MOSES LAKE - Basin Community Theatre is the new face of community theater in Moses Lake and they're starting off with a salute.

Performances of the nonprofit organization's first production, "A Salute to Broadway," are 7 p.m. Thursday, Friday and Saturday with an additional matinee showing at 1 p.m. on Saturday.

Tickets are $12 for reserved seating and $10 for general admission at the Moses Lake Chamber of Commerce, 324 S Pioneer Way.

Many of the people involved in putting on the Mormon Church's annual musicals were instrumental in starting the group after the church's musicals were discontinued, said Secretary Kelsea Burton.

"A lot of us were still really interested in keeping everything going where we could hold annual plays that were family-friendly and open to the public for auditions," she said.

The group's numbers grew, but as they brainstormed ideas for their first production, they realized their modest budget limited their options. They couldn't afford a full musical, as the licensing fees are too prohibitive, said Burton.

They decided to do a revue, a theatrical presentation of music from beloved Broadway musicals.

"A Salute to Broadway" features music from such Broadway hits as "Annie," "Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat," "Oliver!," "Wicked," and "Oklahoma!"

"We picked the shows we did because we wanted to speak to all different age groups," said Burton.

The child actors in "Oliver!" and "Annie" help appeal to children, "Forever Plaid" and "Singin' in the Rain" appeal to the older generation and selections from "Wicked" and "Les Misérables" appeal to younger theatergoers.

President Toby Black, who directed the Mormon church-sponsored musicals, said as long as people support it, Basin Community Theatre will put on shows.

"That's what we're trying to do for the first year is to see if we have enough support for the arts," he said.

If the support is there, they hope to expand. In addition to an annual spring musical, they may offer a summer children's theater production and another production in the fall.

Black's goal for the group's first show is to offer production value to rival a theater experience in Spokane.

"They have $40,000 budgets or whatever it is and obviously our budget's not that big," he said with a laugh. "We're just trying to make it as professional as possible in a small community."