One dozen new stage productions will open in the region next week, including:
- the national touring production of "She Loves Me."- the regional premiere of Tony Kushner's "Angels in America."
- the debut of the new Lighthouse Theater at Cottonwood Mall.
- a diversity of family fare, including "Peter Pan," "Child of Bethlehem," "The Rented Christmas," "Amahl and the Night Visitors" and "It's a Grand Night for Singing the Wonderful Music of Chistmas," among others.
- SHE LOVES ME, created by the same collaborative team who gave us "Fiddler on the Roof," is a romantic musical comedy with a delightfully hummable score.
Coming to Utah under the auspices of the Theater League of Utah, it's the kind of "family" show that Utah theatergoers love. Watch for details in the Sunday Arts section of the Deseret News.
Performances will be 8 p.m. nightly, Tuesday-Saturday, Nov. 28-Dec. 2 and 7:30 p.m. on Sunday, Dec. 3, with matinees at 2 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday. Tickets, ranging from $17.50 to $37.50, are available at the Capitol Theatre, 50 W. 200 South, and ArtTix outlets in selected Albertsons stores, or by calling 355-2787.
- ANGELS IN AMERICA, which earned playwright Tony Kushner a Pulitzer Prize and back to back Tonys (for Part One and for the following season's second installment), will have its regional premiere at Salt Lake Acting Company.
Despite the angelic title, it is not a frothy Christmas piece. It's a montage of three intertwined stories with characters that include four dysfunctional Mormons and controversial homophobic attorney Roy Cohn.
It contains sexually explicit language and touches on several sensitive LDS Church issues (although several LDS members who have seen it, including playwright Tim Slover at Brigham Young University and Norm Barlow, a Southern California institute of religion director, note that it does have some positive aspects and that Kushner does not resort to "Mormon bashing").
Co-directed by Nancy Borgenicht and Allen Nevins, the cast includes David Spencer as Roy Cohn; Todd Scurr, Annie Kleczkowski and Anita Booher as Joe, Harper and Hannah Pitt; Mark Larson as Prior Walter, Jason Novak as Lewis Aronson, Rene Thornton Jr. as Belize and Trish Reading as the Angel.
Preview performances, priced at $16.50 (plus ArtTix handling fee) will be Wednesday and Thursday, Nov. 29-30, at 7:30 p.m. and Friday, Dec. 1, at 8 p.m.
Regular performances begin Saturday, Dec. 2 and continue Thursdays at 7:30 p.m., Fridays and Saturdays at 8 p.m. and Sundays at 2 p.m. through Jan. 21. All seats are reserved. Tickets are $24.50 plus fee. Discounted "student rush" tickets, if available, are $10 plus fee. For reservations, contact ArtTix at 355-2787. SLAC is located at 168 W. 500 North.
- PETER PAN, Sir James M. Barrie's classic tale of a boy who refuses to grow up and his adventures in Never Never Land, comes to Salt Lake Community College's Grand Theatre, 1575 S. State, Dec. 1-16.
Directed and choreographed by Alan LaFleur, the cast includes Lori Schoonmaker in the title role with Bruce Craven as Captain Hook, Ashlee Lapine as Wendy and Erin Hiatt as Tiger Lily.
J. Chad Davis is set designer, with Brent Fotheringham as music director.
Performances are Mondays-Saturdays at 7:30 p.m., Dec. 1-16, with one matinee on Saturday, Dec. 16, at 2 p.m. (The matinee is nearly sold out. Only a few single tickets remain.) Admission ranges from $3 to $11. All seats are reserved. Reservations: 957-3322.
- THE CHRISTMAS STRANGER, a poignant musical drama about a terminally ill youngster's impact on a stranger who comes to his family's home, will open the new Lighthouse Theater at Cottonwood Mall.
Performances will be Mondays-Saturdays at 7:30 p.m., Nov. 27-Dec. 29, with matinees at 1 p.m. on Saturdays. (The performances on Nov. 28 and 29 are sold out and there will be no performance on Christmas Day.)
Tickets are $7, $10 and $15, with group discounts available.
The Lighthouse Theater is located in a space formerly occupied by the Power Plant private club and disco.
"It's gone from nudes to prudes," said proprietor Dan Whitley, noting that the former disco featured nude dancers, while the new enterprise will focus strictly on family entertainment. The theater-in-the-round can be utilized as a recording studio and dance hall in addition to hosting theater events.
For tickets, call 278-5313. For theater "hotline" information, call 566-5347.
- AMAHL AND THE NIGHT VISITORS, a seasonal classic that could be categorized as either musical theater or opera, is being mounted by the Sandy City Arts Council on Dec. 1-2 at Alta High School, with additional performances Dec. 15 and 16 at the First Presbyterian Church in downtown Salt Lake.
Brent Kenney of Sandy is playing Amahl, with Jennie Tobler and Tricia Swanson alternating as the mother and Dave Arnold, Don Becker and Bill Goeglein as the kings and Danny Sluga of Riverton as the Page.
The American West Symphony and Chorus, with conductor Joel Rosenberg and choirmaster Merlyn Hanks, will accompany the production. Donna K.W. Johnson is artistic director.
All performances begin at 7:30 p.m. Tickets are $6 for adults and $4 for children, students and senior citizens. Tickets will be available at the door or may be reserved in advance by contacting the Sandy City parks department at 561-6712.
Alta High School is located at 11055 S. 1000 East, Sandy. The First Presbyterian Church is located at South Temple and "C" St.
- IT'S A GRAND NIGHT FOR SINGING THE WONDERFUL MUSIC OF CHRISTMAS, a musical revue spotlighting a variety of seasonal tunes, from beloved religious works to sprightly secular tunes, will be presented on Tuesdays and Wednesdays at 7:30 p.m. from Nov. 28 through Dec. 20 at the Pages Lane Theatre, 292 E. Pages Lane, Centerville.
Talent involved will include Dave Hill, Larry Nelson, Ralph Rodgers, Kathi Pike, Tony Porter, Alyson Stagg-Ratt, Rebecca Rodgers-Hansen, Ruth and Alan Stoneman, Gordon Johnson, Pat Jackson, Winifred Merritt, Gina Stone, Angela Maloy, Steve Evans, Jeanette Memmott and others.
Tickets are $7 for adults and $6 for children, with group rates available. Call 298-1302 for reservations.
- CHILD OF BETHLEHEM, City Rep's second holiday production for the season (playing in repertory with "Jack and the Beanstalk"), will play for 10 performances from Dec. 2 through Dec. 30.
Adapted by City Rep Artistic Director Joanne M. Parker and directed by Toni Davis Butler, the story is based on a novelette by William J. Locke.
A live Nativity is part of the production.
Performers in leading roles include H. Clayton Smith, Michael Windham, Steve L. Nichol, Stephen Call, Shannon Illguth and Paul Butler.
Performances will be at 7:30 p.m. on Dec. 2, 4, 8, 16, 20, 21, 23, 28 and 30, with one matinee at 2 p.m. on Dec. 16.
Tickets are $7.50 for adults and $5.50 for children. For reservations, call 532-6000. City Rep is located at 638 S. State Street.
- THE RENTED CHRISTMAS, which has been presented as a straight comedy/drama in several venues during the past few years, will play Dec. 1-16 at the Draper Theater.
Directed by Nancy McFall, the story centers around a lonely gentleman who decides to rent a family in order to avoid being along again at Christmas. Danny Thorn and Steve English are double-cast in the role of the man without a family.
Composers Kathryn England and Bryan Linton have created two new songs for the show: "Could It Be," a love song, and "We Rent Anything," a novelty number.
Performances will be at 7 p.m. p.m. Dec. 1-2, 4-6, 7-9, 11 and 15-16, with one Saturday matinee at 2 p.m. on Dec. 9. Admission on opening night is $4 for all seats. During the remainder of the run, tickets are $5 and $7 on weekends and $4 and $5 during the week. There is a $1 discount for senior citizens at all performances. Reservations: 572-4144.
- JANE EYRE: THE MUSICAL, the Patricia Youkstetter/Jerry Williams adaptation of Charlotte Bronte's classic tale, which premiered last season at the Hale Center Theater, is being staged Nov. 30-Dec. 9 in the Randall L. Jones Theatre in Cedar City.
Directed by Fred C. Adams, the cast includes Utah Shakespearean Festival actor Gary Armagnac as Rochester and Heidi Strickler, a senior from Amarillo, Texas, as Jane Eyre.
Performances will be at 7:30 p.m. Nov. 30-Dec. 2 and Dec. 6-9, with one matinee on Dec. 2 at 2 p.m. Tickets are $9 for adults, $7 for senior citizens and children 8 and up, $3.50 for children 3-8 years of age, and $2 for SUU students. For ticket information, call the SUU box office at 586-7878.
- THE IMPORTANCE OF BEING ERNEST, Oscar Wilde's classic comedy of manners, will be mounted by USU's Utah State Theatre on Nov. 30 and Dec. 1-2 at 8 p.m. in the historic Lyric Theatre, 28 W. Center, Logan.
Graduate director Mike Morelli's all-student cast includes Loy Moser, Nikki Hislop, Heather Hartman, Glen Van Sickle, Rebecca Roylance and Sara Jane Hardy.
Tickets are $3 for students and $4 for others. They're available at the door or may be purchased in advance through USU's Spectrum ticket office (797-0305).
- "THE TIN SOLDIER," based on Hans Christian Andersen's tale of a young boy and his toy, tin soldier, features Jared Cardon and Jack Brodbent alternating in the title role.
Performances will be Saturdays at noon from Dec. 2 through Feb. 10 at the Terrace Plaza Playhouse, 99 E. 4700 South, Ogden. Call 393-0070 for reservations.