UCO grad to revive live theater in Edmond

“I’ve always wondered where the money in live theater went,” Park said. “So we looked at how other successful theaters did business and have tried to keep our overhead costs super low while keeping customer service high.”

The Lighthouse Theater, which will be opening at the old Food Lion store on Danforth near Kelly in Edmond, will seat 80 people in an intimate setting geared toward a date night atmosphere, Park said.

“The dream of the Lighthouse Theater has been to bring a theater experience to the public that is comfortable, light and entertaining,” according to the theatre’s Web site.

As part of the date night atmosphere, Park’s wife Sharla said that the theater will have “really comfortable” car seats like a drive-in movie theater, “only we’ll have air-conditioning,” she said.

Though the theater was supposed to open on July 10, she said, there has been a delay because of zoning issues.

“We had found our location, signed the lease, cast the first show and were in the middle of rehearsal when we received notice that we were not zoned to be a live theater,” she said. “It was a surprise to both us and the people who leased the building to us, and we had to stop production.”

The Edmond City Council will vote on July 27, Darren Park said, on rezoning the building.

If the council vote “goes our way, we will get the show up and running as fast as we can after that date,” the theater’s website said.

“Edmond needs live theater,” Sharla Park said. “The Food Lion building hasn’t really been used since it closed. We want to fill that vacant spot, make it nice and give something nice to the community.”

Darren Park graduated from UCO with a liberal arts degree with a theater emphasis in 2001, and has worked “in the business for 25 years,” appearing locally on stage and in commercials in Edmond, Oklahoma City and Tulsa.

Sharla Park studied vocal music education at UCO and was in “many operas and musicals while attending UCO,” the theater’s website says.

“My forte is comedy,” Park said. “I don’t mind if there’s a little bit of political commentary in our plays, but I like to have people leave having had fun.”

The theater plans on performing 12 “mostly comedy” plays every year, each with a 4-week engagement.

There will be performances Friday night, Saturday night and Sunday afternoon.

Sharla Park said tickets will be around $17.50 for a single ticket, and $30 for two.

After Shakespeare in the Park left Edmond for Oklahoma City, Darren Park said, it left a void in not only live theater, but also entertainment.

“Edmond is the perfect place to do it,” he said. “I’ve always felt like Edmond is home to me.”