I’m going to the Hill Cumorah Pageant this weekend for the first time (follow-up post to come soon). The cast-of-hundreds pageant is going away after next summer, the victim of a 2018 edict that The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is phasing out four of its seven major pageants.
The major reason seems to be dwindling attendance at Cumorah and other pageants, which were once a vital missionary tool as well as a source of family fun. The president of the Mormon Miracle Pageant in Manti, which just shuttered production last month after more than 50 years, told the Deseret News that younger audiences have more entertainment options, and therefore aren’t that interested.