Four of the nine stage productions opening this week across the state have Mormon pioneer connections. (See separate story on facing page for details on the other shows.)
The historical plays are Promised Valley Productions' premiere of "Barefoot to Zion," the third season of Tuacahn's spectacular outdoor drama, "Utah: The Peacemaker Saga" (the subtitle is new this year); the annual "Mormon Miracle Pageant" in Manti and the local premiere of a multimedia production, "Seasons of Faith."- BAREFOOT TO ZION, featuring a script by internationally acclaimed writer Orson Scott Card and music by his brother, Arlen Card, will premiere Thursday, June 19, in the LDS Church's Bountiful-Woods Cross Regional Center. The 2,300-seat building, formerly the Valley Music Hall, is located at 835 N. 400 East in North Salt Lake.
The epic musical drama, being mounted by the LDS Church's newly formed Promised Valley Productions, follows a group of early Mormon converts from their homes in Liverpool, England, to Nauvoo, Ill., and their westward trek into the Great Salt Lake Valley in 1847.
Because the landmark Promised Valley Playhouse in downtown Salt Lake City was recently closed due to concerns over structural safety, the new summer production is premiering at the North Salt Lake venue.
The new locale has presented some interesting challenges for those involved with technical aspects of the show. For one thing, it has a much smaller stage than the playhouse, but scenery designer Rory Scanlon has more than met the challenge with innovative effects that are enhanced by the shape of the hall.
Directed by Charles Metten, who is serving as artistic director for Promised Valley Productions as part of a two-year LDS Church service mission, the cast of "Barefoot to Zion" will include Frank Basile, David Barrus, Susan Alexander Boren, Marcie Jacobsen and Daniel Law in principal roles.
David Tinney is choreographing the show.
Performances will be Tuesdays-Saturdays at 7:30 p.m., June 19 through Aug. 23, with Saturday matinees at 2 p.m. Doors will open one hour prior to curtain, and the production will run about 90 minutes, with no intermission.
All seats are reserved. Seating in the front concourse is $4, and $2 in the rear.
To purchase tickets in person, there are two box offices - one on the lower level of the Joseph Smith Memorial Building in downtown Salt Lake City and the other in the main foyer of the Regional Center, 835 N. 400 East in North Salt Lake (from I-15, take exit No. 318 eastbound on 2600 South, then turn south onto 400 East, which runs behind the center).
For further ticket information, call 240-7469.
- UTAH: THE PEACEMAKER SAGA, performed in the spectacular Tuacahn Amphitheater west of St. George, is undergoing several changes for its third season, including a new director, one new song, a new ballet sequence and rewriting of the script to sharpen the focus of the story.
"Those who have seen `Utah!' before will still find the music, dance, characters and visual effects they enjoyed in our first two seasons," said new artistic director Rodger Sorensen.
Sorensen has plenty of experience in working with epic-scale outdoor productions. He's been an associate director on the LDS Church's "Hill Cummorah Pageant" for 19 years.
One of Sorensen's first tasks was to have dramaturg Reed McColm of Pasadena, Calif., rework the script. While playwright Robert C. Paxton Jr. and lyricist Doug Stewart are still credited with the original script, Sorensen said McColm's goal was to strengthen the characters and make them more identifiable.
One change for 1997 is the new subtitle: "The Peacemaker Saga." Not only does this further clarify what the story is about, it also paves the way for taking the production in different directions in the future.
Composers Kurt Bestor and Sam Cardon have written one new song, "The Principle," which defines polygamy both for colonizer Jacob Hamblin and the audience.
There's also a new opening sequence for the second act, the "Peacemaker Ballet," which sets the mood for the remainder of the show.
The role of Isaac has been revised to clarify his background as a troubled, rebellious leader and the torment he feels about the loss of his family. The show's two "comic relief" roles - Chester and Minerva - have been rewritten as former traveling actors called to build an Opera House and boost the pioneers' spirits.
The cast for the 1997 edition includes Michael Hickey of San Diego as Jacob Hamblin, the legendary Mormon pioneer peacemaker to the Indians, and Provo native Melinda Farnsworth Larson as Rachel, Jacob's wife. Larson spent three years in BYU's Young Ambassadors and was in the original cast of "Celebrating the Light."
Performances will be Mondays-Saturdays at 8:30 p.m. from June 20 through Sept. 1. All seats in the 2,000-seat amphitheater are reserved. This season there will also be special family rates available. There will also be preshow entertainment and a chuckwagon dinner on the plaza (served this year by Tony Roma's of St. George).
For tickets, call 1-800-746-9882 or 652-4949.
- THE MORMON MIRACLE PAGEANT, after three decades of performances in mid-July, is moving to the last two weeks of June.
Last year, the pageant was seen by 140,000 - the largest yearly attendance of all LDS Church pageants and the largest single-night attendance of any outdoor theatrical presentation in the United States.
Pageant dates this year are June 19-21 and 24-28, with all performances beginning at 9:15 p.m. on the south lawn of Manti Temple Hill. All performances are free of charge.
- SEASONS OF FAITH, which premiered last year in Council Bluffs, Iowa, as part of the Grand Encampment Celebration, is described as a "multimedia oratorio."
With music written by Bountiful composer Dan Carter, the production will have its first Utah performances June 19, 20 and 21 in the Viewmont High School auditorium, 120 W. 1000 North, in Bountiful. All three performances, beginning at 7 p.m., will be free of charge.
The work was originally commissioned to commemorate the 150th anniversary of the establishment of Winter Quarters, a major settlement on the trek by the Mormon pioneers from Illinois to the Great Salt Lake Valley in 1846-47.
The lyrics and story were written by Jo Ellen Fankhauser of Omaha, Neb., based on research by several Omaha-area historians.
The Dan Carter Singers and members of the Celebration Chamber Ensemble will join a cast of more than 100 performers. The production involves music, dramatic readings and interpretive dance.