Five Broadway musicals, a classic comedy, an evening of rarely done Christopher Durang comedy pieces, the first touring performances for the 1996 Classical Greek Theatre production, a new musical revue and a mystery dinner event are on this week's busy - and diverse - theater calendar.
- THE SOUND OF MUSIC, directed by Pat Davis, opens the Grand Theatre's 1996-97 season at Salt Lake Community College's South City campus, 1575 S. State.Cast in the leading roles are Katie Hill as spunky postulant Maria and Craig Stephenson as widowed Austrian naval Capt. Georg Von Trapp.
Others in the cast include Debbie Erickson as the compassionate Mother Abbess, Sterling Brimley as Uncle Max Detweiler, Mary Alice Leese as Elsa Schrader, the captain's sophisticated fiance, and Brett Hayman as Rolf, the young Nazi.
Due to the large number of children who auditioned for the roles of the seven Von Trapp children, these parts were all double-cast, with the two ensembles performing on alternate nights.
Jennifer Taylor and Kimberly Allen will trade off in the role of Liesel, the girl who's "Sixteen Going on Seventeen."
The other children are Derek Klein, David Fetzer, Ashley Jepperson, Natalie North, Jeff Jepperson, Corey Heaps, Abigail Huntsman, Emily Stewart, Madeline Hales, Natalie Bradshaw, Alison Fidel and Kate Beckstrand.
Ken Plain is music director with Teresa Volgenau as choreographer, J. Chad Davis as scenery designer (including creating large puppets for the "Lonely Goatherd" number) and Diane Allen as costume designer.
Performances in the Grand Theatre will be Mondays-Saturdays at 7:30 p.m., Sept. 13-28, with two Saturday matinees at 2 p.m. on Sept. 21 and 28. Ticket prices range from $5 to $12. For reservations, contact the box office at 957-3322.
- "DURANG/DURANG," an evening of short selections from the wild, wacky and slightly wicked pen of comedy writer Christopher Durang, will be presented by TheatreWorks West in its new Upstage Center space at the Wooden Dog in Trolley Square.
Performances will be at 7:30 p.m. Thursdays-Sundays beginning Friday, Sept. 13, and continuing through Oct. 6.
Teresa Sanderson, who is overseeing the entire effort, is also one of the directors and performers.
The acting ensemble includes Barb Gandy, Gary Anderson and Blaine Wiley (all of whom are also directing various segments), Charla Brinkpeter, Trudy Jorgensen, Vicki Pugmire, Rett Neale, Brad Slocum and Jerry Rapier.
Fran Pruyn and Rodger Reynolds are also directing part of the show.
Durang is best known for his full-length plays, "Sister Mary Ignatius Explains It All for You," "Beyond Therapy," "The Marriage of Bette and Boo" and "Laughing Wild."
He also wrote 27 short comedies, from which TheatreWorks West chose these: "The Actor's Nightmare," probably one of Durang's most famous one-acts; "For Whom the Southern Belle Tolls" and "Desire, Desire, Desire," parodies which manage to take swipes at both Tennessee Williams and Eugene O'Neil; "Medea," "Nina in the Morning" and "Wanda's Visit."
Tickets are $10 if purchased in advance or $12 at the door. Tickets are available only at the Wooden Dog in Trolley Square (after 5 p.m. every evening). All patrons of any of the four performance venues in the Wooden Dog must be 21 years of age or older. For further information, call 583-6520 or 328-8889.
- "ORESTES," written by prolific Greek playwright Euripides nearly 2,400 years ago, is this year's annual Classical Greek Theatre Festival drama.
Before it arrives in Salt Lake (for two consecutive weekends of early morning performances at Red Butte Garden amphitheatre, followed by a new "encore" matinee performance a week later in the downtown Gallivan Center, "Orestes" will be performed in Moab, Santa Fe, Albuquerque and Durango.
Directed by Alex Gelman, this production is utilizing a new translation by John Peck and Frank Nisetich.
(Watch for more details in the Weekend-Extra section on Sept. 13.)
Here are the upcoming dates, venues and times:
- Saturday, Sept. 14: Moab, 9 a.m. on the Sand Flats outside of town.
- Sunday, Sept. 15: on the library plaza at St. John's College in Santa Fe (2 p.m.)
- Sept. 17: University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, 3 p.m. (outside).
- Sept. 18, 3 and 7:30 p.m. inside the Fort Lewis College Theatre, Durango, Colo.
- Saturday and Sunday, Sept. 21-22 and 28-29 at 9 a.m. at the Red Butte Garden amphitheater (call 581-6961 for tickets to these four performances).
- Oct. 2 in the Nelke Theatre at Brigham Young University (7:30 p.m.)
- Oct. 4 in Weber State University's Allred Theatre, Ogden (7:30 p.m.)
- Oct. 5 in the Morgan Theatre of Utah State University's Chase Fine Arts Center, Logan (8 p.m.)
- Oct. 6 at the Gallivan Center in downtown Salt Lake City (2 p.m.)
- Oct. 13 at 2 p.m. in the outdoor Quarry Theatre at the University of California/Santa Cruz, Calif.
- Oct. 14 at 3:30 p.m. in the Louis B. Mayer Theatre of Santa Clara University, Santa Clara, Calif.
Ticket prices may vary from campus to campus for the Utah performances. Check local college or university box offices for details.
A free orientation lecture, "Themes and Dramatic Strategies in Euripides' Orestes," will be presented prior to each performance. The free lecture series is sponsored by the Utah Humanities Council.
- "JOSEPH AND THE AMAZING TECHNICOLOR DREAMCOAT," one of Andrew Lloyd Webber's earliest - and most popular - musicals, will play Sept. 9-14 at the SCERA Shell outdoor theater in Orem.
While other companies had been planning to do their own productions of "Joseph" next summer, both the Utah Musical Theatre company (which had hoped to inaugurate its first season in the restored and appropriately themed Egyptian Theatre in Ogden) and Hale Centre Theatre have been informed that rights to regional theater performances of the show have been voided due to the possibility of the national touring company coming to Utah next year.
This means that the SCERA's production may be the last local version for several months.
Directed by Rosanna Weeks Ungerman, the cast includes Cory Bench in the title role - reprising a role he created in Idaho Falls. Cory's brother, Clayton, also has a part in the show as one of Joseph's brothers.
Shannon Cook and Karena Mittleman will portray the narrators, with Troy E. Hofheins as both Jacob and Potiphar and Ryan J. Davis as Pharoah.
The outdoor setting will allow Ungerman to fill the space with a cast of nearly 60 - half children and half adults.
Performances will be Mondays-Saturdays at 8 p.m. The gates open at 7 p.m. nightly. The SCERA Shell is at 699 S. State, Orem. For further information, call 225-2569.
- "I WANT IT ALL," a new musical cabaret production celebrating the humorous as well as the poignant through songs by, about and for women - and the men in their lives - is the first in Brigham Young University's
"Entr'Acte Series" programs for 1996- 97.
Performances will be at 7:30 p.m. Sept. 11-14 in the Pardoe Drama Theatre of BYU's Harris Fine Arts Center. Tickets are $9 for adults, $8 for senior citizens or $7 for students or BYU faculty or staff. Call 378-4322 for reservations.
- "THE UNSINKABLE MOLLY BROWN," presented just recently at the SCERA Shell in Orem and Murray City Park, is traveling to the Kenley Centennial Amphitheater in Layton for performances at 8 p.m. on Sept. 12-14.
The popular Meredith Willson musical, directed by well-known Utah County director Syd Riggs, features Lori Lehman in the title role and Richard Scott Losee as Leadville Johnny Brown.
Jayne Luke choreographed the show.
Tickets are $6 for adults and $4 for children or senior citizens. There is also a family ticket admitting up to two adults and four children for $25. Tickets are available in advance from Tom Winegar's markets in Layton and Clearfield and at the Heritage Museum in Layton. They'll also be available at the gate prior to performance.
Theatergoers are advised to bring their own blankets and lawn chairs. Special accommodations are available for the handicapped, but three days' prior notice is required. Call 546-3524 to arrange handicapped seating.
- "ANNIE GET YOUR GUN" is being presented by the West Valley Arts Council in West Lake Junior High School auditorium, 3400 S. 3450 West.
Performances will be at 7:30 p.m. on Sept. 13, 14 and 16, with one matinee at 1 p.m. on Sept. 14.
Directed by James E. Smith, the cast includes Mariana Harper as Annie, Russell Guymon as Frank Butler, Daryl Strong as Buffalo Bill and Sheina Krigger as Dolly.
Tickets are $5 for adults and $3 for children. There is also a family pass for $20 and discounts for groups of 10 or more. Tickets can be purchased at the door.
- "YOUR WORST KNIGHTMARE," a mystery dinner presented by Chameleons: The Whodunit Company, is scheduled for Friday, Sept. 13 (and again on Sept. 20) at Snowbird Resort.
Doors open at 7 p.m. and the audience-participation mystery begins at 7:30. Admission is $28 per person, including dinner and performance. Advance reservations are required. Call 1-800-453-3000 for reservations.
- TWO PREVIOUSLY UNANNOUNCED productions have opened in Orem and Perry.
- "The Man Who Came to Dinner" is playing at the Ragan Theatre on the Utah Valley State College campus in Orem. Performances continue on Mondays and Thursdays-Saturdays at 7:30 p.m. through Sept. 21, with one matinee at 2 p.m. on Sept. 17. All performances are free of charge.
- "Into the Woods" has opened at the Heritage Theatre in Perry (between Brigham City and Ogden), where it's playing Mondays, Fridays and Saturdays through Sept. 21 at 8 p.m. There will also be a matinee on Sept. 21 at 2 p.m.
For reservations, call the box office at 723-8392.