The 1991-92 theater season kicks off with a bang - and a crash - with seven new productions opening this week.
The bang is from the gunshots in TheatreWorks West's musical parody of the 1930s detective genre, "The Foggiest Notion," and the crash is the cymbals trailing along behind those high-strutting "Seventy Six Trombones" in Salt Lake Community Arts Center's production of Meredith Willson's "The Music Man."Also opening this week are "I Do! I Do!" and "Greater Tuna," both in the Provo area; "J. Golden" at the Vine Street Theatre in Murray, "The Diviners" at the Heritage Theatre in Perry, and a children's production of "Beauty and the Beast" at the Pages Lane Theatre in Centerville.
Here are the details:
- THE MUSIC MAN will feature Duane Hill and Margo Watson as scheming con man Harold Hill and River City, Iowa's most-skeptical citizen, Marian (the librarian).
Director Pat Davis' cast also includes Bryan Gardner, Jim Davis (mayor of South Salt Lake), Troy Klee, Brenda Bensch, David Crenshaw, Colleen Lewis, Stevan Davis, Susan Wilson, Jeff Tate, Darin Stites, Scott Jones, Jay Williams and Shawn Bender.
The beloved musical opens Friday, Sept. 6, and continues on Mondays-Saturdays through Sept. 21 in the Grand Theatre of Salt Lake Community College's new South City campus, 1575 S. State St. (formerly South High School).
Curtain is at 8 p.m. nightly, with an additional matinee scheduled for 2 p.m. on Saturday, Sept. 21. Reserved seat tickets range from $4 to $8. Group discounts are available. For reservations, call 468-4222 or 967-4509 or stop at the box office at the theater weekdays from 9 a.m. until 5 p.m. (until 9 p.m. on performance days).
- THE FOGGIEST NOTION, which first premiered two years ago, is being revived and revised by TheatreWorks West for its 1991-92 season opener in the Jewett Center for the Performing Arts on the Westminster College campus.
"It really is a better show this time around," says director Fran Pruyn.
Russ Lees, Christine Glassey, Barb Gandy and composer Jeffrey Price have collaborated on the piece, a parody that spoofs nearly every cliche in the film noir book, with a dash of Busby Berkely thrown in. The show also lampoons jazz, opera, vaudeville and burlesque.
The original show two years ago had 17 songs. These have been pared to 14, and only two of the original songs remain untouched.
"The new stage requires a whole new approach to directing the show," said Pruyn. "We're using a lot of cinematic devices, including a split-scene sequence."
The cast includes Larry L. West as Nate Nietzche, a would-be private investigator attempting to solve the Wing-Wong Laundry murder case in San Francisco. Nate and his secretary run into the seamy side of crime in the city, and none of those he meets are really what they seem as he tangles with lowlifes, crime bosses and shady ladies. Also in the cast are Dennis Record and Karen Nielson.
The show runs Wednesdays through Sundays, Sept. 4-15, at 8 p.m. nightly (7 p.m. on Sundays). There will also be a matinee at 2 p.m. on Saturday, Sept. 14. Admission is $9 on Wednesdays, Thursdays and Sundays (and the matinee) and $10 on Fridays and Saturdays. Discounts are available for students and senior citizens. For reservations or further information, call 583-6520.
Season tickets for TheatreWorks West's 1991-92 season will also be available until Sept. 15.
- I DO! I DO! - a musical that chronicles four decades of wedded bliss from the same creative team behind the still-running off-Broadway hit, "The Fantasticks" - will open Sundance Theatre's second indoor season.
Directed by Jayne Luke, the show features Marvin Payne and Kathryn Laycock as Agnes and Michael, a couple who grow, change, grow apart and come back together.
Performances in the Sundance Screening Room will be on Fridays and Saturdays, Sept. 6, through Dec. 28, at 8 p.m. Admission is $10 each, with a $1 discount for senior citizens. For reservations, call 225-4100. Those wishing to have dinner at the resort prior to performances can also arrange dinner reservations at the same time. Weekend lodging packages are also available by calling 225-4107.
- J. GOLDEN, James Arrington's lively production based on the life and writings of J. Golden Kimball, one of modern Mormonism's most colorful leaders, will open Friday, Sept. 6 at 8 p.m. at Murray's Vine Street Theatre, 184 E. Vine St. (4950 South).
Performances of the one-man show starring Utah actor Dallin Christensen will continue Friday, Saturday and Monday evenings throughout September. Ticket price is $7, and ticket reservations must be made by calling 269-8080.
The current production is an updated version of the popular show that premiered in Utah in 1984, according to writer-producer Arrington.
" `J. Golden' is a peek into a real blind spot in our understanding of the church. He describes and talks about seven prophets he knew personally, from Brigham Young to `young Spencer,' his nephew Spencer W. Kimball," Arrington says.
The current production includes material Arrington gleaned from recent interviews with Kimball's friends and family members, including Kimball's housekeeper. "She told me that she attended a performance of `J. Golden' and was transfixed by Dallin's portrayal of him," he says. "She said that when she saw him, she was transported back."
Christensen, who has portrayed the crusty apostle in productions throughout the West, has been impressed by the meaning of the man. "J. Golden Kimball is a metaphor for what it took to build this country," Christensen believes.
- GREATER TUNA, a two-man comedy featuring Scott Claflin and Chris Brower - each playing nine different characters - will close the SCERA Shell's summer season.
Director Charles Lynn Frost says "This is an absolutely hilarious play and a tour de force for the two actors."
Claflin, a BYU student, is a recent recipient of a national Irene Ryan acting competition award, and Brower is a drama teacher at Timpview High School.
The comedy focuses on the various people in the small town of Tuna, Texas, with the two disc jockeys at radio station OKKK as the main characters.
Performances will be Thursday through Saturday, Sept. 5-7, at 8 p.m., with general admission tickets available at the gate. Tickets are $3 for children and $5 for adults.
- BEAUTY AND THE BEAST begins a new series of Saturday matinee Young Peoples' Theatre productions at the Pages Lane Theatre, Centerville.
In order to acquaint Utah families with the new season, the theater is offering free admission to those between 5 and 17 years of age for the first four performances - the shows at noon and 2:30 p.m. on both Sept. 7 and 14. Ralph Rodgers, a co-owner of the theater, said that it is imperative that reservations be made for these free performances. Call 298-1302 to reserve your tickets.
Directed by Kara Bechtel, "Beauty and the Beast" will continue at noon on Saturdays through Oct. 26.
The cast includes Brian Rowe as the Beast and Bechtel as Beauty. Also performing in the show are Danny Inkley, Bob Walkingshaw, Kerry Jespersen, Wendy Arbuckle and Kim John.
Admission for regular performances (or adults attending the free-to-youth performances) is $3 each. Season tickets for all five Young Peoples' Theatre productions are $12.50.
Other productions in the series are "The Best Christmas Pageant Ever," Nov. 9-Dec. 21; "Chitty Chitty Bang Bang," Jan. 11-March 28; "Charlotte's Web," April 11-June 27, and "Alice in Wonderland," July 11-Sept. 26.
The theater is located at 292 E. Pages Lane in Centerville.
- THE DIVINERS, a poignant drama dealing with the good, simple folks from a small southern Indiana town, opens a monthlong run on Friday, Sept. 6, at the Heritage Theatre, 2505 S. Highway 89, Perry.
Joseph Batzel is directing the play. His cast includes Jason Agnello, Ken Herzog, David Butterfield, Fantasia Darling, Melanie Nelson, Valerie Moffett, Paul Burt, Pat Bean, Shawn Stephens and Jeff Nelson.
Written by James Leonard, the plot unfolds through the eyes of a 17-year-old boy whose mother drowned 12 years earlier and who has a special knack for divining water.
The two-act show will be presented Mondays, Fridays and Saturdays, Sept. 6-28. Curtain is 8 p.m. nightly. For reservations, call 723-8392. Box office hours are 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. Mondays through Saturdays.