Elgin Opera House wins best live theater for second straight year

The Elgin Opera House won Best Live Theater for the second year in a row, a repeat honor that carries weight far beyond a trophy in a rural county where live performance depends on volunteers, donors and loyal audiences to stay viable. Executive Artistic Director Terry Hale said the recognition belongs to the people who keep the organization moving, including volunteers, artists, educators, technicians, donors and the audiences who keep showing up.

That kind of back-to-back win can matter in practical ways. For a community-built theater in Elgin, the momentum can help support ticket sales, encourage donations and keep volunteer energy high, while also sending more people into downtown Elgin for performances and related spending. The Opera House has also been growing in ways that reinforce that momentum: larger productions, more programming, stronger technical capacity and expanded educational opportunities for youth.

Hale brings more than 30 years of directing and producing experience to the job, and the Opera House says he has produced more than 65 major productions there in the past 17 years. The organization says he has introduced hundreds of adults, teens and children to theater through its arts and community programs. That mix of artistic ambition and local training has helped turn the Opera House into more than a stage. The nonprofit describes itself as a producer of public theater and a cultural and social refuge for hundreds of children, youth and adults.

The building itself has deep roots in Union County. Elgin High School’s graduating class of 1912 first performed on the stage, and the opera house was dedicated on July 4, 1912. Walter M. Pierce, who later became Oregon governor, delivered the oration at the dedication ceremony. The two-story Colonial-style brick building cost $15,000 to construct, and more than a century later it remains one of Elgin’s defining institutions.

The theater’s current season shows how far its footprint now reaches. Hunchback of Notre Dame is on the main stage, Mary Poppins is scheduled for Vert Auditorium in Pendleton from July 17-25, 2026, and Disney’s Dare to Dream will run as a summer theater camp and production in August. By building in Elgin while also taking programming to Pendleton, the Opera House is offering a model other local arts groups may study closely: deepen community loyalty at home, widen the audience regionally and turn civic affection into steady support.