For the first time since the pandemic, following a few years of COVID-19 restrictions and limited seating due to construction on Temple Square, tickets for all 21,000 seats in the Conference Center were available — and claimed — for the Tabernacle Choir’s annual Christmas concert this year.
Broadway star and soprano Ruthie Ann Miles and the deep, authoritative voice of actor Dennis Haysbert greeted the thousands of people who flocked to downtown Salt Lake City Thursday night.
Haysbert was likely familiar to the audience — and not just because he once voiced the inescapable Allstate Insurance commercials or for his role in the TV series “24.”
Several years ago, Haysbert actually did voiceover ads for BYU football (his brother, Adam Haysbert, was a wide receiver for the Cougars in 1983 and 1984 — the undefeated, national championship-winning team).
Haysbert’s storytelling was a highlight of the night as he narrated the life of Dr. Charles Mulli, who at the age of 6 was abandoned and remained homeless for several years before gradually working his way up to building a business empire in Kenya.