Plans for The Lyric's development progress (2024)

The Lyric is situated in a spot some might describe as perfect: near the heart of downtown Casper, right across from David Street Station, at the front of the Old Yellowstone District and within walking distance of other businesses, both large and small.

The Lyric’s team of employees and its board of directors are hoping to leverage that by reinventing the location as Casper’s destination for all things performing arts and cultural enrichment.

“The goal being to build a performing arts hall that serves Casper, Natrona County, the surrounding areas, with entertainment [and] performing arts [and] education that will have an economic impact and benefit to all its citizens,” Executive Director Lindsey Grant said.

If you’ve walked by The Lyric at any point in the last month or so, you may have seen posters hung outside filled with sketches, graphs and lists. “Imagine a home for the performing arts,” one graphic, stylized in all-caps says. “A first-rate facility dedicated to making Casper’s arts scene more vibrant.”

Their argument is that Casper needs a multifunctional space for performing arts, receptions, seminars and arts education that isn’t a school auditorium, a church or the Ford Wyoming Center.

It’s great, Grant said, but there’s a gap for a midsize venue — which she foresees The Lyric being.

On the wall to your left-hand side in the lobby are sketches of what the space would look like once renovated. Faceless stick figures sit in front of a fireplace and mill about the lobby. They fill an auditorium — 1,107 to just over 1,200 capacity — and gather for an event around circular tables in the ballroom.

You have to do a bit of imagining to understand where the auditorium would be. The finished product would stretch over four of the existing theaters on the left side of the building, the side that is closest to Ash Street.

Part of the right side of the building, the side closest to Central Wyoming Credit Union and East 2nd Street, would be transformed into a ballroom. There will be a portable stage to put up if needed.

The current kitchen off of the lobby area will be converted into a concession window, but will also serve as prep space for events in the ballroom that involve dining.

Grant pointed out that when finished, it is estimated that The Lyric would attract 32% of its attendees from out of town. Those from the area would spend an average of $17 more than their ticket price — like on a drink before the show, childcare, a new outfit — and out-of-towners would spend an average of $39 in addition to their ticket, such as lodging, gas, getting dinner.

“We have a huge economic bleed that goes out to Colorado [and] Montana, because they’re getting the shows. They’re getting the shows that we want to see, because we don’t have a facility for those types of things.”

The average additional spending is estimated to add up to $1 million per year, Grant said.

It’s a “flexible timeline,” she said about when the desired improvements could actually happen. “It could be two to three years before you start seeing physical progress in the construction,” she said.

There is, Grant said, no call to action for the public at the moment. Those interested can get involved using the QR codes provided on the signs. But what she and The Lyric’s board do want is awareness.

“What people can be excited about, what to expect and, of course, being able to see the building and its future and what it can and will be for downtown Casper,” she said.

Right now, The Lyric houses tenants like Opera Wyoming. And, the Casper City Council met at the theater while City Hall was undergoing renovations.

Conversations with the community illuminated all sorts of avenues that the venue might be able to go down: Flat flooring and removable seats at the front to provide for dancing at concerts, musicals from children’s shows like Bluey, performances of music from video games like The Legend of Zelda and performing arts camps for when school’s out of session.

Grant unrolled a piece of brown paper to reveal a monthly schedule of acts that community members said they would like to see. It was the product of a community input session last year. The team looked at other communities to see what they were doing, too.

“There was a ton of things that came forth that we hadn’t originally thought about. Our goal is to bring this place to life, but it’s also to build the programming and build it for what it is we need in the future,” she said.

Jason Dewitt, who does donor relations for The Lyric, said he felt compelled to join as an employee because it could be something that he and his children could enjoy together. He started in January.

“That is something this city needs — has always needed — even since I was a kid,” he said. “... It just feels good to be such a part of something that that’s going to be forever in this city, in a beautiful spot.”

Ebbs and flows in the economy, especially in Casper’s oft-volatile economy, slowed progress and development for a while. But recent momentum has brought renewed interest and awareness to the future.

“There’s been a lot of people in the past trying to make this happen. And when this building became part of the future, that was when everything began to come together, to design around this,” Grant said, referencing the board’s decision to purchase the current building.

They can see themselves adding to the energy that David Street Station has, she added.

Sarah Saulsbury, campaign coordinator, said that her excitement stems from a desire to make the arts accessible to as many people as possible.

“That exposure to different ideas, different types of people, I think, is really important, and I think that this facility could bring that here.”