One last dance in the Mobile Civic Center Theater

MOBILE, Ala. ( WKRG ) — The doors will open one last time Thursday evening at the Mobile Civic Center Theater.

“It’s realizing and appreciating and celebrating the fact that we have grown up there,” Ron Barret said.

Barret has built stages for both Mardi Gras and performing arts at the Mobile Civic Center for nearly 50 years. Along the way, he has made many friends including the very first person to dance on the theater stage in 1964.

Rhea Mosteller was only in the 10th grade when she became the first person to dance on the stage.

“It dawned on me that we needed to come full circle,” Barret said. “We needed to bring back the very first person who had danced on that stage to come back and dance the very last dance.”

For the past three weeks, Barret has been preparing for that last-ever dance.

Preparation included building five different set stages and gathering dancers from the legacy studios in Mobile like the Mobile Ballet and the Sheffield School of the Dance who both have been dancing on the theater stage for decades.

“It was without a single doubt in our minds that yes we were going to be there,” Sheffield School of the Dance Eastern Shore Director Colby Shinn said. “We want to be a part of this.”

However, Barret faced some challenges getting the proper approval for the last performance. The theater is currently a partially evacuated building, so the city and the company that owns the civic theater needed to approve the event.

The final approval came in at 8:15 p.m. on Monday, according to Barret.

“Well, we gots to stand up and start running,” Barret said.

Now, all hands on deck to add those final touches to the five stages.

“It brings the whole picture to the final conclusion,” stage builder Jim Sapser said. “It brings the storyline. People can actually feel the production. They know what the production is about, and they are glad to be a part of it.”

But it’s not about the flashing lights or the wow factor of the performance, to the people pouring their hearts and souls into this last production, it’s about closing the book of the history of the Mobile Civic Center Theater.

“We’re not here for the bigness of the dance or the grandness of the event,” Barret said. “We’re here for a real soulful moment to really think about what we have and how we need to stick together to build something this good in the future.”

The show will begin at 6 p.m. and is free to the public.

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