"The Ark," Michael McLean and Keven Kelly's long-awaited, fully staged musical about Noah, will play Oct. 16-Nov. 21 in the Zions Building at the Utah State Fairpark - an "environmental" setting of sorts.
McLean notes that the Zions Building, which was formerly designated as the Home Arts Building, is perfectly suited for "The Ark." The interior is wood frame with large, wooden beams, sort of like the inside of Noah's Ark might have looked."When we close the big, wooden doors - the audience will feel like it's right there aboard the Ark," he said.
Theatergoers who attended Promised Valley Playhouse's summer productions of "Celebrating the Light" in the late 1980s and early '90s will remember the "Noah's Ark" segments that were the centerpiece of that show's varied musical numbers. Such tunes as the humorous "Waddle and a Wiggle" and "Rain Song" have been part of the score that McLean and Kelly have spent the last dozen or so years developing.
Lita Little Giddins, a former member of BYU's Young Ambassadors who was in at least two of the "Celebrating the Light" casts, will have the role of Egyptus in "The Ark."
BYU graduate David Tinney, who has been working in New York, is directing and choreographing the production.
The cast also includes Arthur Allen as Noah, Kelly Shepardson as Eliza, Kimn Butterworth as Martha, Brian Clark as Shem, James Mack as Ham, David Foutz as Japeth and Katie Thompson as Sariah.
Performances will be 7:30 p.m. on Mondays and Thursdays-Saturdays, with Saturday matinees at 2 p.m. Tickets are $15 for adults and $10 for children for all evening shows. All matinee seats are $7.50. Parking at the Fairpark, 155 N. 1000 West, is $2.