds another marker to a run that has spanned three decades of Halloween performances across the state.
Where and When to Catch Thriller This Fall
The tour opens September 18 and 19 at the Ellen Eccles Theatre in Logan, followed by September 21 and 22 at Kenley Amphitheater in Layton and September 25 and 26 at Perry's Egyptian Theatre in Ogden. The Park City run at the Egyptian Theatre stretches from September 30 through October 6, and the Salt Lake City engagement at the Grand Theatre runs October 9 through October 24.
The tour wraps up with an outdoor run October 28 through October 31 at Tuacahn in St. George, an amphitheater in Ivins that sets the spooky production against a backdrop of red rock canyon cliffs. Odyssey Dance Theatre provides discounts and ticket information at odysseydance.com, and given how quickly performances have historically filled up, fans hoping to catch a specific date are being urged to book early.
