Among this week's stage openings are an award-winning drama premiering at Brigham Young University, evenings of one-act plays by both the University of Utah's Lab Theatre and Park City Performances and two children's productions ("Sleeping Beauty" at the SCERA Shell in Orem and "The Emperor's New Clothes" at Dixie College in St. George) in addition to "My Fair Lady" and "Hay Fever" opening in Salt Lake (see separate story on Page E14).
- "DEAR STONE," by BYU English faculty member Margaret B. Young, was winner of BYU's 1996 Playwriting Competition.Debilitating and terminal illness, terrible mistakes and family struggles do not create comfortable situations. But "Dear Stone," directed by Eric Samuelsen, also depicts forgiveness and understanding.
Set in present-day Utah, the play portrays a woman stricken with multiple sclerosis and the effects that the incurable disease has on her husband and two daughters.
Over the course of the play the family is torn apart, not just by the disease but also by a nurse who moves in to take care of the woman.
The title "Dear Stone" comes from Shakespeare's play "A Winter's Tale," Samuelsen explained. Both plays are about forgiveness and trying to put things back together when someone has made terrible mistakes.
The cast includes BYU sophomore Carrie Brey as Merry, the ailing wife; Cameron Deaver as her husband and Jana Morrill as Cody, the obsessive nurse, with Krisha Muirbrook and Melia Erdmann as the daughters.
Performances in the Harris Fine Arts Center's Margetts Theatre will be May 14-7 and 22-24 at 7:30 p.m. Tickets are $7 for students, faculty and staff, $8 for senior citizens and alumni and $9 for the public. Box office: 378-4322.
- PARK CITY PERFORMANCES' "Egyptian Shorts" project this spring is "Grave Concerns - An Evening of One Acts," showcasing several short pieces by David Fleisher, will be presented May 15-17 in one of PCP's temporary venues, the Santy Auditorium of the Carl Winters Building.
(The company's home base, the historic Egyptian Theatre, is in the middle of a massive renovation.)
Fleisher, a former Park City resident who now resides in Lake Worth, Fla., is coauthor of the nonfiction book, "Death of An American: The Killing of John Singer."
The works in this year's program are "4-1-1," "Silent Partners," "The Delivery," "Coq Au Vin,""By My Side," "Dream House," "Mrs. Mygoodness" and "Flat Tire."
All directed by PCP's producing artistic director, Richard Scott, the acting ensemble will include a mix of several old favorites from the company as well as fresh Park City talent (part of PCP's mission to build a talent base for future productions). The cast includes Rebecca Brandt, Angelia D'Agostino, Sherry Daniels, Allison Fine, Richard Miller, Kim Page, Steve Phillips and Scott Subiono.
Performances will be at 7:30 p.m. Thursday, Friday and Saturday. For reservations, call 649-9371 or stop at PCP's temporary office on the second floor of the Marketplace Mall, 333 Main.
- TWO PLAYS FOR DANCERS, "At the Hawk's Well" and "The Only Jealousy of Emer," both by Irish poet/dramatist William Butler Yeats, will be staged May 17-18 and 22-25 in the Lab Theatre of the University of Utah's Performing Arts Building, just west of the campus book store.
Both directed by Craig Rich, a second-year MFA directing candidate at the U. of U., the two works were the first of Yeats' "Four Plays for Dancers," which he modeled after Japanese Noh drama.
The two Lab Theatre productions are examples of Yeats' symbolist works, a fusion of poetry and drama told through masks, dance and live music. Both stories center on the character of Cuchulain, a major heroic figure of Irish mythology.
In "At the Hawk's Well," young Cuchulain comes to drink from a mythical well whose waters are rumored to possess the power of eternal life. In "The Only Jealousy of Emer," Cuchulain - now married and mature - has killed a mysterious stranger and lies in a near-death state. His wife, Emer, has summoned her husband's mistress, Eithne, in hopes that her kiss will revive him.
The players include Camila Borrero, Tracy Chase, Kristen Kennedy, Jessica Roylance, Scott Smith, Katherine Taylor and Aaron Watt.
Performances will be 7:30 p.m. Saturday, May 17, and 7 p.m. Sunday, May 18, plus 7:30 p.m. Thursday-Saturday, May 22-24, and 7 p.m. Sunday, May 25, with one matinee at 4:30 p.m. on May 23. Tickets are $5 for adults and $3 for students. They can be purchased at the door or reserved in advance by calling the Pioneer Memorial Theatre box office at 581-6961.
- STAGE VERSIONS of two children's fables are scheduled for limited runs in the region: "Sleeping Beauty," May 14-17 at the SCERA Shell in Orem and "The Emperor's New Clothes," May 14-17 and 19 at Dixie College's Graff Fine Arts Center in St. George. Contact the respective venues for performance times and ticket information.
- "ONCE UPON A MYSTERY" will be Hunt Mystery's premiere production at Thanksgiving Point in Lehi on Friday, May 16.
The plot involves three celebrated fairytale couples, all of whom have come to a retreat at the "Castle of Counseling," hoping to put the "happily" back into their respective "ever afters."
The whodunit was written and directed by Utah playwright Laura Bedore.
The cast includes Gisselle Airriess, Aaron Christensen, Emily Decker, Cade Evans, Jennifer Hamilton, Kristine Jorgensen and Ryan Poole. Lenore Cambria choreographed the show.
Tickets are $40 per person for the combined buffet dinner and participatory mystery. Seating is limited and advance reservations are required.
For tickets, call Thanksgiving Point at 1-801-768-4967. Doors will open at 7 p.m. and the dinner and show will begin at 7:30 p.m.
A second performance of the mystery at Thanksgiving Point will be presented June 13.