Community theater productions scheduled this week include an intimate drama about actress Sarah Bernhardt, a classic Christmas comedy, a popular LDS Church-oriented musical and the reprise of a hit Broadway drama. They are:
- MEMOIR, Canadian playwright John Murrell's two-person drama about Sarah Bern hardt, playing Nov. 11-27 as an Off-Center Theatre Group production at the Keep Theatre in Provo.The play stars Barta Heiner as Bernhardt and Brad Slocum as her personal secretary, Georges Pitou, who takes on a variety of roles himself (Sarah's manager, her mother, a convent nun, and even her close friend Oscar Wilde) in order to prod Bernhardt's memory when she tries to write a volume of memoirs the summer before she died.
David Morgan is directing the piece, which he sees as "a testimony to the struggle that each of us must face; the struggle to make sense of life, and the fear of death, and of being forgotten."
Performances are Thursdays-Saturdays at 7:30 p.m. (The Nov. 18 show will be interpreted for the deaf by Jennifer Erekson.) Tickets are $4 and $5.50, available at the door or in advance by calling 377-0422. The Keep Theatre is located at 100 N. 100 East, Provo.
- THE BEST CHRISTMAS PAGEANT EVER, being directed by Mark Shipley, is scheduled to run on Saturdays at noon from Nov. 13 through Dec. 18 at the Pages Lane Theatre, Centerville.
The cast includes Phil Edmunds, Ashley Lapine, Jessica Elder, Kristen Evans and more than 40 young performers.
Provo-based Shipley, well-known for his work with Down's syndrome children, teaches a class for handicapped youngsters at the Pages Lane School of the Performing Arts. Preshow entertainment for this year's "Pageant" production will feature a program of Christmas music by more than 75 children from both the Rodgers and Pages Lane schools.
Tickets for the Saturday shows are $3 each. For reservations, call 298-1302.
Two other Pages Lane Theatre productions for the holidays will be "Scrooge," scheduled Nov. 26-Dec. 23 on its Centerville stage, and "It's A Wonderful Life," moving from Centerville to the Vine Street Theatre in Murray for performances Nov. 29-Dec. 23. Reservations for all of these shows may be made by calling 298-1302.
- MY TURN ON EARTH, Lex de Azevedo and Carol Lynn Pearson's popular musical, is scheduled for four performances at the Draper Theater, 12366 S. 900 East.
Playdates are Nov. 8, 12-13 and 15 at 7 p.m. Admission is $7 for adults and $5 for children. For reservations, call 572-4144.
- ON GOLDEN POND, being staged by the Pleasant Grove Players, runs Nov. 12-22 in the Pleasant Grove Library Auditorium.
Directed by Keith Christesen, the cast includes himself, Claudine Boothe, Dennis Purdie, Karlene Young, Marc Haddock and Justin Bird.
Curtain is 8 p.m. with performances on Nov. 12-13, 15, 18-20 and 22. Admission is $4 for adults, $3 for senior citizens and children and $12 per immediate family. Tickets will be available at the door. For group rates, call 785-2922. The library is located at 50 E. Center St.