Musicals, comedies and a drama frequently misconstrued as a comedy are among the 10 productions opening (or just recently opened) in the region. See separate story at left on the opening of Edward Albee's Pulitzer Prize-winning drama, "Three Tall Women."
- "THE LION IN WINTER" James Goldman's brilliant (and very humorous) drama focusing on a family row between Henry II and Eleanor of Aquitaine, is being mounted by StageRight Theatre-Company.The troupe, which has had great success with such dramatic fare as "Beckett" and "12 Angry Jurors," will stage the production from Oct. 14 through Nov. 11 at the Realms of Inquiry Private School, 1140 S. 900 East.
Beth Bruner is directing.
Her cast includes David Nieman as Henry and Robin Murdock as the recently widowed Eleanor, with Mark White, Jansen Davis, Jason Fouts, Chad Wainwright and Raelynn Potts.
Performances will be Mondays, Fridays and Saturdays at 7:30 p.m. Admission is $6 for adults, with a 50-cent discount for senior citizens and students. Call 292-5193 for reservations or further information.
- "THE UNSINKABLE MOLLY BROWN," Meredith Willson's rambunctious musical about Colorado's legendary Molly Tobin Brown and her indomitable "ain't down yet" gusto, opens Friday, March 13, for a monthlong run at the Pages Lane Theatre in Centerville.
Directed by Ralph Rodgers and choreographed by Marilyn Montgomery, the cast includes Jan Williams and Diane Rosser alternating in the feisty title role and Clif Cole and David Hill trading off as prospector Leadville Johnny Brown.
Rodgers is using the original Broadway script rather than following the movie version, which has frequently been the case in more recent productions.
Others in the mostly double-cast ensemble include Kirk Monson and Bob Walkingshaw as Shamus Tobin, Molly's father; Linda-Jean Stephenson and Jan Noyes as stuffy Denver socialite Gladys McGlone; and Larry Nelson as Prince DeLong.
Performances at the theater, 292 E. Pages Lane, will be Mondays and Thursdays-Saturdays at 7:30 p.m. from Oct. 13 through Nov. 18, with one matinee at 3 p.m. on the closing date. Admission ranges from $6 to $8, with special school and group discounts available. Call 298-1302 for reservations.
- "PINOCCHIO," a musical version of the classic children's tale, opens Saturday, Oct. 14, at the Hale Center Theater, 2801 S. Main, South Salt Lake, where it will continue most Saturday mornings through May 18.
Jenell Slack, who has been rehearsing to play the title role, will play only the opening performance on Oct. 14 - then leave Salt Lake to join the national touring company of "Les Miserables" in the role of Young Cosette.
The production is being directed by Christopher Strong, who is also playing the role of toymaker Geppetto. Adapted for the stage by Tad Allyn Doyle, the show features music written seven years ago by Sally Dietlein and Val David Smithson for a previous HCT presentation.
Others in the cast include Quinn Dietlein as Smudge, the dog; Julie Christensen as Fairy Blue, Susan Wilhelm as wicked jailer Mama Lasagna, Jared Brubaker as Fox, Kathleen Weisbecker as Cat and Lloyd Mulvey (who is also lighting designer) as Lampwick.
Performances will be Saturdays at 11 a.m. Oct. 14-May 18 (except there will be no performances on Nov. 18 & 25, Dec. 16, 23 & 30, Feb. 17 and April 6). Tickets are $6 for adults and $4.50 for children. Call 484-9257 for reservations. Children celebrating their birthdays during the month will be admitted free of charge if they're included in a group of at least five paying patrons.
- "THE WILL ROGERS FOLLIES," the Tony Award-winning musical about the life and times of beloved humorist Will Rogers and told in the setting of the lavish Ziegfeld Follies (in which Rogers starred for more than 10 years), is making a one-night stand on Friday, Oct. 13, at the Ellen Eccles Theatre, 43 S. Main, Logan.
The national touring company presentation is part of the Capitol Arts Alliance's "Best of Broadway" series.
Tickets are $15, $18 and $21, available in advance from the Eccles Theatre box office. To charge tickets by phone, call 752-0026.
- "BEYOND THERAPY," Christopher Durang's acclaimed comedy about a couple in search of that perfect someone, will be presented by the Westminster Players for four performances Thursday-Sunday, Oct. 12-15, in the Jewett Center for the Performing Arts at Westminster College.
Directed by Jim Martin, the cast includes Brian Pilling as Bruce and Melissa Crawley as Prudence, who both turn to their psychiatrists (Stuart, an egotistical chauvinist, and Charlotte, a woman better suited to teaching kindergarten) in an attempt to remedy their lonely situations.
The cast includes Jack Keith Wilkerson, Daisy Lee, Dewey Brown and Shaun Ingalls.
The play contains language that some patrons may find offensive.
All performances are free of charge. Curtain is 8 p.m. Thursday-Saturday and 7 p.m. on Sunday. In addition, a matinee performance begins at 2 p.m. Saturday. The Jewett Center is located at 1250 E. 1700 South on the Westminster College campus.
- "BLITHE SPIRIT," Noel Coward's classic comedy, plays Mondays, Fridays and Saturdays at 8 p.m. at the Heritage Theatre, 2505 S. Highway 89, in Perry (just south of Brigham City).
The cast, directed by Krista Cae Mortenson, includes Bradley A. McCann, Kristi Barker, Marva Jarman-Hellstrom and JuDean Parkinson.
There will be one matinee at 2 p.m. on Oct. 21.
Admission ranges from $4 to $6. For reservations, call 723-8392.
- "THE FANTASTICKS" has opened a brief run in the indoor Orval and Ruth Hafen Theatre at the Tuacahn Center for the Arts at Ivins, 10 miles west of St. George.
Performances of the classic musical continue on Monday, Oct. 9, and Thursday-Saturday, Oct. 12-14, at 8 p.m., with one matinee at 2 p.m. on Saturday.
For tickets, call 674-4949 or 1-800-746-9882.
- THE VALLEY CENTER PLAYHOUSE in Lindon is reviving its perennially popular Halloween season productions of "Hotel Frankenstein" and "Shadowbrook Mansion," playing in repertory from Oct. 6 through Nov. 13.
"Hotel Frankenstein," back for its 14th time, will play Mondays through Wednesdays, Oct. 9-31, with three additional performances on Nov. 3, 4 and 6.
"Shadowbrook Mansion" is scheduled for Thursdays-Saturdays through Oct. 28, plus performances on Nov. 10, 11 and 13.
The theater is located at 780 N. 200 East in Lindon. For reservations, call 226-8600.
Compiled by Ivan M. Lincoln, Deseret News theater editor, 237-2150. Fax: 237-2121. Information on stage productions or auditions must be submitted at least two weeks in advance.