Musicals, comedies and a Black History Month production highlight this week's stage openings:
- "PAINT YOUR WAGON" (the real Broadway version, not the almost unrecognizable Hollywood edition) will brawl, dance and sing its way across the Salt Lake Community College Grand Theatre stage beginning Friday, Feb. 26.When you mention Lerner & Loewe, most theatergoers envision the sweet fantasy of "Brigadoon," the elegance of "My Fair Lady" or the regal opulance of "Camelot," but the collaborators were also responsible for the robust and rustic earthiness of "Paint Your Wagon," about the wild Gold Rush days in California.
Directed by Maikel Bailey and choreographed by Lenore Cambrea, with fight scenes and stunts designed by visiting stuntman Rai Bartonious of Las Vegas and Los Angeles, the cast includes Craig Stephenson as Ben Rumson, Lucy Campbell as Jennifer, his daughter; Galen Chatterton as Steve Bullnack, Rocky Revels as Edgar Crocker, Joe Lowe as Julio Valveras, and Roweena Greenwood and Gary Gingold as Brother and Sister Woodling.
Patrons are reminded to forget the popular movie version. The setting may be similar, but the story and many of the characters in the original 1951 Broadway edition are completely different.
Some of the show's best known songs include "(I Was Born Under a) Wand'rin Star," "They Call the Wind Maria," "I Talk to the Trees" and "I Still See Elisa."
Sets have been designed by Clif A. Davis, with costumes by Diane Allen. Jay Gunderson is music director and Mearle Marsh will be conducting the orchestra.
Performances will be at 7:30 p.m. Mondays-Saturdays from Feb. 26 through March 13 in the Grand Theatre of SLCC's South City Campus, 1575 S. State St. There will also be a matinee at 2 p.m. on Saturday, March 13. Admission ranges from $2 to $10. All seats are reserved. Call 468-4222 for information.
- "A MAN FOR ALL SEASONS," Robert Bolt's brilliant drama about Sir Thomas More, lord chancellor of England, and his confrontation with King Henry VIII over the Catholic Church's refusal to grant the king a divorce from Queen Catharine to marry Anne Boleyn, is being presented by StageRight TheaterCompany in Bountiful.
The "man for all seasons" is Sir Thomas, a devout Catholic who steadfastly refuses to cave in to King Henry's demands. This prompts Henry to form the Church of England and declare himself head of the new church. The king then grants himself a divorce.
Director Ron Jewett's cast includes Jack "J" Kenison as Thomas More, James A. Dale as Thomas Cromwell, Mark White as Henry VIII and Stuart Mitchell as Richard Rich.
Other cast members are Jewett, Ryan C. Bowen, Doyle Jenkins, Sheryl L. Wardell, Alison Henriksen, Greer Allan Brand, Stephen C. Miner, Michael Canham, Shellie Waters and Philip Davis.
Following the opening on Saturday, Feb. 27, the production will continue on Mondays, Fridays and Saturdays at 8 p.m. through March 20 in the Bountiful Elks Lodge No. 2442, located at 544 W. 400 North, just off the West Bountiful exit (No. 312) from I-15. General admission is $6 for adults and $5 for senior citizens and students. For reservations, call StageRight's new box office number at 292-5193, or write to the theater company in care of 207 E. 400 North, Bountiful, UT 84010.
Proceeds from the opening night's performance will be contributed to Camp Wapiti, a camp for medically disabled youths sponsored by the Utah Elks Association.
- "THE BURNING BUSH," a production using music and dance to dramatize internal conflicts of the African-American culture, will be the grande finale for the University of Utah African-American Studies Program celebration of Black History Month.
Mounted by Fusion Production Company, the show will be presented for one night only, Friday, FEb. 26, at 7:30 p.m. at Kingsbury Hall on the U. of U. campus.
Producer/director Benjamin Cabey notes that the production will focus on sermons from James Weldon Johnson's powerful "God's Trombones."
"It is a dramatization of the black culture's search for God, identity and acceptance," he said.
A number of soloists and ensembles from the African-American community will perform, including the Rocky Mountain Gospel Workshop of America, Crossroads Jazz Combo, the Just a Portion chorus, Kid Logic, Robert Ingram Jr., Benjamin Cabey, Edward Cabey, Wayne Miller, Curley Green, Ava Cabey and Bernette Murphy, with interpretive dancing by Patti On`eil and Rita Bankhead.
Ingram is assistant director of the production.
Admission is $10 for adults and $7.50 for students and senior citizens. Tickets will be available at the door. For further information, call 581-6261 or 581-5206.
Amoco/Rainbo of Salt Lake City is sponsoring the event.
- THREE ONE-ACT PLAYS by Bertolt Brecht and Luigi Pirandello will be presented by Tobin Atkinson and Tom Amen, both University of Utah Graduate Theatre directors in the U. of U. Lab Theatre.
Atkinson is directing Brecht's didactic and politically rich play, "Exception and the Rule," written in the 1930s as a call to revolt against social, political and economic injustices. Atkinson will use puppets to portray the play's distinct character types.
Amen will direct "The Vise" and "The Man With the Flower in His Mouth," both by Italian dramatist Pirandello. The first, set in 1910, is a highly theatrical tale of a love triangle gone sour. The second, originally written in 1923 and dealing with a dying man's musings on the nature of his fleeting existence, is being updated for the Lab Theatre presentation to modern-day Greenwich Village in order to mirror the current AIDS crisis in America.
Both student directors note that these rarely staged plays offer a glimpse of the power and vision of the two playwrights.
Performances will be at 8 p.m. Thursday-Saturday, Feb. 25-27 and 7 p.m. Sunday, Feb. 28,
with a matinee at 5 p.m. on Friday, Feb. 26. Tickets will be available at the door.
- "THE MUSIC MAN," Meredith Willson's warm-hearted musical about fast-talking con man Harold Hill promising to save the innocent children of River City, Iowa, by establishing a boy's band (to whom he will gladly sell instruments), will open a seven-week run on Friday, April 26, at the StageStop Theatre in Collinston.
The production's popular tunes include the rousing "Seventy-six Trombones," "Lida Rose" and " 'Til There Was You."
Performances will be Mondays and Thursdays-Saturdays at 7:30 p.m. (new evening curtain time this season), with one matinee at 3:30 p.m. on Saturday, March 27. Doors open one half hour prior to curtain. Admission is $7 for adults and $6 for children and senior citizens. There is a $1 discount on Monday nights and Saturday matinees. The StageStop is also offering a family rate on Monday and Thursday evenings of $30 for six people. For reservations, call 257-7330 or 458-3967.
The theater is located at 3535 W. Bigler Road, Collinston (between Tremonton and Logan).
- "LASER VAUDEVILLE," a show that combines magic and lasers, will be presented on Saturday, Feb. 27, at 7 p.m. in the Allred Theatre of the Val A. Browning Center for the Performing Arts at Weber State University, Ogden, as part of WSU's "Family Concert Series."
Performers include Carter Brown (labeled "America's best juggler" by Fuji Television of Tokyo) and knife-thrower Mark Faje. The show's emcee is "Alfonzo, the Fluorescent Fire Breathing Dragon."
Tickets are $5 for adults and $3 for children, with a $1 discount for those with a WSU Family Concert Series card. Contact the Dee Events Center at 626-8500 for tickets.
- "THE EDUCATED HEART," Ruth & Nathan Hales' comedy loosely based on the true-life story of a school teacher in a remote area near Boulder, Utah, during the 1930s, will open Feb. 27 at the Hale Center Theater/Orem.
Co-directed by Ruth, Linda and Cody Hale, the cast includes Julie Flores and Jani Radebaugh alternating in the role of school teacher Jessie McBain, and Ruth Hale and Tanya Radebaugh double-cast as the opinionated Lydia Jessup.
All roles in the production are double cast. Other performers include Alex Cox, Mitch Hall, Mark Steven Gelter, MeriLynne Babcock, Melanie Radebaugh, Troy Sutton, Justin Utley, Maureen Eastwood, Renae Powell, George King and Cody Hale.
Performances will be Mondays and Thursdays-Saturdays at 8 p.m. from Feb. 27 through April 19. Reservations are recommended. Group rates are available. Call 226-8600. The theater is located at 225 W. 400 North in Orem.
- "THE WIZARD OF OZ" will mark a change in direction for the new Terrace Plaza Playhouse in Ogden.
Previously scheduled as part of the theater's "Saturday matinee" series for children, the family classic will also be presented on Mondays at 7:30 p.m. and Mondays at noon from Feb. 22 through April 17. It's been co-directed by Beverly Olsen and J.D. Stokes.
All seats are $3 each. For reservations, call 393-0070 or 544-5985.
- TIM TORKILDSON, a former clown with the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus, has moved to Utah and is now performing throughout the region for conventions, schools and social functions. He'll present a free performance on Saturday, Feb. 27, at 7 p.m. at the Orem Lakeview LDS Stake Center, 1850 S. 400 West. For further information, call 224-7940.